After opening up conference play 3-0, WVU heads into the matchup with #1 Kansas ranked in the top 10 in one of the polls while just outside in the other.
AP Poll
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
| 1 | Kansas Jayhawks (63) | 14-1 | 1,621 |
| 2 | Oklahoma Sooners (1) | 13-1 | 1,551 |
| 3 | Maryland Terrapins | 15-1 | 1,472 |
| 4 | Michigan State Spartans (1) | 16-1 | 1,446 |
| 5 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 15-2 | 1,371 |
| 6 | Villanova Wildcats | 14-2 | 1,246 |
| 7 | Xavier Musketeers | 14-1 | 1,200 |
| 8 | Miami-Florida Hurricanes | 13-1 | 1,139 |
| 9 | Duke Blue Devils | 14-2 | 1,100 |
| 10 | SMU Mustangs | 15-0 | 1,040 |
| 11 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 14-1 | 867 |
| 12 | Providence Friars | 14-2 | 862 |
| 13 | Virginia Cavaliers | 12-3 | 818 |
| 14 | Kentucky Wildcats | 12-3 | 698 |
| 15 | Texas A&M Aggies | 13-2 | 668 |
| 16 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 12-3 | 656 |
| 17 | Iowa State Cyclones | 12-3 | 555 |
| 18 | Arizona Wildcats | 13-3 | 537 |
| 19 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 15-0 | 527 |
| 20 | Pittsburgh Panthers | 14-1 | 334 |
| 21 | Louisville Cardinals | 13-3 | 330 |
| 22 | Baylor Bears | 12-3 | 325 |
| 23 | Butler Bulldogs | 12-4 | 302 |
| 24 | Purdue Boilermakers | 14-3 | 145 |
| 25 | Gonzaga Bulldogs | 13-3 | 101 |
| Others receiving votes: USC 79, Indiana 59, UCLA 21, Utah 10, Texas Tech 10, Saint Mary's 8, Wichita St 7, Valparaiso 6, Oregon 6, Hawaii 4, St Bonaventure 1, Oregon State 1, Akron 1, Dayton 1 |
USA Today Coaches Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
| 1 | Kansas (32) | 14-1 | 800 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 13-1 | 743 |
| 3 | Maryland | 15-1 | 742 |
| 4 | Michigan St | 16-1 | 694 |
| 5 | North Carolina | 15-2 | 673 |
| 6 | Duke | 14-2 | 596 |
| 7 | Villanova | 14-2 | 557 |
| 8 | Xavier | 14-1 | 555 |
| 9 | Miami-Florida | 13-1 | 551 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 14-1 | 477 |
| 11 | Virginia | 12-3 | 426 |
| 12 | Providence | 14-2 | 400 |
| 13 | Kentucky | 12-3 | 393 |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 13-2 | 383 |
| 15 | South Carolina | 15-0 | 361 |
| 16 | Arizona | 13-3 | 337 |
| 17 | Pittsburgh | 14-1 | 263 |
| 18 | Iowa St. |
