West Virginia Mountaineers

Kansas will face a tough test from West Virginia in Big 12 opener

Published Dec. 31, 2019 2:21 a.m. ET

John Marshall

The holidays gave teams a chance to recover, recharge and reset from the first two months of the season. As the calendar flips to 2020, conference play begins for some leagues and heats up for those that already started.

The road to March is about to get even more interesting.

This week features four games between ranked opponents and several other Top 25 teams facing stiff tests. It starts Saturday with a Big 12 bruiser: No. 16 West Virginia at No. 5 Kansas.

The Jayhawks (10-2) won the Maui Invitational, knocked off a ranked Colorado team and stomped Stanford on Sunday. Kansas has one of the most formidable frontcourts in the country with Udoka Azubuike and David McCormack, and talented guards to play with them.

The Moutaineers (11-1) are back to playing don't-give-an-inch defense under Bob Huggins after missing the NCAA Tournament last season. West Virginia won the Cancun Challenge by knocking off No. 24 Wichita State and pushed around No. 5 Ohio State in a 67-59 win on Sunday after laboring in a win against Youngstown State.

“I think it's that old adage of respect all and fear none,” Huggins said after the Ohio State victory. “We came off not respecting Youngstown and they gave us a heck of a game. Hopefully our guys learned from that. We're not afraid to play people, obviously, or why would we do this?"

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