West Virginia Set to Take on SMU in Ft. Myers Tip-Off

Ft. Myers, FL - The West Virginia Mountaineers (2-1) meet the SMU Mustangs (3-1) Monday night in the semifinals of the Ft. Myers Tip-Off for the first ever meeting between the two programs, tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. EST and broadcasting on FS1.

This will be the first road trip for both programs, with SMU receiving its biggest test in a loss against No. 13 Texas A&M last week. SMU guard Chuck Harris, along with Texas A&M guard Tyrece Bradford, scored a game-high and season-high 21 points. The Butler transfer leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game, shooting 47.5% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range.

Guard Zhuric is second on the team in scoring at 13.5 ppg but has struggled from behind the arc, hitting one three in 14 attempts, while forwards Tyreek Smith and Keon Ambrose-Hylton combined for an average of 18.8 ppg and 13.5 rpg.

West Virginia is trying to find its footing with just eight available scholarship players and has struggled in the early stages of the process, most notably, in the loss to Monmouth.

The Mountaineers do have top-end talent in forward Quinn Slazinski and center Jesse Edwards. Slazinksi leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.3 ppg and is second on the team in assists at 3.0 per game. Edwards is averaging a double-double with 14.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, while guard Kobe Johnson is coming off a career-high 19 points in the 70-57 win over Jacksonville State and is third on the team in scoring with 13.3 ppg.

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