MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — The West Virginia men’s basketball team returns to the WVU Coliseum today to begin a three-game home stand that begins against disciplined Valparaiso, which knocked off SIU-Edwardsville in overtime on Wednesday. The Crusaders, coached by Matt Lottich, are in their second season competing in the Missouri Valley Conference after moving over from the Horizon League. This is a non-bracketed game from the Myrtle Beach Invitational. The Crusaders finished sixth, losing to Western Kentucky in the opening round, before beating Monmouth and then losing to Wake Forest in the final round.
Here’s what you need to know:
TV: AT&T SportsNet for the 2 p.m. tip-off. Betting line: WVU is favored by 16 points.
THREE GOOD QUESTIONS
What should we expect today? A decent game, because the Crusaders (3-2) don’t really beat themselves — they average only 13 turnovers per game — and they shoot the ball pretty well (48.9 percent from the floor), except from the foul line (69.7 percent). Also, maybe expect a little more defense out of the Mountaineers (2-2), who are giving up 76.3 points per game and have held only one opponent to less than 60 points in a game. It may not be the “Press” Virginia style of defense, but WVU has had four solid days of practice to work on something. My guess is the Mountaineers worked a lot on half-court D.
Is that really Rik Smits kid for Valpo? Yes, Derrik Smits is a 7-foot-1 junior who averages 12.4 points per game and shoots 62.8 percent from the field. Rik Smits, you may recall, was a low-post nightmare for NBA teams in the 1990s. The Dunking Dutchman averaged 14.8 points per game over a 12-year NBA career with the Indiana Pacers. As for Derrik Smits, “Rik Smits’ son is very good in the post,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “He’s also pretty good at getting to the foul line.”
Are the Mountaineers getting any healthier? From the sound of it, Sagaba Konate will likely have to deal with soreness in his knee throughout the season. Now, that doesn’t mean he’s out there playing through tremendous pain each game. What it does mean is Konate will have a little less explosion in his jump, at least until he gets used to playing through it. As for Beetle Bolden, it’s likely that five days of rest did his left arm and hand some good. If he’s been held back from practice, it might be a little difficult to shoot the ball. “It’s a game of neuromuscular integration,” Huggins said. “When you don’t use it, you don’t use it, you don’t use it, you’re not going to be as sharp.” Bolden will likely see some action today for no more than there is no one on the roster who despises missing a game more than he does.
ALLAN TAYLOR’S PICK
Allan is going with the Mountaineers, 80-66.
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