5 Things to Know Before WVU vs. Xavier

West Virginia travels to Cincinnati on Saturday to take on Xavier at the Cintas Center. Let’s take a look at five things to know before the game.

Huggins’ Return to Cintas

Saturday marks the first time in 5,364 days since Bob Huggins has coached against Xavier and 5,813 days since coaching at the Cintas Center. Huggins coached against Xavier 18 times between 1990 and 2008 (16 w/ Cincy, 1 w/ K-State, 1 w/ WVU).

Huggins was asked on Thursday afternoon about playing his long-time rival Xavier once again. Huggins, who coached in the Crosstown Shootout rivalry between Cincinnati and Xavier for 16 seasons, didn’t hold back on his thoughts of the Musketeers.

“I don’t have any good thoughts on Xavier whatsoever,” Huggins said.

Xavier has Length, One of Best Shooting Teams

Xavier is highlighted by bigs Jack Nunge and Zach Freemantle, who are two of the Musketeers double-figure scorers. Nunge is listed at 6-foot-11 and Freemantle is listed at 6-foot-9. West Virginia’s frontcourt could have a rough night if they can’t contain Nunge and Freemantle.

The Musketeers only take 17.4 3PT attempts per game (332nd in country) but they shoot 43% from 3 so far (4th in country). Xavier is a great shooting team, when they actually shoot it.

Chance For Best Win this Year 

West Virginia heads into the Xavier game with no quad-1 wins so far. The Purdue game is a quad-2 loss and the Florida win is a quad-2 result. If West Virginia defeats Xavier, it’ll be a quad-1 win and the best win of the year for the Mountaineers. The Musketeers have lost to Indiana, Duke and Gonzaga by a combined 12 points.

Betting Lines

The spread for the West Virginia-Xavier game is -2.5 Xavier. The over/under is set at 147.5.

Where to Watch

West Virginia and Xavier will tip off at 6:30 p.m. inside the Cintas Center in Cincinnati on Sunday. The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports One.