Game Info:
Date: Saturday, January 26, 2019
Tip-off: 4:00 p.m. ET
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.
Radio: Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG (Tony Caridi & Jay Jacobs)
TV stream: ESPN (Bob Wischusen, Dick Vitale and Allison Williams)
Projected West Virginia Lineup
Jermaine Haley
Lamont West
Andrew Gordon
Esa Ahmad
Chase Harler
Projected Tennessee Lineup
Grant Williams
Admiral Schofield
Kyle Alexander
Yves Pons
Jordan Bone
Why Tennessee Will Win
The Mountaineers are coming off an 85-73 loss to Baylor on Monday. WVU fell behind by as many as 21 points in the second half but “Press Virginia” turned up its notorious high-pressure defense and managed to pull with in nine. But poor shooting ultimately killed the Mountaineers. WVU made just 10 of its 26 layup attempts. Redshirt freshman Brandon Knapper (4.6 points), who hasn’t seen much action of late, came off the bench and scored a career-best 15 points in his best game of the season. Despite battling the flu, “Beetle” Bolden (12.8 points) has scored 80 points in his last four games. Esa Ahmad (12.3 points), Lamont West (10.6 points) and Derek Culver ( 10.9 points, 8.3 rebounds) round out the team’s top scorers. In recent games, teams have been double-teaming Culver, leaving a chance for other players to get open shots. The Mountaineers have a tough task at hand on Saturday and will need to play a full 40 minutes to escape with a win over the top team in the country. Grant Williams (20.3 points) is coming off an explosive 43-point performance in the Volunteers 88-83 overtime victory over Vanderbilt. The 6-foot-7, 236-pound National Player of the Year candidate also tallied eight rebounds, four blocks, two assists and a key steal in the win. Williams was 10-of-15 from the field and a program-record 23-of-23 from the free-throw line. Admiral Schofield (16.7 points) isthe SEC’s fifth-leading scorer and is shooting 42 percent from beyond-the-arc. Point guard Jordan Bone owns the sixth-best assist/turnover ratio (3.83) in Division I and ranks 17th in the country in assists per game (6.4 apg). The Vols are on a 13-game winning streak and are unbeaten in SEC play. WVU and Tennessee have met eight times and the Mountaineers lead the series 5-3. Bob Huggins is 2-1 against the Vols.
Score Prediction:
WVU 68, Tennessee 76
Cover Photo Credit: Shanna Rose, BGS
