Saying this week has been a whirlwind for West Virginia is probably somewhat of an understatement.
The Mountaineers will get their full roster back for the first time this season, as they most likely didn’t expect to even reach this point in 2023-2024.
The Mountaineers sit at 4-5. but with three new additions, and two of them being starters, there is a good chance tonight could be the beginning of somewhat of a turning point for West Virginia.
Kerr Kriisa (suspension), RaeQuan Battle (transfer), and Noah Farrakhan (transfer), are all set to make their season debuts on Saturday evening. The trio of players averaged a combined 39.7 points per game last season. This would be currently 62 percent of the average points per game the Mountaineers are scoring through nine games (64.2).
In addition, they all bring high levels of Division I basketball experience to the table.
Kriisa has started in 34 games last season, while Battle started in 35 games, while Farrakhan started in 28 games.
“Everybody cheers each other on and wants to be apart of a winning program. They know having depth and having our weapons at our disposal is certainly going to help us do that,” West Virginia interim head coach Josh Eilert said.
Add in these three with Akok Akok who continues to get stronger and play more minutes, and West Virginia’s rotation which just weeks ago seemingly featured seven guys, now has 12 guys available to play.
This means the Mountaineers will be able to play a faster pace, but they also just get true talent and athleticism on the floor with the combination of the three returners.
Tip-off between West Virginia and UMass is set for 6:30 p.m.
