WVU - Eastern Kentucky Preview

Game Day Vitals

• West Virginia Mountaineers (6-5) vs. Eastern Kentucky Colonels (10-2)
• Series Record - 0-1, first time was in 1979 (93-91 win for EKU in Charleston)
  
• Location - Oliver Garden (Capacity: 14,000) Morgantown, West Virginia
• Vegas Lines - Spread: (-11) U/O N/A
  
• Date - December 30, 2012 at 4:00 pm ET
• Television - ROOT/ESPN3
  
• Over/Under on number of times the phrase "Wild and Wonderful Sports" is said: 3.5
  
• Radio Affiliates

Opponent Information

• Eastern Kentucky Colonels (10-2)
• Conference - Ohio Valley Conference
  
• Head Coach - Jeff Neubauer, 8th year, 128-104 (.552 career)
• Last Result - Won vs. High Point Panthers 73-70
• Official Eastern Kentucky athletics website

Game Preview

While the Mountaineers are coming into this game with two wins at home against non-conference opponents, this is the last of the non-conference homestretch and still holds important. The situation still holds with the game against Eastern Kentucky as it has the past two contests: a win does nothing but help morale and confidence, a loss severely hurts the NCAA Tournament chances.

There is something to be said about Eastern Kentucky, though. This Colonels squad got within four in Urbana-Champaign against #12 Illinois, but were outmatched by sheer talent. They shoot 47% from the field, but currently are ranked 342nd in the nation with 27.4 rebounds per game while WVU ranks 54th averaging 38.9. While they usually get killed on the boards, EKU makes up for it in good shot selection between their two leading scorers: Glenn Cosey and MIke DiNunno averaging 30 points between them. If WVU can contain both Cosey and DiNunno, the Mountaineers should march into conference play with a three game winning streak.