Saturday, November 3
Morgantown, W.Va.
Noon
West Virginia University
vs
Penn State (Charity Exhibition)
Penn State to Make First WVU Coliseum Appearance Since ’91 on Saturday
November 02, 2018 02:30 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – As far as charity exhibition basketball games go, West Virginia's Saturday afternoon matchup against 2018 NIT champion Penn State certainly moves the needle.
Matt Wells, senior associate athletic director for external affairs, said more than 10,000 tickets have already been distributed, including 1,500 student tickets.
"We anticipate an excellent crowd Saturday," Wells said.
That should help make for a nice atmosphere inside the WVU Coliseum for the Nittany Lions, making their first appearance in Morgantown since 1991 when the two programs were members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Of course, a lot has changed for both schools since then.
Penn State (26-13 last year) is coming off its best season since 2011 when it last made the NCAA Tournament under Ed DeChellis, who surprisingly left Happy Valley soon afterward to take the Navy coaching job.
DeChellis' replacement, Patrick Chambers, started with three straight losing seasons before finally finishing above .500 in 2015.
However, six straight sub-.500 records in Big Ten play had Chambers sitting on the hot seat at the beginning of last year, but it has since cooled after his team went on a late-season run, upsetting Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals before falling to Purdue in the semis.
The Nittany Lions caught fire in the NIT, beating Temple in their only home game before defeating Notre Dame and Marquette to reach New York City where they blitzed Mississippi State and Utah to claim their first NIT title in school history.
Chambers has since been awarded a contract extension that will keep him in Happy Valley through the 2021-22 season.
His best player from last year's team is gone, sophomore guard Tony Carr, who signed a professional contract to play in Italy, but Chambers does return dynamic 6-foot-8, 226-pound forward Lamar Stevens.
The former ESPN Top 100 prospect from Philadelphia's Roman Catholic High averaged 15.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last year and was the NIT's most outstanding player after scoring 28 points in the championship game and averaging 19.2 points per game for the tournament.
Six-foot-nine, 254-pound junior forward Mike Watkins gives the Nittany Lions another four-star caliber player close to the basket if he makes the trip to Morgantown. Watkins is listed on Penn State's roster this year, but has had some off-court issues that led to him being cited for disorderly conduct last month.
Also missing the last nine games of the season because of a right knee injury suffered in a Feb. 21 game against Michigan, Watkins still averaged 12.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in 2018 while shooting an impressive 68.5 percent from the floor.
With Stevens, Watkins and 6-foot-9, 243-pound sophomore John Harrar, Penn State's frontcourt received an A-minus rating from Blue Ribbon in its 2018-19 college basketball preview.
That should give West Virginia's frontcourt, considered one of the strongest in the country, a stern test.
Saturday's game is the Mountaineers' only public exhibition before facing MAC preseason favorite Buffalo at the WVU Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 9. The Bulls are coming off a 27-win season that included a surprising victory over fourth-seeded Arizona in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament.
Saturday's exhibition, the proceeds of which will benefit the American Red Cross, will tip off at noon and will be televised locally on AT&T Sportnet (Rob King, Warren Baker and Robby Incmikoski.
The Mountaineer Sport Network from IMG will have local radio coverage on The Ticket, 95.7 FM and 920 AM. Fans can also listen online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app TuneIn.
Tickets are priced at $10 for the general public and representatives from the American Red Cross will be collecting donations as fans enter the WVU Coliseum. WVU students are encouraged to give a donation when entering the Coliseum at the Mountaineer Gate.
Tickets for the WVU-Penn State game were included as part of the men's basketball season ticket package.
Matt Wells, senior associate athletic director for external affairs, said more than 10,000 tickets have already been distributed, including 1,500 student tickets.
"We anticipate an excellent crowd Saturday," Wells said.
That should help make for a nice atmosphere inside the WVU Coliseum for the Nittany Lions, making their first appearance in Morgantown since 1991 when the two programs were members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Of course, a lot has changed for both schools since then.
Penn State (26-13 last year) is coming off its best season since 2011 when it last made the NCAA Tournament under Ed DeChellis, who surprisingly left Happy Valley soon afterward to take the Navy coaching job.
DeChellis' replacement, Patrick Chambers, started with three straight losing seasons before finally finishing above .500 in 2015.
However, six straight sub-.500 records in Big Ten play had Chambers sitting on the hot seat at the beginning of last year, but it has since cooled after his team went on a late-season run, upsetting Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals before falling to Purdue in the semis.
The Nittany Lions caught fire in the NIT, beating Temple in their only home game before defeating Notre Dame and Marquette to reach New York City where they blitzed Mississippi State and Utah to claim their first NIT title in school history.
Chambers has since been awarded a contract extension that will keep him in Happy Valley through the 2021-22 season.
His best player from last year's team is gone, sophomore guard Tony Carr, who signed a professional contract to play in Italy, but Chambers does return dynamic 6-foot-8, 226-pound forward Lamar Stevens.
The former ESPN Top 100 prospect from Philadelphia's Roman Catholic High averaged 15.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last year and was the NIT's most outstanding player after scoring 28 points in the championship game and averaging 19.2 points per game for the tournament.
Six-foot-nine, 254-pound junior forward Mike Watkins gives the Nittany Lions another four-star caliber player close to the basket if he makes the trip to Morgantown. Watkins is listed on Penn State's roster this year, but has had some off-court issues that led to him being cited for disorderly conduct last month.
Also missing the last nine games of the season because of a right knee injury suffered in a Feb. 21 game against Michigan, Watkins still averaged 12.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in 2018 while shooting an impressive 68.5 percent from the floor.
With Stevens, Watkins and 6-foot-9, 243-pound sophomore John Harrar, Penn State's frontcourt received an A-minus rating from Blue Ribbon in its 2018-19 college basketball preview.
That should give West Virginia's frontcourt, considered one of the strongest in the country, a stern test.
Saturday's game is the Mountaineers' only public exhibition before facing MAC preseason favorite Buffalo at the WVU Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 9. The Bulls are coming off a 27-win season that included a surprising victory over fourth-seeded Arizona in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament.
Saturday's exhibition, the proceeds of which will benefit the American Red Cross, will tip off at noon and will be televised locally on AT&T Sportnet (Rob King, Warren Baker and Robby Incmikoski.
The Mountaineer Sport Network from IMG will have local radio coverage on The Ticket, 95.7 FM and 920 AM. Fans can also listen online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app TuneIn.
Tickets are priced at $10 for the general public and representatives from the American Red Cross will be collecting donations as fans enter the WVU Coliseum. WVU students are encouraged to give a donation when entering the Coliseum at the Mountaineer Gate.
Tickets for the WVU-Penn State game were included as part of the men's basketball season ticket package.
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