West Virginia Welcomes UCF on Senior Day

Morgantown, WV – West Virginia wraps up its regular season against UCF Saturday evening with tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. and the action will stream on ESPN+.

The Mountaineers will honor five seniors prior to the game for Senior Day. Center Eduard Andre and guards Javon Small, Jake Auer, Joseph Yesufu, and Toby Okani will suit up one last time at the WVU Coliseum.

“For us, it’s a little bit unique,” West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries said. “Our first year and every senior’s first year. I think from a coaching standpoint, its an appreciation of these guys willing to come and spend their last year to play for us and believe in what we we’re trying to get started.”

“What I loved about this group, really all year, is they just wanted to win. That’s all they really cared about,” added DeVries.

West Virginia returns home after splitting a two-game road trip. The Mountaineers were hammered by BYU but bounced back with a 71-69 win against Utah.

Javon Small hit his season average of 18 points while Joseph Yesufu and sophomore forward Amani Hansberry continued their late season surge, scoring 12 points apiece. Hansberry has averaged 11.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in his last eight games and Yesufu has produced 10.5 ppg in his last 10.

Freshman guard Jonathan Powell put in 10 points after combining for 11 points the previous three games and Eduardo Andre returned to the floor in the second half after he was elbowed squarely in the face and left the game with a severe nosebleed, and according to DeVries, Andre’s heroics gave the Mountaineers a little “boost” in the second half.

UCF has won three of the last four games, claiming victories over Utah, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State.

“They can really score,” DeVries said. “You look at them throughout the whole the season, but even specifically more the back half of the season, they are putting up huge numbers offensively. Having won three of their last four, they are playing really well down the stretch here.”

In Big 12 play, the Knights (16-14, 7-12) are third in the league in scoring, averaging 78 ppg, with junior guard Keyshawn Hall scoring a league-high 21.0 ppg. and a team-best 7.4 rpg.

Senior guard Darius Johnson is shooting a team-high 41.2% from three-point range to average 16.1 ppg and leads the team in assists at 4.2 per game.

West Virginia is 2-1 all-time against UCF.

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