A Pair of Exciting Games This Week Highlight WVU’s Four-Game Hoop Homestand

By Press release submission

Dec 11, 2022

West Virginia has two entertaining games coming up this week as part of a four-game homestand that spans 15 days.

On Wednesday night, the Mountaineers will face 5-3 Navy, which is coming off an 82-70 loss at VMI, and then will take on 7-1 UAB on Saturday night.

Navy checks in at 108 in this week's NET rankings with early season victories over William & Mary, Princeton, UC San Diego, Youngstown State and Mount St. Mary's. Senior forward Tyler Nelson paces the Midshipmen with a 15.1 points-per-game scoring average.

Senior forward Daneil Deaver contributes 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds, while junior guard Austin Inge chips in with 10 points per contest.

Navy, coached by Penn State graduate Ed DeChellis, is coming off a 21-11 record and a second-place finish in the Patriot League last year.

"Pretty much all of the service teams execute really well," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "They just don't have the size and such that the people in our league will have, but they're skilled and very disciplined."

The last time Navy played at the Coliseum was Feb. 5, 1972, Huggins' freshman season at Ohio University. Prior to that, the two played in an NCAA Tournament East Regional game at Madison Square Garden in 1960 where West Virginia came out on top 94-86.

Wednesday night's game has been designated men's basketball Military Appreciation Night on the 81stanniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbor that heavily damaged the Battleship USS West Virginia. The battleship was struck by up to nine enemy torpedoes, tearing open her forward hull and wrecking her rudder. It was eventually salvaged and repaired.

There will be several military tributes throughout the game and tickets are priced at just $15 and $10, depending upon seat location. Veterans and active-duty military personnel can purchase tickets for as low as $5.

Wednesday night's game will be televised nationally on ESPNU (Mark Neely and Mark Adams) and will tip at 7 p.m. Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage begins at 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, Saturday's UAB game is the Family Day of the year, meaning four tickets and a $25 concession voucher can be purchased for just $65. UAB has one of the country's most electric players in 5-foot-11 guard Jordan "Jelly" Walker, who averaged 20.3 points per game and was Conference USA's Player of the Year last season.

The former Seton Hall and Tulane standout is averaging 25.7 points per game for coach Andy Kennedy's Blazers, now 7-1 following last Sunday's 76-68 win over South Alabama. UAB also shows wins over South Florida and Georgia and its lone loss was 93-85 to Toledo.

The Blazers have scored at least 80 points seven times so far this season.

"I've watched UAB a couple of times and obviously Andy was my assistant, and one, he's a really good coach and, two, he's a really good recruiter," Huggins said. "Last year, the little fella gave us absolute fits and he's even better this year. A lot of his stuff last year was going at the basket and he's pulling up and making shots now. When they can get it up and down, he's fantastic.

"They've got great size inside and they will be one of the more talented teams that we play," Huggins said.

Walker had 13 in last year's game in Birmingham that West Virginia won 65-59.

"These two games will be different types of games, but interesting," Huggins said. "As we go through our league that's kind of what our league is. Nobody plays the same."

West Virginia, despite its 84-74 loss at Xavier last Saturday night, checks in at No. 11 in the week's NET rankings. The Mountaineers have a 29-point win over Florida and a 25-point victory at Pitt on its early season docket.

WVU's four-game homestand also includes exciting games against Buffalo on Dec. 18 and Stony Brook on Dec. 22.

The Buffalo game is another Family Day. Also, WVU will be officially honoring Bob Huggins, who was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame this summer. Mountaineer fans will have an opportunity to get their pictures taken with Huggins' Hall of Fame jacket, ring, and trophy.

The Stony Brook contest will give Mountaineer fans an opportunity to show off their ugliest sweaters before Christmas as part of Ugly Sweater Night.