Arizona-West Virginia scouting report: Kharchenkov's flexes, Big 12 strength and a salute

West Virginia (13-6, 4-2) at No. 1 Arizona (19-0, 6-0) | McKale Center | noon | CBS | 1290-AM, 92.5-FM (Spanish)

Probable starters

ARIZONA

0 G Jaden Bradley (6-3 senior)

5 G Brayden Burries (6-4 freshman)

18 F Ivan Kharchenkov (6-7 freshman)

0 F Koa Peat (6-8 freshman)

13 C Motiejus Krivas (7-2 junior)

Key reserves

3 F Anthony Dell’Orso (6-6 senior)

30 F Tobe Awaka (6-8 senior)

2 F Dwayne Aristode (6-8 freshman)

WEST VIRGINIA

1 G Jasper Floyd (6-3 senior)

3 G Honor Huff (5-10 senior)

52 F Tre Eaglestaff (6-6 senior)

0 F Brenen Lorient (6-9 senior)

55 C Harlan Obioha (7-0 senior)

Key reserves

5 F DJ Thomas (6-9 freshman)

13 F Chance Moore (6-6 senior)

2 G Amir Jenkins (6-2 freshman)

How they match up

The series: Arizona split a pair of games with West Virginia last season, losing 83-76 in overtime in the Battle 4 Atlantis but beating the Mountaineers 75-56 in Morgantown when KJ Lewis had 21 points to power Arizona out of early struggles. West Virginia has visited McKale Center only once before, when Arizona won 75-74 during the 1992-93 season. The Wildcats lead the series 4-3.

West Virginia overview: Even in the transfer portal era, nobody has taken lack of continuity to an extreme more than West Virginia. The Mountaineers are on their fourth coach in four seasons, with Bob Huggins’ DUI-related 2023 resignation under pressure having triggered a trio of successors, and they return nobody from the team Darian DeVries coached last season before he bolted to Indiana afterward.

However, head coach Ross Hodge did bring in two guys who played for him last season at North Texas, point guard Jasper Floyd and forward Brenen Lorient, while adding key transfers such as guard Honor Huff (Chattanooga), forward Treysen Eaglestaff (North Dakota), wing Chance Moore (St. Bonaventure) and center Harlan Obioha (UNC Wilmington). Hodge also brought in a freshman who had signed with him at North Texas, versatile 6-9 forward DJ Thomas, while also adding a steady freshman point guard in Amir Jenkins.

Known for strong defensive teams, Hodge has so far molded the Mountaineers into a slow-paced team that ranks 43rd in defensive efficiency. West Virginia doesn’t rely on turnovers but keeps opponents to just 45.0% two-point shooting (the 10th-best two-point percentage defense nationally). They also prompt opponents to shoot from an average distance of 7.1 feet on their two-point shots, tying for the 13th most distant range by opponents, according to Kenpom.

Leading the Mountaineers in scoring with an average of 17.1 points, Huff is a prolific 3-point shooter who fires off 9.5 average shots from beyond the arc per game and hits them at a 38.9% rate. Lorient averages 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds while blocking 6.2% of opponents’ two-point shots when he’s on the floor (an average of 1.5 blocks a game). Obioha leads West Virginia in rebounding at 5.7 while shooting 55.9% from the field but only 59.0% from the free-throw line.

He said it: "They will use all the clock, but they are very opportunistic in transition. They will not turn down transition baskets or 3s, but will start to run a set at 15 (seconds) on the shot clock and comfortably play late into it.

"Huff is an elite shooter off the dribble and catch and shoot. He's super quick and will take and make tough shots. Eaglestaff is one of the most accomplished scorers in the NCAA. He's turning it on in conference play after a slow start to the season."

"Similar to Cincinnati (defensively), they want to force you baseline and make you throw bad passes out. That’s where they get their steals. They do a great job of being in help and always having someone protecting the rim with a vertical contest. Very connected defense. They want to bog offense down and force contested 3s and really tough twos." — UA assistant coach Evan Manning, who scouted the Mountaineers

Key players

WEST VIRGINIA

Honor Huff

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Named the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 12 after leading West Virginia to wins over Cincinnati and Kansas, Huff can be a deceivingly tough player to defend. He’s just 5-10 but has a quick release that allows him to get off a shot before a bigger defender can approach. He made the most 3s in the country last season at Chattanooga, 131, and he’s on a similar pace with 70 makes so far this season.

