WVU to face VCU in Crossover Classic semifinals

(Story by Taylor Kennedy)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia men’s basketball team will go for win number two this afternoon against VCU. The winner will face off against the winner of Memphis and Western Kentucky semifinal at noon. WVU and VCU will take the court at approximately 2:30 p.m. and the game will be televised by ESPN.

         The Mountaineers sneaked by South Dakota State Wednesday evening. WVU sophomore Miles “Deuce” McBride recorded a career-high 23 points. Sean McNeil and Taz Sherman also tallied double-figure performances.

         The Rams defeated the Aggies following the Mountaineer win Wednesday evening. In that game, Nah’Shon Hyland led all scorers with 23 points. VCU shot an impressive 53% from the field, including 10-24 (42%) from three-point range.

         VCU finished last season with an 18-13 overall record and 8-10 in Atlantic 10 play. The Rams lost their top two leading scorers. VCU spent three weeks in the AP top-25, including being preseason ranked 25th going into last season.

         Fourth-year head coach Mike Rhoades has never had a losing record during his tenure at VCU. He has a combined 62-36 overall record with the Rams.

         Series History

         This will be the third all-time meeting between VCU and WVU. These two programs met back in the early-to-mid 1980’s. The last matchup came in 1985. The No. 19 Rams defeated the Mountaineers 72-60 at the Richmond Coliseum. WVU’s Dale Blaney was the lone player to score in double-digits with 18 points.

This will be the third straight season the Mountaineers take the court against an Atlantic 10 member. Last season, WVU defeated Rhode Island 86-81 at the Coliseum. 

The Mountaineers once competed nightly in the A-10. WVU was a part of that conference from 1982-1995. The Mountaineers went 147-73 during conference play over their 13-year span.

         Players to Watch

         WVU – Junior Derek Culver is averaging 10 points per game against non-conference opponents. Culver’s best performance against a non-con team came last season against Rhode Island. In that game, he tallied a career-high 25 points.

SIOUX FALLS, SD – NOVEMBER 25: Matt Dentlinger #32 of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits drives near Derek Culver #1 of the West Virginia Mountaineers (Photo by Richard Carlson/Inertia)

         Culver scored 7 points Wednesday evening against South Dakota State. He also racked up 14 of the team’s 41 total rebounds (34%). After recording double-digit rebounds, Culver has now recorded 27 games where he has hauled in 10-plus rebounds.

         VCU – Nah’Shon Hyland will look to duplicate the performance he had last night. As a freshman, Hyland recorded 13 games where he scored in double-digits. He averaged 11 points per game against the four ranked opponents VCU faced last season.





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