WVU Basketball

5 Things to Know Before WVU vs. Radford

Published

4 months ago

December 20, 2023

Kelsie LeRose / WVSN

West Virginia will host Radford on Wednesday night at the WVU Coliseum. Let’s take a look at five things to know before the game.

Meet the Opponent: Radford

Radford enters the game 9-4 with wins over Marshall, Northern Colorado and others. The Highlanders have lost to UNC, VCU, James Madison and Old Dominion. Radford is led by a group of guards: Kenyon Giles (14.8 ppg), DaQuan Smith (13.5 ppg), Bryan Antoine (11.1 ppg), Chandler Turner (9.5 pgg) and Truth Harris (7.9 ppg).

Radford is bottom-20 in the country in adjusted tempo, according to KenPom.

Darris Nichols Returns Once Again

Former WVU guard and current Radford head coach Darris Nichols will make his return to Morgantown once again to coach against the Mountaineers. Nichols is in his third season at Radford with a 41-37 career record.

The last time Nichols coached against WVU was during the 2021-22 season when the Mountaineers pulled out a win.

Battle Still Expected to Play

WVU G RaeQuan Battle is expected to make his season debut vs. Radford on Wednesday after missing the first 10 games. Battle has been the face of the multi-time transfers vs. the NCAA in court this winter and became eligible last week. Battle was expected to make his season debut for the Mountaineers on Saturday vs. UMass but was out of action with flu-like symptoms.

“He’s not 100%. He went yesterday [in practice]. You could tell it wasn’t RaeQuan at his 100% level but he’s getting there,” WVU interim HC Josh Eilert said on Tuesday. “Hopefully I see more improvement today. Excited for him that things are going in the right direction for his health.”

Eilert was then asked if the plan is for Battle to suit up against the Highlanders.

“Yes, 100%,” he added.

Battle transferred from Montana State this April after averaging 17.7 points on 47% shooting for the Bobcats. Battle led Montana State to the NCAA Tournament, giving 3-seed Kansas State a game in the first round. Battle and the Bobcats fell short but the current Mountaineer scored a game-high 27 points. Battle has transferred multiple times as an undergraduate student-athlete and was not a grad transfer after his summer session.