Since the departure of forward Oscar Tshiebwe, West Virginia has kicked things uptempo, averaging 80.7 points per game. The Mountaineers will look to keep their offense rolling on Tuesday in Fort Worth against a struggling TCU bunch.
In 11 games without Tshiebwe, who transferred to Kentucky, 10 have gone over the total. West Virginia has scored at least 69 points in every game while also giving up at least 70 points 10 times. In this span the Mountaineers are making 42.7 percent of their
3-point shots, and for the season they are rebounding 33.6 percent of their missed shots, which rates 17th in the nation.
TCU ranks 193rd in points scored on a per-possession basis but has scored at least 79 points in three of its past five games. Their opponents typically enjoy plenty of clean possessions as the 10 turnovers per game the Horned Frogs force in Big 12 play are the fewest in the conference.
Both teams also should get points at the free-throw line as West Virginia is attempting 25 free throws per game in conference games since Jan. 1, and four of TCU’s top five scorers are making at least 73 percent of their free throws.
West Virginia has seen its ranking in points-per-possession allowed on defense fall outside the top 150 this season, and with TCU ranking 226th in this category, West Virginia figures to find itself in another offensive slugfest on Tuesday.
The Play: West Virginia-TCU total, Over 147.5.
