It could be easy to imagine that we picked No. 10 TCU vs. West Virginia as our No Cap Game of the Night because of the high-flying, pacey, pick-n-roll heavy offense employed by Mark Campbell and executed on the floor by Olivia Miles.

But there’s so much more happening on Wednesday night than the Horned Frogs multi-pronged attack. Iowa State learned that the hard way. While Audi Crooks, the nationally recognized Cyclone superstar center and one of this year’s Player of the Year contenders, finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, she was outplayed by her contemporary on the other side of the floor: Mountaineer transfer forward Kierra Wheeler, who wrapped the day with 25 points and 7 rebounds.

If that sounds surprising, it shouldn’t be. Wheeler is the 2024 MEAC Player of the Year and two-time MEAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. To see her succeed at this level isn’t necessarily surprising but her deciding to do it in Morgantown is.

"If you’re reading this, it’s too late,” read her caption on Instagram announcing her commitment to West Virginia, just hours after she had verbally committed to Auburn where her former Norfolk State head coach, Larry Vickers, was taking the head coaching job.

Can you distill the entirety of the rationale down to one school outbidding the other? Not entirely but it was clear that Mountaineers head coach Mark Kellogg wanted her bad enough that there was a solid offer to bring her to a team that was rebuilding post-JJ Quinerly.

“Rebounding is an issue we had to fix,” Kellogg said to the Weirton Daily-Times in December. “You will see us be able to play more inside-out than before. That will be a positive change offensively for us, and then being able to go out and rebound the ball is a big plus for us.”

Wheeler, a 6’1 forward that has made her career being an undersized-yet-dominant frontcourt player, is exactly what the doctor ordered. But first, there was the matter of refinement. At Norfolk State, she’d see a small handful of Power-4 caliber teams or better each year. Once MEAC play would start, however, Wheeler and her backcourt mate Diamond Johnson were simply more talented than their counterparts. That allowed for some coasting and habits to form that could be a hindrance when you see NCAA Tournament level opposition almost every game.

“I think the little things I used to get away with at the lower level, now I have to tighten up and perfect my craft,” said Wheeler at Big 12 Media Days in October.

Part of that craft is playing a little more traditionally than West Virginia typically does. Kellogg has used stretch fives at the center position in the past, looking to kill with speed and agility. While just 6’1, Wheeler is a more prototypical back-to-basket player that isn’t afraid to get physical with players that have substantial size advantages on her.

While there have still been down games, like the 4/12 performance against Texas Tech last week, the highs have started to become more consistent for Wheeler. She finished with 25 points on 10/18 shooting against Iowa State and is a 54.8% shooter from the field. While TCU manages to overwhelm opponents in pick-n-roll situations, a versatile and switchable defender like Wheeler is, on some level, the archetypal player to defend it.

West Virginia has won nine of their last 11 matchups against the Horned Frogs but TCU has won the last two meetings, an indicator of how well of a job Campbell is doing down in Fort Worth. But the race for the Big 12 is still wide open. Texas Tech continues to pace the field but the Red Raiders will be entering the meat of their schedule very soon.

Wednesday’s matchup between the Mountaineers and Frogs will be another NCAA Tournament resume builder as well as a chance to inch closer to TTU ahead of their gauntlet.

That’ll require Wheeler, and her new backcourt mate Gia Cooke, to neutralize Miles and Marta Suarez, a tall task for any team. But don’t count West Virginia out off rip. Wheeler has silenced doubters before and she hopes to do the same in Morgantown on Wednesday.