In the opening game, WVU was in control until the Tigers went on a 24–11 run over the final eight minutes to secure a 70–67 victory.
Two days later, the Mountaineers were unable to overcome Xavier’s 3-point shooting in a 78–68 loss. In both instances, West Virginia gave up by more than 70 points, breaking Hodge’s streak of 28 straight games of holding opponents under 70 points the previous season.
“I’m disappointed, but certainly not discouraged,” the coach said of his team’s performance during his radio show earlier this week. “The Clemson game, from the 10-minute mark of the first half to the five-minute mark of the second half, I felt like we had the game where we wanted against a quality opponent on a neutral field. But we couldn’t execute well enough offensively or defensively, and that was sad.”
Hodge said last Sunday’s Xavier game was a matchup issue for his team, especially with just one day of preparation.
“Their style of basketball, the way we defend, it’s a very difficult offensive system to play against, especially when you have a new team that hasn’t experienced what it feels like with their spacing and their ability to shoot the ball from all five spots,” he explained. “Really, out of the three teams out there, that was probably going to be the toughest matchup for us.
“We needed them to miss a little bit, even when they were open and they didn’t miss,” he said. “For a team to shoot the ball so well, make 16 3s, and keep it a two-possession game under four minutes, we at least had a chance despite the handicap of outside shooting; we just couldn’t get over the hump.”
senior Traycen Eaglestaff He recovered from his early season scoring slump with a team-high 20 points against Xavier, which was a positive sign. He became the fifth different player to score top 20 points in a game so far this year.
Hodge has indicated his desire to have someone else become a reliable second scorer to complement the senior guard. honor huffWho scores an average of 17 points per game. Huff has scored in double figures in all but one game this year, including a season-high 24 in a win over Lafayette.
senior forward Brennan Lorient The only other Mountaineer player to average double figures is 11.3 points per game.
Ahead Chance MooreScored 16 in his debut against Clemson, sitting out the first five games of the season to fulfill NCAA transfer requirements. However, he failed to score against Xavier two days later.
Hodge mentioned earlier this week that he expects the senior forward Jackson Fields Available for Sunday’s game against the Lakers.
The 6-foot-8-inch, 225-pound standout is recovering from a preseason wrist injury after helping lead Troy to a Sun Belt Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament last year. He averaged 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Trojans.
Fields is a native of Missouri City, Texas.
“Barring a last-second setback, he will play Sunday,” Hodge said. “He was a full participant (Tuesday), he didn’t do much and was there.”
Hodge said Fields will give the Mountaineers a more athletic presence at the fourth and five positions.
“He’s a guy who has played a lot of basketball on an NCAA Tournament team,” Hodge said. “He plays in high-tension moments, and he can stretch the floor from that position as well. He’s a very good vocal leader with great abstractions.”
Mercyhurst is currently 3-4 on the season under veteran coach Gary Munchel after a 69-60 loss to Marshall last Sunday.
Jake Lemelman, a 6-foot-2, 165-pound senior guard, led Mercyhurst with 21 points against the Thundering Herd. His 13.9 points-per-game average is second only to senior Bernie Blunt III’s team-best 16.3 points-per-game average.
He is the son of former St. Joseph’s guard Bernard Blunt, who often played against West Virginia when both schools were in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Sunday’s game will be Mercyhurst’s second appearance in the Coliseum. Last year, West Virginia defeated the Lakers 67-46.
ESPN+ will provide television coverage.
Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield Radio Coverage tony caridi, brad howe and David Kahn will be available online at WVUsports.com, and through the Varsity Network and WVU GameDay apps on stations throughout West Virginia.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by logging into WVUGAME.com.
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