5 Things to Know Before WVU vs. Penn

West Virginia hosts Ivy League’s Penn on Friday night as they prepare for the Phil Knight Invitational next week, let’s take a look at five things to know before the game.

WVU Plays Ivy League Member for First Time Since 1981

The last time that West Virginia played an Ivy League member was in the 1980-81 season. The Mountaineers won 67-64 in Morgantown behind Greg Nance’s team-high 16 points.

WVU head coach Bob Huggins has never coached against an Ivy League opponent during his 1,318 career games.

Limit Dingle, Slajchert 

Penn enters Friday night with a 1-3 record with their only win coming from Drexel on Tuesday. Penn’s offense has been interesting through four games as guards Jordan Dingle and Clark Slajchert both average over 15 points per game. After the Quakers’ duo, the next highest points per game average is 5.8 from Max Lorca-Lloyd.

If West Virginia can limit Dingle from driving into the paint and Slajchert from shooting on the perimeter, they should take care of business.

Can West Virginia’s Offense Keep it Going?

So far, West Virginia’s offense has been a surprise to many. Heading into the season many had questions of where the offense would come from. Transfers Tre Mitchell, Joe Toussaint, Emmitt Matthews and Erik Stevenson have led the offense so far with contributions from Mohamed Wague, Kedrian Johnson and others. WVU’s strength this season is depth. They might have found a go-to scorer in Mitchell but depth is where they will beat the opposition.

Can the offense continue to flourish before the Phil Knight Invitational next week?

Betting Lines

The spread for the West Virginia-Penn game is -15.5 WVU. The over/under is set at 143.0.

Where to Watch

West Virginia and Penn will tip off at 7 p.m. inside the WVU Coliseum on Friday. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+. Mountaineer Sports Network will broadcast the game on the radio, with Tony Caridi and Jay Jacobs once again calling WVU games for the entirety of this season.