Bob Huggins Confident Once Matthews, Mitchell Are Back to 100 Percent

PORTLAND — West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins mentioned he will be more confident once forwards Emmitt Matthews and Tre Mitchell back to 100 percent.

Matthews and Mitchell are two of the few Mountaineers that have had the stomach bug this week. Huggins mentions that the players were throwing up and taking IV’s before the Purdue game on Thursday.

“I would just like to get them well. If we can get them back to 100 percent, I feel a whole lot better,” Huggins said postgame on Friday night.

Postgame Reaction to WVU’s Win Over Portland State

Against Portland State in the second round of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament, Matthews and Mitchell looked a lot better than against Purdue. Mitchell led the team in scoring with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. The senior from Pittsburgh just played in 19 minutes in the first round due to being in foul trouble. Mitchell tallied 34 minutes for the Mountaineers on Friday.

Matthews recorded 14 points and four assists against the Vikings. In the same game, Matthews recorded his 1,000th point in college basketball. Matthews just looked more alive against Portland State.

“We’re getting better [health-wise]. We were pretty sick [on Thursday]. Guys were throwing up all day,” Huggins said.

West Virginia will play Florida in the fifth-place game of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament in Portland, Ore. The Mountaineers and Gators will tip-off at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night on ESPNU.