West Virginia tries to move out of Big 12 basement vs. UCF

Field Level Media|published: Mon 19th February, 18:27 2024

Feb 12, 2024; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard RaeQuan Battle (21) drives to the basket as TCU Horned Frogs guard Jameer Nelson Jr. (4) defends during the second half at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. credits: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

West Virginia and UCF each will be looking to snap losing streaks Tuesday night. But that's where the similarities end.

West Virginia, fresh off four straight double-digit losses, will try to begin climbing out of last place in the Big 12 when it hosts the Knights in Morgantown, W. Va.

Both teams have been off since absorbing home defeats Saturday, when West Virginia fell to then-No. 12 Baylor 94-81 and UCF's second-half comeback fell short in a 76-74 loss to Cincinnati.

The loss marked the eighth time this season West Virginia (8-17, 3-9 Big 12) has lost a league game by at least 10 points. The Mountaineers, tied for last with Oklahoma State entering Monday, are 0-4 this month with an average margin of defeat of 19.5 points.

West Virginia has been hampered by sloppiness during its losing streak, a span in which the Mountaineers have committed 57 turnovers. Baylor scored 20 points off 14 turnovers on Saturday.

"I'd like to look at what we can control," West Virginia interim head coach Josh Eilert said. "The biggest thing is taking care of the ball."

For UCF (13-11, 4-8), a season-long three-game losing streak has been defined by slow starts and furious finishes. Despite leading just twice in the last three games — at 2-0 and 4-3 over Cincinnati — the Knights have fallen to the Bearcats, Texas Tech and BYU by a combined 11 points.

UCF trailed Texas Tech by 10 in the first half of a 66-59 loss Feb. 10 before nearly overcoming a 19-point second-half deficit in a 90-88 loss to BYU three days later. The Knights fell behind by 14 in the second half Saturday, but they rallied again and missed potential go-ahead and game-tying shots in the final 40 seconds.

"We can't make this a consistent thing," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "There are no moral victories in comebacks to me. Our guys have to understand that and that's my stance and that's going to be my team's stance."

RaeQuan Battle leads West Virginia with 16.2 points per game while Jesse Edwards is pulling down a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game to go with 14.8 ppg. Jaylin Sellers leads UCF with 17.0 points per game while Ibrahima Diallo is averaging 6.0 rebounds.

—Field Level Media