Predicting the Final Score for West Virginia's Matchup Against Mercyhurst

Picking today's game between the Mountaineers and the Lakers

West Virginia University guard Treysen Eaglestaff | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

The West Virginia Mountaineers (5-2) welcome the Mercyhurst Lakers (3-4) to the Hope Coliseum Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. EST. The action will stream on ESPN+.

West Virginia leads the all-time series 1-0. The lone meeting was nearly a year ago (Dec. 22, 2024) with the Mountaineers recording a 67-46 win.

Here are our picks for today's game.

Schuyler Callihan: West Virginia 74, Mercyhurst 50

The Mountaineers have had almost a week to marinate in its two losses in the Charleston Classic and will take out their frustration against the Lakers this evening.

Mercyhurst doesn't have the three-point shooting to make up for their lack of size, so I fully expect West Virginia to smother them for 40 minutes and force a ton of low percentage shots.

Treysen Eaglestaff is off the heels of his best offensive game of the season, so perhaps he’s ready to turn a corner and truly unlock this WVU offense.

With the debut of Jackson Fields, Ross Hodge will get to play around with different lineup combinations, assuming WVU takes care of business and gets an early comfortable lead.

West Virginia snaps its two-game skid, coasting to a 24-point victory.

Christopher Hall: West Virginia 67, Mercyhurst 43

West Virginia will bounce back against Mercyhurst after a disappointing showing at the Charleston Classic last weekend, dropping games to Clemson and Xavier.

Statistically, the Mountaineers were one of the best defensive teams in the country before departing for Charleston, but after Xavier hit 16 threes a week ago, their physicality and, obviously, the perimeter defense was called into question. Mercyhurst doesn’t impose a threat in either category, shooting 29.8% from three, it’s imperative the Lakers never feel comfortable, which WVU head coach Ross Hodge cited was the issue against Xavier. Also stating, the lack of physicality was the result.

Senior guard Honor Huff is expected to keep his pace of 17 point per game, but West Virginia needs another consistent scorer, which has slowed the evolution of the offense. Senior guard Treysen Eaglestaff appears he is getting into a flow on offense after putting up a season-high 20 points against Xavier.

Mercyhurst is in danger of its first losing streak of the season, following losses at Miami (OH) and at Marshall.

Guards Bernie Blunt III and Jake Lemelman combine to lead the team in scoring at 30 ppg and shooting over 46% from the field m while Mykolas Ivanauskas is averaging a team-leading 6.0 rebounds per game.                               

West Virginia should win the game with ease. I expect at least four Mountaineers to hit double figures, the question is who will lead the team in scoring? While Huff is odds to be the favorite, I’m going with Eaglestaff to lead WVU in scoring as the defense locks the Lakers down for the 67-43 victory.

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