West Virginia at Arizona State Preview & Game Thread

The West Virginia Mountaineers (12-6, 3-2) hit the road to face the Arizona State Sun Devils (10-8, 1-4) on Wednesday night, opening a two-game swing through the state of Arizona. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET, with the game streaming on Peacock.

West Virginia has protected its home floor this season but has yet to secure a victory away from the Hope Coliseum, putting added importance on continuing to translate its success to road and neutral-site environments.

Defensively, the Mountaineers have been one of the nation’s most consistent units, ranking sixth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 63.1 points per game.

Senior guard Honor Huff leads the team in scoring at 17.1 points per game. Senior forward Chance Moore follows at 10.4 points per contest, while senior forward Brenen Lorient also averages 10.4 points per game and ranks second on the team in rebounding at 5.4 boards per game. Senior center Harlan Obioha anchors the interior, averaging a team-high 5.7 rebounds to go along with 6.2 points per game.

Arizona State has endured a challenging start to Big 12 Conference play, opening league action against three top-10 opponents. The Sun Devils enter the matchup at 1–4 in conference play, with team statistics reflecting the difficulty of that slate, as they rank in the bottom half of the league across most major categories.

Senior guard Maruce Odom leads Arizona State in scoring at 16.3 points per game and paces the team with 6.4 assists per contest. Freshman center Massamba Diop is second on the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game and is tied for the team lead in rebounding at 5.6 per game with redshirt sophomore forward Santiago Trouet. Senior guard Anthony Johnson also contributes 14.2 points per game, giving the Sun Devils multiple scoring options.

Arizona State captured the lone win in the series last season in Morgantown 65-57.

GAME THREAD

WVU starting five: Jasper Floyd, Honor Huff, Brenen Lorient, Treysen Eaglestaff, Harlan Obioha.

ASU starting five: Bryce Ford, Maurice Odom, Noah Meeusen, Santiago Trouet, Massamba Diop.

U16 Timeout: Obioha scored the games first bucket, but the Sun Devils are on an 11-2 run and forced WVU head coach Ross Hodge to take a timeout. Arizona State leads 11-4.

U12 Timeout: Arizona State is holding its edge 16-11. Miop is leading all scorers with eight points, while Obioha has a WVU high four points.

U8 Timeout: The Sun Devils have stretched their lead to thirteen, 26-13. West Virginia is 6-18 from the field, including 1-6 from three, while Arizona State is 10-16 frm the floor and 5-8 from behind the arc.

U4 Timeout: West Virginia closed the gap to four. Eaglestaff has four threes and has a game-high 14 points. ASU leads 32-28.

HALFTIME: Huff buries a three to end the half, but the Mountaineers trail by two, 37-35. Eaglestaff remains the leading scorer with 14 and Diop paces the Sun Devils with 10.

U16 Timeout: Eaglestaff starts the second half with a three to give the Mountaineers their first lead since the opening minutes of the first half, but the Sun Devils quickly regained the lead off an Odum jumper. Arizona State up 43-42.

U12 Timeout: Lorient reclaimed the lead with a straightaway three and Moore attacks the rim in transition, got the bucket and the foul to lead into the break. WVU lead by four, 50-46.

U8 Timeout: West Virginia constructed an 8-0 run to stretch the lead to seven. A 5-0 spurt cut the advantage to two but senior guard Jasper Floyd bured a three, followed with a cut to a basket to go back up seven and now has 12 points on the night.

U4 Timeout: Eaglestaff completed a three-point play to put the Mountaineers up ten and take a 66-56 lead into the final media timeout.

FINAL: West Virginia 75, Arizona State 63. Eaglestaff scored a game-high 23 points with seven rebounds, Lorient puts in 15 and Floyd finished with 12.

GAME THREAD

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