Mountaineers to Tip Off Phil Knight Legacy Tournament Thursday Night

Thursday, November 24

Portland, Ore.

10:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

Purdue

Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications

Mountaineers to Tip Off Phil Knight Legacy Tournament Thursday Night

November 23, 2022 11:11 AM | Men's Basketball

West Virginia Game Notes

By: John Antonik

Tale of the Tape
Points Per Game	74.0	81.0
Points Allowed Per Game	55.7	57.3
Field Goal %	44.3	50.9
Field Goal % Defense	35.1	37.1
3-Point Field Goal %	28.8	37.0
3-Point Field Goal % Defense	23.1	31.3
Free Throw %	75.4	75.0
Rebounds Per Game	43.0	34.3
Defensive Rebounds Per Game	31.7	31.5
Rebounding Margin	+11.3	+2.8
Personal Fouls	40	69
Disqualifications	0	0
Assists Per Game	14.3	13.5
Turnovers Per Game	10.3	11.5
Turnovers Forced Per Game	11.7	18.5
Turnover Margin	-1.4	+7.0
Blocks Per Game	6.0	2.8
Steals Per Game	6.3	8.0

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – An opportunity to earn some national respect is on the line for West Virginia this weekend when the Mountaineers play in the Phil Knight PK85 tournament in Portland, Oregon.

The 4-0 Mountaineers will have three games in Portland, beginning with a Thanksgiving night clash against 24^th-ranked Purdue. West Virginia could also potentially face sixth-ranked Gonzaga or eighth-ranked Duke in a loaded field that also includes Florida, Xavier, Oregon State and Portland State.

WVU's two remaining games will take place on Friday and Sunday. All games are being played at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

"I think we're excited for it," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "It will kind of tell us where we are and what else we've got to improve on and those kinds of things."

Purdue is off to a 3-0 start with home wins over Milwaukee, Austin Peay and Marquette. The Boilermakers' 7-foot-4, 290-pound center, Zach Edey, is one of the top post players in the country and will be the tallest player West Virginia has faced since playing UCF's 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall in the 2017 AdvoCare Invitational in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

West Virginia came out victorious 83-45 in that encounter.

Edey will be a tremendous challenge for a West Virginia team that has struggled on the glass so far this season, and its two tallest players, Jimmy Bell Jr., and Mohamed Wague, will be giving up 6 inches to Edey.

The Toronto, Canada, resident is averaging 20.7 points and 13.7 rebounds and is coming off a 20-point, 13-rebound effort in Purdue's 75-70 win over Marquette.

Huggins has been impressed with Edey's development under veteran Purdue coach Matt Painter.

"It's a combination of a lot of hard work Matt and his guys have put in to help him," Huggins said. "I saw him when he first signed at Purdue, and he's come a long, long way. But he's always had great hands and he's 7-4. Our tallest guy is 6-10."

Baden Smith, a 6-foot, 180-pound freshman guard, is averaging 10.7 points per game, while 6-foot-4, 185-pound freshman guard Fletcher Loyer is scoring at a 10.3-points-per-game clip.

Purdue is also expected to start 6-foot-6, 230-pound junior forward Mason Gillis and 6-foot-7, 215-pound junior guard Ethan Morton.

The Boilermakers' top player off the bench is Brandon Newman, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound junior guard who is averaging 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Purdue is outscoring its opposition by an average of 18.3 points per game and is limiting its opposition to just 35.1% shooting overall, including 23.1% from 3-point distance.

Field goal shooting has been a strength for West Virginia at the season's outset as it is connecting on 50.9% of its field goal attempts. Sophomore Wague has made 14 of his 16 field goal attempts for 87.5%, junior college transfer Bell Jr. is shooting 66.7% and Texas transfer Tre Mitchell is shooting 65.5%.

South Carolina transfer Erik Stevenson is coming off an 8-for-9 shooting night against Penn and is shooting 59.5%, while Washington transfer Emmitt Matthews Jr. is connecting at a 51.9% clip.

WVU is outscoring its opponents by an average margin of 23.7 points and is forcing an average of 18.5 turnovers per game.

West Virginia's probable starting lineup against the Boilermakers will be Mitchell, Matthews Jr., and Bell Jr. at forwards, with Stevenson and senior Kedrian Johnson at guards.

"We've got to guard a lot better, and there are some more things we'd like to be able to get into our arsenal, and this is a good opportunity to see some of the things we'd like to explore a little bit and how it works against quality people," Huggins said. "This is the who's who of college basketball. You look at this as an opportunity to put yourself in a good place nationally."

Thursday night's game will be the ninth time these two schools have met with the last game taking place in the WVU Coliseum on Dec. 22, 2013, a 73-70 Purdue victory.

Purdue owns a 7-1 advantage in the series with its lone loss happening on Jan. 16, 2011, at the WVU Coliseum when the Mountaineers downed the No. 8 Boilermakers 68-64.

The game will tip off at 10 p.m. ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas).

Mountaineer Sports Network coverage with Andrew Caridi, filling in for Tony Caridi, begins at 9 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online at WVUsports.com, and the mobile apps WVU Gameday and The Varsity Network.

Satellite radio coverage is on SiriusXM channel 375.