It has been a tough season for the West Virginia Mountaineers, entering Tuesday’s tilt against the Central Florida Knights with an 8-17 record but finally have a full roster to work with for one of the first times this season.
Central Florida Knights (-3.5, 142.5) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia began the season with guards Kerr Kriisa, RaeQuan Battle, and Noah Farrakhan sidelined for most of its non-conference play due to a suspension in the case of Kriisa and the two-time transfer rules for both Farrakhan and Battle.
These three players all average a combined 37.3 points per game while Kriisa leads the team with 4.6 assists per game and a 42.6% 3-point shooting percentage.
These players being out for the first nine games of the season coupled with blocks and rebounds leaders, Jesse Edwards, missing much of December and all but two games in January makes this just the seventh game for West Virginia where it has had its full roster to work with this season.
While the Central Florida defense ranks ninth in the nation in points allowed per possession, it is also allowing 18.3 points more per 100 possessions when playing on the road.
The Knights’ biggest defensive issue has been guarding the 3-point line on the road with opponents making 36.5% of their three pointers. Since shooting 28.4% from 3-point range in the first eight games of the season, the Mountaineers have made 35.2% since then.
Central Florida has also been inconsistent on offense, ranking 224th in points scored on a per-possession basis and scoring 10 points fewer per 100 possessions on the road than at home.
The biggest issue for the Central Florida offense has been making 2-point shots, ranking 280th in 2-point shooting percentage and 284th in overall field goal shooting percentage with that dropping to 39.8% in road games, which ranks 317th.
With both teams having gone 1-4 in their past five games, this is a get-right spot for both teams and with West Virginia finally being at full strength, it will bust out of its slump at home on Tuesday.
The Play: West Virginia +3.5