WVU vs. Cincinnati
By Editorial Staff
The West Virginia Mountaineers (14-5, 4-2) are set to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats (15-4, 5-1) in the Coliseum Saturday afternoon. The Bearcats are coming off a win at 11th ranked UCONN while the Mountaineers handled Marshall in the Capital Classic on Wednesday.
The Bearcats have won three in a row, two of them coming against ranked opponents. The team’s top scorers are sophomore Sean Kilpatrick and senior Dion Dixon. They combine for an average 30.8 PPG. Yancy Gates is the team’s top rebounder and averages 9.2 a game. Cincinnati is 136th in the nation in PPG averaging 70.6. They are ranked 202nd in the nation in field goal percentage at 42.8%.
The Mountaineers are continuing to improve with the leadership of Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant. The seniors combine for 38.5 PPG. Jones is also continuing to lead the team in rebounds averaging 11.4 per game. The Mountaineers are averaging 75.5 PPG and are 55th in the nation in field goal percentage at 46.7%.
All reports indicate that Deniz Kilicli has been practicing and will be ready to play, at least limited minutes, against the Bearcats. His presence may play a big factor in the game.
It is hard to beat the Mountaineers in the Coliseum and the Bearcats haven’t done so since 2008. The game is sold out so the place should be rocking. The game tips at 3:00 and can be seen on ESPNU and ESPN3.