Big 12 Championship Game 2018: West Virginia vs. Kansas Schedule, Preview

Kansas has been a fixture at the top of the Big 12 under head coach Bill Self, but it hasn't been a dominant force when it comes to the Big 12 tournament.

The Jayhawks, who clinched their 14th straight regular-season title recently, have one conference tournament championship in the last four years.

While Kansas is in search of asserting its dominance in Kansas City, Missouri, once again, its opponent in Saturday's championship game is looking for its first Big 12 tournament title.

West Virginia has now earned a spot in each of the past three Big 12 tournament finals, coming up short in the past two seasons against Kansas and Iowa State.

With a motivated senior class hungry to achieve conference glory, the Mountaineers should push Kansas for 40 minutes in what is expected to be one of Saturday's top contests.

Date: Saturday, March 10

Time: 6 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: Watch ESPN

Newman Driving Kansas At Big 12 Tournament

Everyone is aware of the threat Devonte' Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk possess in the Kansas backcourt.

The seniors were already difficult for opponents to handle, but now they also have to focus on Malik Newman, who has 52 points in two games at Sprint Center.

The Mississippi State transfer recorded a career high in points, with 30 against Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals, before netting 22 points in Friday's semifinal victory over Kansas State.

Before his outburst in Kansas City, Newman eclipsed the 20-point barrier on four occasions this season, with two of those efforts coming in a row against Baylor and Oklahoma in January.

If the fourth-best scorer on the Kansas roster matches his production from the past two games in Saturday's final, it could be too much to handle.

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Add in Graham's distribution and scoring and Mykhailiuk's three-point shooting, and Kansas holds an unstoppable backcourt.

With Xavier's defeat in the Big East tournament semifinals, Kansas' path to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament is easier than it was Friday.

A victory Saturday should secure Kansas' spot on the top-seed line, and it might even leap over Xavier to earn the No. 3 overall seed behind Virginia and Villanova.

With a regular-season and tournament title in hand, Kansas would enter March Madness as one of the top picks to win it all.

Even if the Jayhawks come up short against the Mountaineers, the evolution of Newman's game is a huge positive, as the team looks to gain an upper hand over the field in the Big Dance.

Miles, Carter Looking to Give West Virginia Its 1st Win over Kansas

West Virginia seniors Jevon Carter and Daxter Miles Jr. powered the team to a semifinal victory over Texas Tech on Friday, as they combined for 39 points.

The backcourt duo knocked down nine three-pointers and contributed six assists, two steals and two blocks in the close affair with the Red Raiders.

Carter and Miles are one of the few pairings in men's basketball that carries as much experience as Graham and Mykhailiuk.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

With plenty of lessons learned from games against Kansas in the past, Carter and Miles are hoping to reverse their fortunes and knock off Kansas for the first time in three meetings this season to earn an elusive Big 12 tournament title.

In the first meeting between the two sides back on January 15, Graham and Mykhailiuk outdueled Carter and Miles 33-23 in a game wherein Miles failed to crack double digits.

Despite combining for 37 points in the February 17 rematch at Allen Fieldhouse, Carter and Miles couldn't leave Lawrence, Kansas, with a victory because of the performance of Kansas center Udoka Azubuike, who scored 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting.

The Mountaineers could have the upper hand in the paint Saturday, with Azubuike out for the tournament with an injury.

If Carter and Miles are able to penetrate the Kansas defense and find Sagaba Konate in the paint, the Jayhawks might not be able to stop the Mountaineers with their limited frontcourt depth.

Konate is one of the most underrated big men in the nation, as he averages 10.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

If Konate achieves success early in the first half, Kansas could focus more on the paint, which would leave space for Carter and Miles to knock down daggers from beyond the arc.

No matter who steps up for the Mountaineers on Saturday, expect them to come out motivated, as they get another crack at Kansas and a Big 12 tournament title.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.