Kansas junior forward Mitch Lightfoot plans on bringing an extra piece of protective equipment to Saturday's Big 12 battle against West Virginia: That is, a mouth guard.
"Definitely. I'm not going to let that happen again. Mom was pretty (upset) about that one," the 6-foot-8, 225-pound Lightfoot said with a smile, referring to his getting hit in the face during the Jayhawks' 73-68 victory over Baylor last Saturday in Waco, Texas.
The "seven or eight" stitches around Lightfoot's lip have served as a little reminder about rugged, physical play in the Big 12 Conference, especially on the road. KU (15-2, 4-1), expects another highly competitive contest when the No. 7-ranked Jayhawks tangle with the Mountaineers (8-9, 0-5). Tipoff is 1 p.m. at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va.
The fact WVU currently resides in last place in the league is of little interest to Lightfoot and the Jayhawks.
"We were talking about it the other day to a couple guys about the Big 12," Lightfoot said. "West Virginia is a good team. They hit a little speed bump. I'm completely sure they know how to win. They do a great job of playing hard, giving themselves an opportunity to win. You can never take anybody for granted," Lightfoot added.
The Mountaineers, who have defeated KU in four of the last five meetings at WVU Coliseum, enter Saturday's game winless in conference play. The games for the most part, have been close.
WVU lost to Texas Tech by three points, Texas by seven, Kansas State by two (after squandering a 21-point lead) and Oklahoma State by eight. TCU issued the only blowout _ 98-67 on Tuesday in Fort Worth, Texas.
All five Big 12 games have been played without 6-8 forward Sagaba Konate, who scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five KU shots in WVU's 71-66 loss to the Jayhawks a year ago in Morgantown. KU rallied from a 16-point deficit to win that game.
"It definitely takes away from your team when you lose somebody as good as him," Lightfoot said of Konate, a junior from Mali who has had knee problems. "He's a great shot blocker, has great energy on the court, gets lots of rebounds, scores easy buckets inside and can also score outside. They're still a good team without him. We have to respect them."
Coach Bob Huggins said on a recent radio broadcast that Konate would miss the rest of the season. It had been assumed at some point he would return.
Lightfoot has been impressed with one of Konate's replacements _ 6-10 freshman Derek Culver, who has averaged 12.0 points and 8.6 rebounds in seven games. Culver is averaging 13.8 points in Big 12 action.
"He is one of the great players they have that has tenacity," Lightfoot said.
Of Culver, KU coach Bill Self noted: "He's a guy who can score in tight. He's got some skill too. He can make 15-footers. He puts pressure on you. Because he's so aggressive, he makes it hard not to foul him. He shot 26 free throws, I believe, in the first five games, which is quite a bit of free throws for anybody. He'll be one of the better players in our league for a while."
Twelve Mountaineers average nine or more minutes a game. Senior forward Esa Ahmad averages 12.8 points and 5.4 rebounds. Junior guard James "Beetle" Bolden averages 12.2 points and 2.7 assists. Junior forward Lamont West averages 11.4 points and 4.5 boards, while junior forward Wesley Harris contributes 8.5 points and 5.1 boards.
"They are more dangerous than their record," Self said. "TCU took them down the other night. They could have won every (other) game so far in league. They could have beat Tech and they obviously could have won at Texas. They had K-State down 21 at half. They could easily be 3-2 in the league, which is more probable than 0-5. Forget about records and everything, we know they are capable and hungry. Bob is too good not to be playing at a peak level against us," Self added of Huggins.
Huggins was quite upset after the lopsided loss at TCU.
"There were nights when we've played pretty well, but tonight was embarrassing," Huggins told WVUsports.com after the game. It was West Virginia's worst loss since a 39-point defeat to Kentucky in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
"We've had teams that weren't very talented in the past but they tried," Huggins added. "West Virginians appreciate hard work. It's a state of hard-working people and I'm embarrassed."
KU figures to run into a highly motivated Mountaineer team Saturday.
"We're 0-5 in league so we are attacking all games with urgency," WVU assistant coach Erik Martin said on Thursday's Big 12 teleconference. "We are not far from being able to win a game and put a winning streak together. It starts with one win.
"The fact it's Kansas ... I don't think our guys need to approach it any different from Kansas State, Texas Tech or our last game. We need a win right now. Until we get that win, we need to be on red alert. I think we will be and our kids will be on Saturday," Martin added.
