Kansas State Preview: HC Bruce Weber Seeks More Efficiency and Consistency from Young Wildcats

The No. 14 West Virginia Mountaineers (9-4, 2-3) are back in action after a two-week hiatus due to being unable to meet the Big 12 Conference COVID-19 threshold and travel to Manhattan, KS, to take on the Kansas State Wildcats (5-10, 1-6), Saturday at 4:00 pm EST on ESPN2.

Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber has one of the youngest teams in the Big 12 Conference and has had some COVID-19 issues of their own along with injuries. Freshman starting point guard Nijel Pack, who leads the Wildcat freshmen in scoring at 10.7 points per game, is expected to be out versus the Mountaineers.

The injuries and COVID-19 protocols have taken a toll on the Wildcats, who are currently in a five-game skid with an average margin of loss at 13 points per game while shooting 40% from the floor, including 29% from three-point range.

Weber is hopeful that his team can play with a little more efficiency.

“I watch the film, and we’re winning by five points in the first half 17 minutes into the game and still a six-point game three of four minutes into the second half. It seems like we’re pretty good or we’re really bad, and we gotta get a little more consistency when we have those lulls - somebody’s got to step up and make a play, or we gotta get a stop or get a tip-in or something. So, we just avoid teams making big runs where we can’t come back,” Weber said later, adding, “We just got to keep their spirits up and hope, slowly but surely, we get more guys back, and they get in a little better shape, and we can make some improvements down the stretch.”

West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins sees improvement in the Wildcats. “I think they’ve got the best young group in our league - their freshman are talented,” said West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins. “I think they get better and better with each game they play as their youth continues to get experience.”

Huggins credited the coaching staff for their efforts in recruiting.

“They did a great job recruiting. I watch them play, and I’m looking at some of those guys they were able to recruit in a day where nobody pays attention to anybody who isn’t allegedly a top 100 recruit - these guys are good -they are talented. If they can all stay together, he is going to have a heck of a team in a few years,” said Huggins.

Kansas State has one senior in guard, Mike McGuirl (6'2", 195-lbs), starting in all 15 games and leads the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game and has tallied six straight double-figure performances before coming off arguably his worst game of the season, posting just three points in the loss to Oklahoma on Tuesday.

Sophomore guard DaJuan Gordon (6'4", 190-lbs) is averaging 10.7 ppg along with a team-leading 6.7 rebounds per game. Gordon started to find his role on the team last season, starting 11 of the final 17 games.

Forward Kaosi Ezeagu (6'10", 255-lbs) returned to the rotation on Tuesday with seven points and three rebounds in 11 minutes after returning from an injury in early December, and freshman seven-footer, Davion Bradford, has hit double digits in three of the last five games with 14 points against then No. 18 Texas Tech and No. 4 Texas.

West Virginia is 11-8 all-time versus the Wildcats, including a 3-5 record at Bramlage Coliseum. The Mountaineers have dropped three out of the last four meetings against the Wildcats but won the previous matchup 66-57 last year in Morgantown.

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the page's top righthand corner. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:

Facebook - @WVUonSI

Twitter - @SI_WVU and Christopher Hall @WVHallBilly