A Closer Look At West Virginia

On Saturday afternoon, No. 6/5 Kansas (24-4; 12-3) plays host to West Virginia (13-15; 6-9).

Jayhawk Slant is here to provide you with a closer look at the West Virginia Mountaineers.

West Virginia: The Facts

Located in Morgantown, W.Va., with an enrollment of 29,306, West Virginia is 13-15 on the season and 6-9 in Big 12 play after its 65-62 lost to Baylor on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The Mountaineers are coached by Bob Huggins who is 133-71 in his sixth season at WVU, his alma mater, and 723-282 in his 31st season overall. West Virginia is 8-5 at home, 3-7 in road games and 2-3 on neutral courts in 2012-13. WVU averages 65.6 points per game and gives up 66.1. The Mountaineers are outrebounding foes 35.8 to 33.7 and average 7.4 steals per contest. WVU forces 14.4 turnovers per game.

West Virginia has a balanced team as 11 different Mountaineers average 11-plus minutes per game and 10 have started at least two games in 2012-13. Freshman guard Eron Harris leads WVU in scoring with 9.3 points per game and with 37 three-pointers this season. Junior center Aaric Murray averages 8.8 points per game and leads the Mountaineers in rebounding at 6.2 boards per contest. Murray has a team-high 38 blocked shots. Senior forward Deniz Kilicli also averages 8.8 points per game and his 4.4 rebound average is third best on the team.

Sophomore guard Juwan Staten scores 8.4 points per game and leads WVU with 87 assists and 35 steals. Sophomore guard Jabarie Hinds has started all but two games for the Mountaineers and scores 7.5 points per outing. Freshman guard Terry Henderson is second on the team with 33 three-pointers made and averages 7.5 points per contest. Sophomore guard Gary Browne (6.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg) is second on the team with 27 steals.

Other WVU regulars include senior guard Matt Humphrey (4.3 ppg), sophomore forward Keaton Miles (2.8 ppg), sophomore forward Kevin Noreen (2.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and senior forward Dominique Rutledge (2.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg).

Kansas vs. West Virginia: The Series

Kansas and West Virginia are meeting for only the second time in men's basketball with the previous being earlier this season when the Jayhawks defeated the Mountaineers 61-56 on Jan. 28 in Morgantown. Kansas seniors Jeff Withey and Travis Releford led the Jayhawks by scoring 15 points apiece. Withey had four blocked shots for the game and tied fellow senior Kevin Young with a team-high seven rebounds.

Redshirt freshman guard Ben McLemore contributed 13 points in the win. West Virginia's Aaric Murray led all scorers with 17 points. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 1-0 all-time against West Virginia, while Bob Huggins is 0-5 versus Kansas.

A closer look at the West Virginia Mountaineers

#1 Dominique Rutledge: 6-foot-8, 245-pound forward (Sr.)

#3 Juwan Staten: 6-foot-1, 180-pound guard (So.)

#4 Jabarie Hinds: 5-foot-11, 185-pound guard (So.)

#10 Eron Harris: 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard (Fr.)

#12 Aaron Brown: 6-foot-5, 220-pound guard (So.)

#13 Deniz Kilicli: 6-foot-9, 260-pound forward (Sr.)

#14 Gary Browne: 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard (So.)

#15 Terry Henderson: 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard (Fr.)

#21 Matt Murphy: 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard (Sr.)

#22 Aric Dickerson: 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard (R-Fr.)

#24 Aaric Murray: 6-foot-10, 245-pound center (Jr.)

#30 Richard Romeo: 5-foot-11, 180-pound guard (Fr.)

#34 Kevin Noreen: 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward (So.)

#35 Volodymyr Gerun: 6-foot-10, 240-pound forward (So.)

#55 Keaton Miles: 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward (So.)

West Virginia Season Statistics

Record: 13-15

Home Record: 8-5

Away Record: 3-7

Neutral Record: 2-3

Big 12 Conference Record: 6-9

National Ranking: NR

Wins: Marist, VMI, Marshall, Virginia Tech, Oakland, Radford, Eastern Kentucky, @ Texas, TCU, @ Texas Tech, Texas, @ TCU, Texas Tech

Losses: @ Gonazga, Davidson, Oklahoma, @ Duquesne, Michigan, Oklahoma, Kansas State, @ Iowa State, @ Purdue, @ Oklahoma State, Kansas, @ Baylor, @ Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Baylor

Upcoming games: @ Kansas, @ Oklahoma, Iowa State

Scoring Leaders:

Eron Harris: 9.3

Deniz Kilicli: 8.8

Aaric Murray: 8.8

Juwan Staten: 8.4

Rebounding Leaders:

Aaric Murray: 6.2

Kevin Noreen: 4.5

Deniz Kilicli: 4.4

Assist Leaders:

Juwan Staten: 3.2

Jabarie Hinds: 1.6

Gary Browne: 1.6

Field Goal Shooting Percentage Leaders:

Aaric Murray: 91-of-190 (47.9%)

Deniz Kilicli: 92-of-198 (45.6%)

Eron Harris: 76-of-174 (43.7%)

Terry Henderson: 64-of-152 (42.1%)

Juwan Staten: 73-of-193 (38.0%)

Jabarie Hinds: 81-of-235 (34.5%)

Gary Browne: 47-of-148 (31.8%)

3 point Field Goal Shooting Percentage Leaders

Terry Henderson: 33-of-88 (37.5%)

Eron Harris: 37-of-100 (37.0%)

Aaric Murray: 10-of-31 (32.3%)

Jabarie Hinds: 19-of-76 (25.0%)

Gary Browne: 10-of-53 (18.9%)

Free-throw Percentage Leaders:

Juwan Staten: 82-of-106 (77.4%)

Eron Harris: 62-of-82 (75.6%)

Aaric Murray: 46-of-67 (68.7%)

Deniz Kilicli: 61-of-112 (54.5%)

West Virginia: A Look At The Numbers:

Scoring: 1,838 (65.6 PPG)

Scoring Margin: -0.4

Field Goal %: 40 (620-of-1,536)

3-Point FG %: 31 (139-of-456)

3-Pont FG Made Per Game: 5.0

Free-throw %: 70 (459-of-660)

Free-throws Made Per Game: 16.4

Rebounds: 1,003 (35.8 per game)

Rebounding Margin: +2.1

Assists: 338 (12.1 per game)

Turnovers: 365 (13.0 per game)

Turnover Margin: +1.3

Steals: 206 (7.4 per game)

Blocks: 101 (3.6 per game)

Opponent Averages :

Scoring: 1,850 (66.1 PPG)

Field Goal %: 44 (645-of-1,477)

3-Point FG %: 35 (170-of-488)

3-Pont FG Made Per Game: 6.1

Free-throw %: 67 (390-of-584)

Free-throws Made Per Game: 13.9

Rebounds: 943 (33.7 per game)

Assists: 372 (13.3 per game)

Turnovers: 402 (14.4 per game)

Steals: 166 (5.9 per game)

Blocks: 96 (3.4 per game)