West Virginia will travel to Ohio to face Xavier in the Big 12/Big East Challenge on Saturday.
Last time out West Virginia defeated Florida 84-55, while Xavier beat Southeastern Louisiana 95-63.
The game is set to tip off at 6:30 p.m., at the Cintas Center, with the game being televised on FS1.
Aaron Parker: West Virginia will be tested yet again in non-conference play, as the Xavier Musketeers will welcome the Mountaineers into Cincinnati. I think the crowd will be alive and with Bob Huggins coaching years of Cincinnati-Xavier games, the students and fans will make sure to let him have it. Despite being 5-3, Xavier impresses me. All three losses were to top-15 teams at the time (Duke, Gonzaga, Indiana), so the Musketeers are battle-tested, and know how to compete with the best, as all three losses were under eight points. Xavier will also welcome back guard Adam Kunkel, an 11 point per game scorer, who has missed the last two games, so that can only help. However, I think WVU will come in and get the road win off the back of Tre Mitchell and Erik Stevenson. Mitchell is such an impressive scorer, and he has shown me that he can score consistently with his back to the basket, and from longer range. I think the Texas transfer scores 20 points while Stevenson will knock down some late three-pointers to help move WVU to 7-1 on the season.
Wesley Shoemaker: West Virginia has looked good so far this season, but how they fair on the road against a good Xavier team will really show how far this team has come. The Mountaineers’ only loss is to Purdue, and I expect this game to be another one of those non-conference measuring stick games. If West Virginia looks good and handles what will be a crazy atmosphere for the second time this season (Pitt), then the Mountaineers will be in good position heading into the last two weeks of non-conference play. If West Virginia struggles with careless mistakes and they lack basic execution, then the Big 12 schedule could become even cloudier. I think West Virginia wins, I think head coach Bob Huggins goes against a former rival and the Mountaineers pull ahead late and hold on in a close one.
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
