JMU Preview
December 17, 2004 02:40 PM | General
December 17, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia returns to the court Saturday night for a non-conference game against James Madison at the WVU Coliseum. The 6-0 Mountaineers spent the week idle due to final examinations.
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| Junior Mike Gansey is the team's second-leading scorer averaging 12 points per game.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
West Virginia is coming off a 71-47 victory over Coppin State last Saturday when Tyrone Sally scored 17 points to lead three double-figure scorers. Sally is leading the Mountaineers in scoring with an average of 16.7 points per game. The 6-foot-7 senior forward is shooting 55.9 percent from the floor and scored a season-high 22 points in a road win at LSU on Saturday, Nov. 27.
Six-four forward Mike Gansey is averaging 12 points and 4.8 rebounds per game to go along with a team-best 26 assists, while 6-foot-4 guard Patrick Beilein comes off the bench to average 10.2 points per game.
West Virginia is outscoring its opponents by an average of 17.2 points per game including an average of 23.3 points per game in its three wins in the Coliseum against St. Peter’s, Radford and Coppin State.
As a team WVU is shooting 50.9 percent from the floor to rank first in the Big East and ranks 18th in the country.
"We're at 20 percent through the schedule and I was multiplying by five where we would be. I took last year's six-game stats and saw that we had 105 turnovers compared to the number that we have right now and that is almost twice as many," said West Virginia coach John Beilein. "I also look at our schedule and last year's was much tougher at this time. "The lack of turnovers is a great thing but we haven't played any high pressure teams yet that will really come after us and try and create that offense for themselves," Beilein said.
Saturday’s opponent James Madison is coming off a 72-47 loss at Georgia Tech and is the final game of a three-game road swing at Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and West Virginia.
"They've won some good games and they've been in some other games," said Beilein.
The Dukes will be shorthanded once again against the Mountaineers with their top scorer Daniel Freeman out indefinitely due to a foot injury. The 6-foot senior guard hasn’t played against Hofstra on Dec. 4 after leading the Dukes in scoring with an average of 19 points per game through the team’s first four contests.
Picking up the scoring slack has been 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Ray Barbosa who averages 15.7 points per game. Barbosa scored 15 points in the Georgia Tech loss including 12 in the second half. Six-eight sophomore forward Cavell Johnson is also averaging double figures at 12 points per game.
The Dukes are also expected to start 6-foot-7 freshman forward David Cooper, 6-foot-11 freshman center Gabriel Chami and 6-foot junior guard Jomo Belfor.
Davidson graduate Dean Keener is in his first season taking over the JMU basketball program. The Dukes won their first two games against LaSalle and Maryland-Baltimore Country before losing four straight to Appalachian State, Hofstra, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. James Madison was predicted to finish ninth in Colonial Conference preseason polling ahead of Towson.
James Madison is making its sixth trip to the Coliseum to face the Mountaineers and is still searching for its first win. In addition to a 5-0 record against the Dukes in Morgantown, West Virginia is 6-3 overall in series play.
Last year West Virginia opened the season with a 74-57 victory over the Dukes at the JMU Convocation Center.
"We're still searching for the most efficient way to play and hopefully that will go deep into March," Beilein said.
Saturday’s game will tip off at 7 pm and will be carried live by MSN radio.
Game Notes: West Virginia is searching for its first seven-game winning streak since the 1996-97 season ... Mountaineer coach John Beilein recently moved past Al McGuire among the NCAA’s winningest coaches. He now ranks 107th on the all-time list tying him with NYU’s Howard Cann … senior D’or Fischer is now 14 blocks shy of tying Marcus Goree for second place on the WVU career list with 143 … Fischer needs just 36 blocks to become the school’s all-time leader despite playing 80 fewer games than school record holder Phil Wilson … point guards J. D. Collins and Darris Nichols have a combined 6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio so far this year … West Virginia has scored 70 points or more in all six games this year for the first time since the 1997-98 season … junior guard Joe Herber is the team leader with 66 consecutive starts (every game of his career) … Herber has now moved into the WVU Top 20 in career assists with 231 … Saturday’s game against James Madison is a “Hive Five” night meaning fans can get coupons at Morgantown area Dairy Marts redeemable for a $5 ticket at the gate.
