WVU Basketball will wrap up their play this week in Fort Myers, Fla. on Wednesday night as they take on No. 24 Virginia. West Virginia and UVA are playing for third place in the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Let’s take a look at five things to know before the game.
Meet the Opponent: Virginia
Virginia currently sits at 4-1 with wins over Tarleton State (80-50), Florida (73-70), North Carolina A&T (80-51) and Texas Southern (62-33). UVA’s only loss comes on Monday from Wisconsin (65-41).
Virginia is coached by veteran Tony Bennett, who doesn’t have the Cavaliers at the one-elite level they were at in the 2010s but still has them as a tournament-caliber program. Virginia has some scoring talent with Reece Beekman (11.8 ppg) and Ryan Dunn (9.8 ppg). UVA also has some familiar faces in Isaac McKneely and Jacob Groves. McKneely played high school basketball at Poca and Groves played at Oklahoma for the past two seasons.
UVA’s Slow Pace Could Help WVU
Virginia comes into the West Virginia game with only scoring 41 points against Wisconsin earlier in the week. The Mountaineers are no scoring threat themselves, only averaging 65.0 (No. 322) points this season.
West Virginia is 337th in the country in adjusted tempo while Virginia is in dead last. This will be a very slow-paced game but that could benefit WVU as they’re running with a small rotation.
“I don’t want to be quick to say that but yeah. I’d like to slow this thing down a little bit and be a little more deliberate ourselves,” WVU interim HC Josh Eilert said after Monday’s loss. “Certainly, I want to take advantage of the open floor if we can score early, and if not score late.”
No Battle, No Akok
Most recently, the NCAA denied WVU G RaeQuan Battle immediate eligibility, resulting in him sitting out this season for now. West Virginia’s Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is coordinating with Battle’s attorney while the team looks to talk to the NCAA once more. WVU F Akok Akok (health) is also ruled out for the game.
West Virginia will run with a seven-man rotation like they did against SMU.
“We’ll be alright,” WVU F Quinn Slazinski said following the Jacksonville State win last week.
West Virginia will roll with Slazinski, the team’s leading scorer through four games, as well as Jesse Edwards, Kobe Johnson, Seth Wilson, Josiah Harris, Ofri Naveh and Patrick Suemnick. WVU G Jeremiah Bembry’s status is unknown for Wednesday after missing the SMU with an injury.
Betting Lines
The spread for the WVU-Virginia game is currently UVA -9.5. The over/under is set at 121.5.
How to Watch
West Virginia and Virginia will tip off at 6 p.m. inside the Suncoast Credit Union Arena on Wednesday. The Mountaineers and Cavaliers will be on Fox Sports One.
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