Friday, November 26
Morgantown, W.Va.
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Eastern Kentucky
Photo by: USA Today
November 24, 2021 05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia's five-game homestand begins Friday night with a non-conference meeting against 5-1 Eastern Kentucky.
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The Colonels, coached by former Marshall standout player A.W. Hamilton, have lost just once to James Madison, 79-78, back on Nov. 16. EKU's wins this year have come against Georgetown (Ky.), Ohio Valley, Milwaukee, Albany and, most recently, Eastern Illinois on Monday night.
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"They're going to press and shoot a bunch of 3s," said Bob Huggins, now fourth in NCAA history in Division I wins with 904. He recently passed Roy Williams and now only trails Mike Kryzyewski, Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun. "A.W. does a great job with the way they play. And the way they play is they want to play fast, they want to turn you over and they want to shoot 3s."
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Michael Moreno, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound sophomore from Georgetown, Kentucky, leads Eastern Kentucky in scoring (13.3 ppg.), rebounding (8.0 rpg.), field goal shooting (52.6%) and steals (14).
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The stretch forward is from Hamilton's alma mater, Scott County High, and is coming off a solid freshman season in 2020 when he averaged 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.Â
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Jannson Williams, a 6-foot-9, 221-pound senior forward, is a Marshall transfer who is averaging 11.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while 6-foot-6 wing Devontae Blanton shows averages of 10 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
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Eastern Kentucky has already taken 211 3-point shots and is averaging 85 points per game, which could indicate a fast-paced, up-and-down game on tap Friday night.
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"It won't be a fun game for me, but it should be a fun game for the fans to watch," Huggins said.
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West Virginia (4-1) rallied to defeat Clemson 66-59 in the third-place game of the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic in Charleston, South Carolina, last Sunday.
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Guard Sean McNeil scored all 15 of his team-high points in the second half, including some late free throws to hold off the Tigers. Guard Taz Sherman, despite being held to a season-low 12 points, earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors for his performances in the Mountaineers' other two games in Charleston.
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The senior guard scored 21 in an 82-71 loss to Marquette on Friday night after tallying a season-high 27 in a 19-point victory over Elon.
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Sherman leads the team with a 19 points per game average, although he is shooting just 38.2% from the floor. The senior has really struggled to connect on his 3-point field goal attempts so far this year by making just 6 of his first 29 for 20.7%.
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McNeil is contributed 13 points per game while 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Jalen Bridges is averaging 10.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
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The Mountaineers are averaging 71.6 points per game and are surrendering 64.2.
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West Virginia's homestand includes games against Bellarmine (Nov. 30), Radford (Dec. 4), 22nd-ranked Connecticut (Dec. 8) and Kent State (Dec. 12).
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Tickets for all of these games remain on sale and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
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The Colonels, coached by former Marshall standout player A.W. Hamilton, have lost just once to James Madison, 79-78, back on Nov. 16. EKU's wins this year have come against Georgetown (Ky.), Ohio Valley, Milwaukee, Albany and, most recently, Eastern Illinois on Monday night.
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"They're going to press and shoot a bunch of 3s," said Bob Huggins, now fourth in NCAA history in Division I wins with 904. He recently passed Roy Williams and now only trails Mike Kryzyewski, Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun. "A.W. does a great job with the way they play. And the way they play is they want to play fast, they want to turn you over and they want to shoot 3s."
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Michael Moreno, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound sophomore from Georgetown, Kentucky, leads Eastern Kentucky in scoring (13.3 ppg.), rebounding (8.0 rpg.), field goal shooting (52.6%) and steals (14).
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The stretch forward is from Hamilton's alma mater, Scott County High, and is coming off a solid freshman season in 2020 when he averaged 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.Â
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Jannson Williams, a 6-foot-9, 221-pound senior forward, is a Marshall transfer who is averaging 11.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while 6-foot-6 wing Devontae Blanton shows averages of 10 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
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Eastern Kentucky has already taken 211 3-point shots and is averaging 85 points per game, which could indicate a fast-paced, up-and-down game on tap Friday night.
Â
"It won't be a fun game for me, but it should be a fun game for the fans to watch," Huggins said.
Â
West Virginia (4-1) rallied to defeat Clemson 66-59 in the third-place game of the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic in Charleston, South Carolina, last Sunday.Â
Guard Sean McNeil scored all 15 of his team-high points in the second half, including some late free throws to hold off the Tigers. Guard Taz Sherman, despite being held to a season-low 12 points, earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors for his performances in the Mountaineers' other two games in Charleston.
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The senior guard scored 21 in an 82-71 loss to Marquette on Friday night after tallying a season-high 27 in a 19-point victory over Elon.
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Sherman leads the team with a 19 points per game average, although he is shooting just 38.2% from the floor. The senior has really struggled to connect on his 3-point field goal attempts so far this year by making just 6 of his first 29 for 20.7%.
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McNeil is contributed 13 points per game while 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Jalen Bridges is averaging 10.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
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The Mountaineers are averaging 71.6 points per game and are surrendering 64.2.
Â
West Virginia's homestand includes games against Bellarmine (Nov. 30), Radford (Dec. 4), 22nd-ranked Connecticut (Dec. 8) and Kent State (Dec. 12).
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Tickets for all of these games remain on sale and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
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Players Mentioned
Wednesday, October 28
Wednesday, October 28
Wednesday, October 14
Wednesday, October 14
