West Virginia could or should have lost the last time it traveled to Texas Tech. The Mountaineers were ranked No. 6 and scored the final eight points in the last minute, thanks to Tarik Phillip’s 3-pointer and three-point play, to win. The Red Raiders are better this year and should be 12-1 and perhaps ranked with a nine-game winning streak if not for a crazy loss Friday at Iowa State. Everybody’s going to want to talk about Zack Smith, but don’t forget Aaron Ross, who’s one of the Big 12’s trickiest matchups.

These two teams play good games. They’re sort of similar with what they do offensively, at least, and they’re both veteran teams. In fact, nobody is older than Texas Tech. And United Supermarkets Arena is, for some reason, inhospitable.

On top of that, these outside-the-semester road trips have given WVU some trouble. Now, true, the Mountaineers are 7-0 in these road trips since the Big 12 started granting them, but check the history:

Jan. 4, 2014: 74-69 at TCU
Jan. 6, 2014: 89-86 (OT) at Texas Tech

Jan. 3, 2015: 78-67 at TCU
Jan. 5, 2015: 78-67 at Texas Tech

Jan. 3, 2016: 87-83 (2 OT) at Kansas State
Jan. 5, 2016: 95-87 at TCU

Friday’s win at Oklahoma State was a piece of cake, thanks to the balanced and sometimes explosive scoring contributions, but the trips back and forth aren’t beneficial.

Then again, maybe this is just a different team. WVU doesn’t seem too swayed too often, and that Texas Tech loss and the late start tonight might make for smoother sledding. The Mountaineers are now No. 7 in the media and coaches’ polls, one spot lower the highest point last season, and after reaching No. 1 in the Sagarin Ratings earlier in the schedule, WVU now finds itself at No. 1 in ESPN’s BPI.