MORGANTOWN -
With students on Thanksgiving break, fans in Charleston will
get the chance to see Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers (2-1) live when they
play the Morehead State Eagles (1-2) Tuesday night.
The contest will be one of two games West Virginia will play
in the Charleston Civic Center, as they will face off against Marshall there in
January.
The Mountaineers had won six straight games when playing in
Charleston, but saw that streak end last season when they were upset by
Marshall.
WVU will have to be careful Tuesday night against the Eagles
in order to avoid starting a losing streak.
Morehead State went 25-10 last season, and won the Ohio
Valley Conference Tournament. The Eagles then carried that momentum into the
NCAA Tournament, where they upset fourth-seeded Louisville in the first round.
Eventually, they lost to Richmond and saw their season come to an end.
Obviously, the Eagles will pose a threat to Huggins and his
young team, but they've also lost a lot from last year's successful team.
They lost three of their top four scorers from last season,
and have struggled early this year. Morehead State has already suffered losses
to North Carolina State and College of Charleston, and its only win thus far
came against NAIA member, Asbury.
West Virginia hasn't exactly gotten off to a blistering start
this season, either. The Mountaineers did get a win in their season opener
against Oral Roberts, but then lost at home on a Tuesday morning to Kent State.
They will be coming off a blowout win over Alcorn State on Thursday night,
though.
They'll look to do a lot of the same things against the
Eagles that they did in their previous win.
In that game, they out-rebounded Alcorn State 55-31, had 18
assists, and put up 97 points. Four Mountaineers had at least ten points,
including senior Kevin Jones, who had a career game with 29 points and 13
rebounds.
West Virginia will have to have a similar performance
Tuesday night to avoid the upset. Huggins has been starting two freshmen,
Keaton Miles and Jabarie Hinds, so some inconsistency can be expected from his
young team.
However, he's been stressing effort in the early part of the
season, and after the loss to Kent State, some veterans were questioning that
effort from the younger players.
Thursday night was a big bounce-back win for the
Mountaineers, and it should help build confidence moving forward. It was
evident that there was more desire on the court for WVU.
That has to continue throughout the season, including
Tuesday night against Morehead State. With another performance like the one
against Alcorn State, West Virginia should be able to avoid an upset. With
another one like they saw against Kent State, it could be a nail-biting
experience for the fans in Charleston.
For those fans unable to attend the game, it will be
broadcast on Root Sports and the tip will be at 7.pm.
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