Jan. 16—MORGANTOWN — It is a crossroads of sorts that will intersect inside the Hope Coliseum at 7 p.m. tonight, when Colorado travels to West Virginia.

Both programs are sort of caught in that what-happens-next type of spot, almost mirroring each other as two teams looking to build respectability in an unforgiving Big 12 men’s basketball conference.

The NCAA’s NET rankings maybe tells the best story. Colorado (12-5, 2-2 Big 12) is ranked No. 70, while WVU (11-6, 2-2) is No. 71, which is about as close as two teams can be in terms of competition, yet they are still a leap from holding a spot worthy of NCAA tournament consideration.

More than anything else, both teams just need a win right now.

WVU is coming off its worst loss of the season, a 29-point defeat at the hands of No. 7 Houston. Colorado has lost two straight, the most recent a 77-68 loss at Cincinnati, in which the Bearcats scored 43 points in the first half.

“They struggle offensively, the numbers show it, ” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said of the Bearcats. “We didn’t make them struggle offensively in the first half, giving up 43 points and 57 %. When was the last time they shot 57 % on anybody ? Colorado is a pretty good tonic for what’s ailing now. I’m sure they were glad to see us on the schedule.”

The question will be whether or not the Mountaineers will be glad Colorado is in town. It certainly will be a change of pace from what WVU has already faced with the likes of Houston, Iowa State and Kansas.

Yet, WVU has its own basket of troubles to sort out coming out of the Houston loss. The 48 points scored was the program’s lowest since scoring 49 last season against — you guessed it — Houston.

It took a little more than 15 minutes into that game before WVU surpassed five points scored against the Cougars and the Mountaineers were held to a season-low 37 % shooting.

“That’s part of what elite defenses do, ” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said after the game. “They make it so hard on you to get quality looks, and when you do get a couple of quality looks, you feel the squeeze. During that stretch, we were able to turn the corner a couple of times, but then short-armed some lay-ups around the basket.”

And so now comes the intersection. Two teams hanging out in the middle of the Big 12 standings, each of them with examples of what it can look like when things go right, but also with first-hand knowledge of how much climb remains to reach the next plateau.

The only part that differs between the two programs — to this point — is Colorado is built on offense, while the Mountaineers are built around their defense.

The Buffaloes are one of 12 Big 12 teams currently averaging at least 80 points per game and they are shooting 49 % as a team. They do it with freshman star Isaiah Johnson coming off the bench and UC Riverside transfer Barrington Hargress dishing out assists and shooting an amazing 52 % from 3-point range.

Colorado is also sizable down low with 7-footer Bangot Dak, as well as 6-10 center Elijah Malone, a former Division II transfer who killed WVU last season in the Big 12 tournament with 14 points. For added measure, Sebastian Rancik is a 6-11 forward, who also has the ability to step out and nail some 3-pointers.

West Virginia is at the other end of that spectrum, holding teams to 63 points per game, yet its defense has not been its strength during its biggest matchups to date. In its six losses, WVU is allowing 78 points per game.

In order to get Colorado’s offense back to par, Boyle said the difference comes down to toughness.

“Tonight, we just got punched in the mouth and withered like a rag doll, ” Boyle said. “We’ve got to be tougher, because in this league, especially on the road, if you don’t play with toughness mentally and physically — you don’t have a chance.”

COLORADO at WVU WHEN: 6 p.m., Saturday WHERE: Hope Coliseum TV: CBS Sports Network (Comcast 274, HD 854 ; DirecTV 221, DISH 158)

RADIO: 100.9 FM WEB: dominionpost.com

​https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/wvu-colorado-both-look-bounce-033600259.html