Sunday, November 26
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
9:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Missouri
Mountaineers, Tigers Meet in AdvoCare Championship
November 26, 2017 10:38 AM | Men's Basketball
West Virginia faces Missouri in tonight's championship game of the AdvoCare Invitational at HP Field House in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
The Big 12-SEC tilt will tip off at 9:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
West Virginia reached the championship game following wins over Marist (84-78) on Thanksgiving night and over Central Florida (83-45) on Friday afternoon.
Senior guard Jevon Carter was West Virginia's top scorer in the Marist win with 20 points, while sophomore guard James Bolden's 17 led a balanced effort in Friday's blowout victory over UCF.
The Mountaineers (5-1) shot poorly against Marist, hitting just 35.1 percent of their field goal attempts versus the Red Foxes, but were better against Central Florida, shooting 45.7 percent overall including 51.6 percent in the second half.
Ten of the 11 players who got into Friday's game scored, while four reached double figures.
"We played with a lot of energy," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "We're pretty good when we play with energy and we're bad when we don't play with energy."
WVU is clearly going to need another energetic performance against Missouri tonight.
The 5-1 Tigers, minus potential lottery pick Michael Porter Jr. who is out for the season after undergoing back surgery earlier this week, still possesses plenty of talent and shows impressive early-season victories over Iowa State, Long Beach State and most recently, St. John's on Friday.
With Porter Jr. out of the lineup, Missouri got balanced scoring during Friday's win over the red Storm. Five players reached double figures led by senior Jordan Barnett's 19 and graduate transfer Kassius Robertson's 17.
The night prior against Long Beach State, it was junior point guard Jordan Geist's 16 and freshman forward Jonatay Porter's 15 that led the Tigers.
Jontay Porter is Michael's brother and the son of Missouri assistant coach Michael Porter Sr., who joined Cuonzo Martin at Missouri last March when Martin left Cal to be closer to his childhood home of East St. Louis, Illinois.
Martin brought in the nation's fourth-best recruiting class last year headlined by Porter Jr., the nation's No. 2 overall rated player. Also in this group was No. 25-rated Jontay Porter, No. 45-rated Jeremiah Tilmon, No. 108-rated C.J. Roberts and No. 136-rated Blake Harris.
Tilmon and Harris started Friday's game against St. John's along with holdovers Barnett, a 6-7 senior forward, Kevin Puryear, a 6-7 junior forward, and senior guard Kassius Robertson, who averaged 16.1 points per game last year at Canisius.
Missouri's lone loss was at Utah, 77-59, in its first game after Porter Jr.'s injury.
The Tigers also struggled to defeat Division II Emporia State, 67-62, four nights later but has played much better since.
Tonight's game will be West Virginia's fourth meeting against Missouri and its first since Dec. 5, 2013 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge when the Tigers defeated the Mountaineers 80-71.
WVU's only victory against Missouri came in the 2010 NCAA Tournament in Buffalo, New York, 68-59, propelling the Mountaineers to the Final Four that season.
The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's pregame coverage will begin at 8:30 p.m. on affiliates throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and through the popular mobile app TuneIn.
The Big 12-SEC tilt will tip off at 9:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
West Virginia reached the championship game following wins over Marist (84-78) on Thanksgiving night and over Central Florida (83-45) on Friday afternoon.
Senior guard Jevon Carter was West Virginia's top scorer in the Marist win with 20 points, while sophomore guard James Bolden's 17 led a balanced effort in Friday's blowout victory over UCF.
The Mountaineers (5-1) shot poorly against Marist, hitting just 35.1 percent of their field goal attempts versus the Red Foxes, but were better against Central Florida, shooting 45.7 percent overall including 51.6 percent in the second half.
Ten of the 11 players who got into Friday's game scored, while four reached double figures.
"We played with a lot of energy," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "We're pretty good when we play with energy and we're bad when we don't play with energy."
WVU is clearly going to need another energetic performance against Missouri tonight.
The 5-1 Tigers, minus potential lottery pick Michael Porter Jr. who is out for the season after undergoing back surgery earlier this week, still possesses plenty of talent and shows impressive early-season victories over Iowa State, Long Beach State and most recently, St. John's on Friday.
With Porter Jr. out of the lineup, Missouri got balanced scoring during Friday's win over the red Storm. Five players reached double figures led by senior Jordan Barnett's 19 and graduate transfer Kassius Robertson's 17.
The night prior against Long Beach State, it was junior point guard Jordan Geist's 16 and freshman forward Jonatay Porter's 15 that led the Tigers.
Jontay Porter is Michael's brother and the son of Missouri assistant coach Michael Porter Sr., who joined Cuonzo Martin at Missouri last March when Martin left Cal to be closer to his childhood home of East St. Louis, Illinois.
Martin brought in the nation's fourth-best recruiting class last year headlined by Porter Jr., the nation's No. 2 overall rated player. Also in this group was No. 25-rated Jontay Porter, No. 45-rated Jeremiah Tilmon, No. 108-rated C.J. Roberts and No. 136-rated Blake Harris.
Tilmon and Harris started Friday's game against St. John's along with holdovers Barnett, a 6-7 senior forward, Kevin Puryear, a 6-7 junior forward, and senior guard Kassius Robertson, who averaged 16.1 points per game last year at Canisius.
Missouri's lone loss was at Utah, 77-59, in its first game after Porter Jr.'s injury.
The Tigers also struggled to defeat Division II Emporia State, 67-62, four nights later but has played much better since.
Tonight's game will be West Virginia's fourth meeting against Missouri and its first since Dec. 5, 2013 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge when the Tigers defeated the Mountaineers 80-71.
WVU's only victory against Missouri came in the 2010 NCAA Tournament in Buffalo, New York, 68-59, propelling the Mountaineers to the Final Four that season.
The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's pregame coverage will begin at 8:30 p.m. on affiliates throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and through the popular mobile app TuneIn.
Players Mentioned
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