How To Watch, Listen To Utah Basketball Vs. West Virginia
Feb 7, 2025, 11:58 AM
Feb 5, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes center Lawson Lovering (34) and forward Ezra Ausar (2) reacts to a play against the Colorado Buffaloes during the second half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
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SALT LAKE CITY—Craig Smith and the Runnin’ Utes ultimately took care of Colorado in a 72-59 win on Wednesday night.
Colorado held tough, but Utah had a 17-point outburst in the final minutes to secure the 13-point win.
The Utes improved to 13-9 overall and 5-6 in the Big 12. They now head east for a Saturday afternoon tilt against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
How To Watch, Listen To Utah Basketball Vs. West Virginia
Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025
Tip-Off: 3:00 pm (MST)
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN 700 AM
Eric Rothman will have the call alongside Tim Welsh as the Runnin’ Utes make their first appearance in the state of West Virginia on ESPN+.
Returning home for Utah assistant
Josh Eilert, Utah’s big man assistant coach, joined the program this offseason after 17 seasons in Morgantown.
Eilert held various roles in his time with the program. Most recently, he served as interim head coach last season and assistant coach the previous two years. Before joining the bench, he was athletic director for basketball operations from 2013 to 2022.
Needless to say, Eilert’s return to the place he called home for the majority of his twenty-year career will undoubtedly be a unique experience.
Finding the right mix against West Virginia
Mason Madsen and Zach Keller seemed to provide the spark the Utes needed against Colorado. The two entered the game and immediately converted a couple of opportunities at the rim.
All in all, M. Madsen finished the game with 10 points and 5 rebounds, while Keller ended up with 8 points and 2 boards. More importantly, they just played effective basketball for the Utes on both sides of the floor.
Utah lacks the top-end talent to shorten the rotation to seven or eight guys. Smith has a rotation that is 10 or 11 deep, and his job is to find the right mix each and every night.
Against Colorado, Madsen and Keller were the right guys for Utah. Against the Mountaineers, it may end up being those two again, it may end up being other backcourt players like Hunter Erickson or Miro Little.
Given West Virginia’s guard-heavy lineup, Utah’s backcourt players must be prepared for more time on the floor. Utah has an advantage with their size and length across the roster, it’ll be up to Smith to find the right combination in his rotation on Saturday.
The need-to-knows about West Virginia
The Mountaineers are led by Javon Small, who leads the squad in scoring at 19.1 points per game, top in the Big 12. He also adds 4.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, making him a do-it-all type point guard.
In the absence of Tucker DeVries, the Mountaineers have seen others step up. The 6-foot-8 wing, Toby Okani has emerged as the second-leading scorer in Big 12 play. He’s averaged 8.3 points per game, and has scored at least 8 points in five straight games.
Forward Amani Hansberry is a forward like Ezra Ausar, who averages 10.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He is a stretch four who is shooting 31.1% from behind the arc this season.
Freshman guard Jonathan Powell is averaging 9.2 points per game and shooting an impressive 37.8% from three. In Big 12 play, Powell has made two or more threes in every game except one.
The Mountaineers are fairly guard-heavy and lack a lot of size, which is evident in their rebounding numbers. They have the worst rebounding margin in the league, -7.0 per game.
However, they have the third best turnover margin per game at +2.27, behind only Houston and Iowa State. So, as is the case in most games, Utah has to protect the ball and hit the glass hard on both ends of the floor.
