The West Virginia Mountaineers 19-12 (10-10 Big 12) takes on the Colorado Buffaloes 13-19 (3-17 Big 12) in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Second Round. The two conference foes met January 12th in a game that the Mountaineers came out victorious. Read WVU Mountaineers versus Colorado Buffaloes: Big 12 second round preview.
Tipoff
When: March 12, 2025 @ 3:00 PM EST
Where: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Mo
TV: ESPN+
Looking to Stay Hot
Both teams are coming into this game sporting 2-game win streaks. West Virginia most recently defeated UCF (72-65) and Utah (71-69). Colorado has won back to back games against TCU (69-67) and (76-56).
READ: DEVRIES DELIVERS WVU TURNAROUND SEASON
West Virginia is the 8 seed in this tournament and would love to tack on its third straight Big 12 opponent who’s the 16 seed and lowest seeded Big 12 team in the tournament.
Mountaineers Look to Have Similar Results in Rematch
West Virginia used a strong 1st half to take down Colorado in the first matchup in January. Winning the first half 40-29. WVU managed to double the Buffaloes in forced turnovers, winning that matchup 14-7 and outscoring the Buffaloes 12-2 in points off turnovers. Colorado managed to cut the lead to as low as 2 points with 7:03 remaining in the game but Javon Small’s 26 points proved to be too much for the Buffaloes.
WVU Mountaineers vs CU Buffaloes Prediction:
West Virginia ranks #2 in Big 12 scoring defense, allowing only 64.7 points per game. That’s bad news for Colorado as they are #14 of 16 Big 12 teams in scoring offense only scoring 70.1 points per game. On the other hand, West Virginia is #15 in Big 12 scoring offense, scoring 68.4 points per game. West Virginia will look to get a lot of unscripted buckets in this one from forcing turnovers and forcing bad shots with its stifling defense. Expect a big game from Javon Small.
