Tuesday, March 3
Manhattan, Kan.
8 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Kansas State
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
West Virginia With Quick Tuesday Night Turnaround at Kansas State
March 02, 2026 02:16 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Quick turnarounds are in store for West Virginia and Kansas State when the two meet Tuesday night inside Bramlage Coliseum.
The Mountaineers' postseason hopes were reinvigorated following last Saturday's 79-71 victory over 19th-rated BYU at about the same time the Wildcats were losing at home to TCU, 77-68.
Kansas State is presently in the same situation West Virginia was two years ago when it had interim coach Josh Eilert leading the program. The Wildcats fired Jerome Tang on Feb. 15, and Matthew Driscoll is finishing out the season before they can identify Tang's permanent replacement.
The first game with Driscoll at the helm against Baylor resulted in an impressive 90-74 home victory, but the euphoria has since worn off with subsequent losses to Texas Tch, Colorado and TCU.
Against the Horned Frogs, the Wildcats got a combined 34 points from their two starting guards PJ Haggerty and Nate Johnson in the defeat.
Forward Khamari McGriff, who didn't play in Kansas State's 59-54 defeat at West Virginia earlier this year, has since returned to the lineup and gave KSU eight points and three rebounds before fouling out against the Horned Frogs.
McGriff should be able to help Taj Manning fortify the paint and keep West Virginia from scoring close to the basket as it did in the first meeting in Morgantown when it made 11 of its 13 shot attempts near the rim.
Another big piece that's been missing for Kansas State is 6-foot-7 wing shooter Abdi Bashir Jr., who has been sidelined for more than a month with a stress fracture in his foot. His injury was originally listed as a four-to-six-week recovery period, which puts the timeline for a return about now.
If he is able to return, that would give the Wildcats an additional 13.2 points per game and a 44.4% 3-point shooter on the wing.
Haggerty is averaging 23.3 points per game, which ranks third in the country behind BYU's AJ Dybantsa (24.9 ppg.) and East Carolina's Jordan Riley (24.0 ppg.)
West Virginia did a tremendous job of team defense on Dybantsa last Saturday by holding him to five points below his season average.
Haggerty got 16 against West Virginia the first time these two teams played in Morgantown back on Jan. 27, a 59-54 Mountaineer victory. West Virginia outscored Kansas State 14-5 over the final 4:30 to overcome a 49-45 deficit.
As of this morning, the 17-12 Mountaineers are 58th in the NCAA NET rankings and are hunting for wins to get themselves back into the NCAA Tournament bubble conversation.
Of the eight teams listed just outside of ESPN.com's tournament cut line, Ohio State's 34 NET ranking is the best. The other seven teams rank between 42nd and 64th, which puts the Mountaineers within range.
Therefore, getting a win at 11-18 overall Kansas State on Tuesday night is a must.
The contest will tip off at 8 p.m. EST and will be televised on ESPN+ (Ben Boyle, Stan Weber, Sophie Smith and Hannah Whetstone.
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will get things started at 7 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
Following Tuesday night's game, the Mountaineers will wrap up their regular season on Friday night against UCF at Hope Coliseum.
The Mountaineers' postseason hopes were reinvigorated following last Saturday's 79-71 victory over 19th-rated BYU at about the same time the Wildcats were losing at home to TCU, 77-68.
Kansas State is presently in the same situation West Virginia was two years ago when it had interim coach Josh Eilert leading the program. The Wildcats fired Jerome Tang on Feb. 15, and Matthew Driscoll is finishing out the season before they can identify Tang's permanent replacement.
The first game with Driscoll at the helm against Baylor resulted in an impressive 90-74 home victory, but the euphoria has since worn off with subsequent losses to Texas Tch, Colorado and TCU.
Against the Horned Frogs, the Wildcats got a combined 34 points from their two starting guards PJ Haggerty and Nate Johnson in the defeat.
Forward Khamari McGriff, who didn't play in Kansas State's 59-54 defeat at West Virginia earlier this year, has since returned to the lineup and gave KSU eight points and three rebounds before fouling out against the Horned Frogs.
McGriff should be able to help Taj Manning fortify the paint and keep West Virginia from scoring close to the basket as it did in the first meeting in Morgantown when it made 11 of its 13 shot attempts near the rim.
Another big piece that's been missing for Kansas State is 6-foot-7 wing shooter Abdi Bashir Jr., who has been sidelined for more than a month with a stress fracture in his foot. His injury was originally listed as a four-to-six-week recovery period, which puts the timeline for a return about now.
If he is able to return, that would give the Wildcats an additional 13.2 points per game and a 44.4% 3-point shooter on the wing.
Haggerty is averaging 23.3 points per game, which ranks third in the country behind BYU's AJ Dybantsa (24.9 ppg.) and East Carolina's Jordan Riley (24.0 ppg.)
West Virginia did a tremendous job of team defense on Dybantsa last Saturday by holding him to five points below his season average.
Haggerty got 16 against West Virginia the first time these two teams played in Morgantown back on Jan. 27, a 59-54 Mountaineer victory. West Virginia outscored Kansas State 14-5 over the final 4:30 to overcome a 49-45 deficit.
As of this morning, the 17-12 Mountaineers are 58th in the NCAA NET rankings and are hunting for wins to get themselves back into the NCAA Tournament bubble conversation.
Of the eight teams listed just outside of ESPN.com's tournament cut line, Ohio State's 34 NET ranking is the best. The other seven teams rank between 42nd and 64th, which puts the Mountaineers within range.
Therefore, getting a win at 11-18 overall Kansas State on Tuesday night is a must.
The contest will tip off at 8 p.m. EST and will be televised on ESPN+ (Ben Boyle, Stan Weber, Sophie Smith and Hannah Whetstone.
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will get things started at 7 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
Following Tuesday night's game, the Mountaineers will wrap up their regular season on Friday night against UCF at Hope Coliseum.
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TV Highlights: WVU 79, BYU 71
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Ross Hodge | BYU Postgame
Saturday, February 28
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