MORGANTOWN — The West Virginia University men’s basketball team is making the school’s first-ever trip to DePaul for a Big East game on Wednesday.
Tip-off time for only the third meeting between the new conference rivals is 9 p.m. in 18,500-seat Allstate Arena. The action will be televised nationally by ESPN2.
It a crucial contest for both teams. The Mountaineers are 19-8 overall and 8-6 in the Big East, while the Blue Demons, struggling at 10-16 and 5-9, need a win to remain 12th and stay in the run for the last spot in the league tournament.
“They have lost a lot of close games,” WVU coach Bob Huggins said Tuesday. “They had Connecticut down and lost (65-60). They’ve been unfortunate like some other people I know.”
Coming off a 73-71 loss at Seton Hall last weekend, DePaul has lost three Big East games in a row and seven of the last eight. WVU won last year’s meeting 64-52 at home. The Blue Demons won the first collision 76-52 in the 1945 NIT in New York City.
The Mountaineers scored less than 60 points in their last six defeats, but Huggins thinks that number won’t be enough to win this game.
“I think they will score more than 60,” he said. “We’ve got to execute a little bit better offensively than we did Saturday ( beating Providence 80-53), and we’ve got to play with the same kind of intensity.”
Huggins remains concerned about his team’s shooting.
“I think we’ve shot the ball better here than on the road,” he noted.
“We’ve just got to go and do what we’re good at doing,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll make some shots.
“We’ve got to defend them, and we’ve got to rebound. I think with DePaul you can’t give up easy baskets. They do a really good job of kinda leaking out and getting in transition for some easy baskets on you.”
Neither DePaul nor its third-year head coach, Jerry Wainwright, is a stranger to Huggins. He is 26-8 all-time against the Blue Demons and 9-5 in games played at DePaul. Huggins is 4-1 against Wainwright.
“I’ve known Jerry forever,” the Mountaineer mentor said. “He does a great job. “We played them last year in the second round of the NIT when I was at Kansas State.”
Huggins thinks Draelon Burns is really good, “as good a two-guard as there is in this league. He just breaks down a defense so easily.”
The 6-4 senior guard leads DePaul in scoring with 17.2 ppg.
Two other scorers also are averaging double figures for DePaul. Freshman guard Dar Tucker is scoring at a 12.5 clip, and 6-10 freshman forward Mac Koshwal at 10.8 while leading his team in rebounding (8.1).
Joe “The Hammer” Alexander continues to lead WVU. The 6-8 junior is averaging 14.4 points and 5.9 rebounds. Alex Ruoff is next at 13.8, followed by Da’Sean Butler (12.4) and point guard Darris Nichols (11.4).
Asked why WVU is 2-4 on the road in the conference this year, Nichols replied: “Oh, I don’t know. But I think you have to come out with more of a sense of urgency than you would at home. I think DePaul is a great team, though the record doesn’t show it.”
Only three regular-season games will remain for the Mountaineers after this one. Those are at Connecticut March 1, Pitt at home March 3, and at St. John’s on March 8.
Mickey Furfari
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AP PHOTO
WVU men taking first trip to DePaul
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