ARIZONA

Jaden Bradley

The Wildcats’ floor leader had a quiet offensive night against Cincinnati, hitting 2 of 10 from the field, but has shown a knack for lifting his teammates up or getting to the basket when absolutely needed. In what could be a slow, defensive struggle, Bradley might need to be a difference maker again.

Sidelines

Pumped up

More and more often, when Arizona makes a big play in front of its student section at the north end of McKale, freshman Ivan Kharchenkov will flex, yell or otherwise celebrate demonstrably toward the Zona Zoo.

That’s something he didn’t quite get to do even while playing in big German and EuroLeague games last season.

“There's a different kind of environment here,” Kharchenkov said. "We’re playing at the university here. There, we’re just playing at the club. That’s for sure a big difference, the age difference.

“We’ve got a student section here. We got a band here. It's really fun. Also, last year I didn't have really the chance to hype up the crowd like that because of limited playing time. Here, I'm enjoying every second of doing it.”

The key to Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd is that Kharchenkov does all that while facing UA students — not opposing players, their bench or their crowd, which could trigger a technical foul for taunting.

“We don't want to direct it to their fans, but you can direct it to our fans and our bench,” Lloyd said. “I don't think there's anything wrong with using a little bit of emotion to create some energy to help you dig a little deeper. It's an emotional game. Basketball is an emotional game of a bunch of random events.

“You’ve got to learn how to control your emotions, but you've got to learn how to also use your emotions as a catalyst for energy.”

Kriisa saluted

Though he played only a minute for Cincinnati in the Bearcats’ 77-51 loss to Arizona on Wednesday in his first game back from a separated shoulder, former Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa still made an impact. He signed autographs for UA fans, joked pregame with UA staffers he knew from his three seasons with the Wildcats, and was briefly honored via the McKale video board.

Kriisa, who played for UA during Sean Miller’s final season of 2020-21 and Lloyd’s first two seasons in 2021-22 and 2022-23, also had a few words with Lloyd.

“It was great,” Lloyd said of their interaction. “Kerr’s a really good player, and I really appreciate what he brought to our program when he was here. For me, he was a critical piece. He was somebody that I didn't recruit that we were able to kind of re-recruit and get him to stay here, and he was a really good point guard in our system.

“He got us playing north-south, he got us playing east-west in the half court, and he was a good shooter. He's a kind of a big moment guy. I don't think we get off to the foundational build we did if we didn't have Kerr, so I'll always appreciate what he brought to the table for us.”

Cincinnati coach Wes Miller also indicated Kriisa was a key for the Bearcats this season, saying he was handling the Estonian guard delicately so that he can have him at full speed as the season goes on.

Tuesday “was the first time he's touched a basketball,” Miller said. “I know how bad he wanted to play (against Arizona), but I’ve got to think about the big picture, too. He hasn't practiced. He hasn't been in contact situations yet, and we need him for the long haul. If he can put a couple more days together, I think he can continue to get back into our rotation. Obviously, he's a very important piece to this team.”

Better than the G League?

Asked after West Virginia’s 75-63 win at ASU on Wednesday about having to face Arizona on Saturday, Hodge basically said he’s always on high alert in conference play.

“I mean, the Big 12 is so tough that, in my opinion, it’s the third-best basketball league on the planet,” Hodge said. “There’s the NBA, the EuroLeague and the Big 12.

“I worked for coach Larry Eustachy for five years — he won the Big 12 twice at Iowa State — and he had a great saying, and it was true: 'Sometimes the problem isn't you, sometimes the problem is who you have to play and where you have to play them.'"

Numbers game

0.0: West Virginia’s “minutes continuity,” a Kenpom measure of the percentage of a team’s minutes that were played by the same players last season.

339: Free throws Arizona opponents have attempted over 19 games (238 makes, for a 70.2 FT%)

375: Free throws Arizona has made over its 19 games (510 attempts, for a 73.5 FT%)

— Bruce Pascoe