WVU to Battle Hornets
November 25, 2008 11:10 AM | General
November 25, 2008
GAME NOTES
CHARLESTON – West Virginia battles Delaware State in the second game of the Las Vegas Invitational tonight at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, W.Va.
The Mountaineers are 2-0 after home wins against Elon and Longwood. The Hornets are 1-5 following a 71-42 loss at Kentucky last Saturday. Oddly, Delaware State has scored 42 points in its last three games in losses to the Wildcats, Dayton (62-42) and Ohio State (70-42).
Delaware State’s only victory so far this year was a 71-59 decision against Wilmington.
Six-four guard Donald Johnson is the only Delaware State player averaging double figures at 10.2 points per game. The Hornets employ a three-guard lineup.
West Virginia’s first two victories over Elon and Longwood have come by margins of 45 and 32 points. Mountaineer coach Bob Huggins was displeased with his team’s 23-turnover performance last Saturday against Longwood and is hopeful of dramatic improvement Tuesday night. His young team comes into tonight’s contest averaging 17 turnovers per game.
Da’Sean Butler and Alex Ruoff are both averaging 15.5 points per game to lead the Mountaineers in scoring. Freshman guard Truck Bryant has scored 28 points in his first two college games to average 14 points per game.
West Virginia has shot 52.6 percent from the floor so far and is out-rebounding its opponents 46.0-24.5. The one other area of concern at the outset has been the team’s free throw shooting. West Virginia has cashed in on just 63.2 percent of its free throw opportunities so far this season.
Fans can watch a live stream of the Delaware State game on CBS College Sports through MSNsportsNET.com for just $7.95. MSN’s radio coverage begins with the Coliseum Countdown at 6:30 pm.
Following tonight’s game, West Virginia will fly out to Las Vegas on Wednesday morning and will face Iowa Saturday night in a game that will be televised on the Big East Network. The championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational on Sunday will be televised on ESPN2.
