RaeQuan Battle Staying Optimistic During Rough Season For WVU

WVU G RaeQuan Battle completed his fifth game with the Mountaineers after an ongoing fight for his eligibility with the NCAA. West Virginia is 1-4 in their last five games, falling to Radford, Ohio State, Houston and Kansas State.

As West Virginia continues to mesh Battle, Noah Farrakhan and Kerr Kriisa into the games, they sit at 5-10 and have a stacked schedule in the Big 12 waiting for them. Battle is staying optimistic that the Mountaineers can turn this thing around.

“Never [discouragement],” he said after the K-State loss. “We have until the [Big 12] tournament pretty much. We have all of that time. We get Jesse [Edwards] back in about three to four games. Hopefully we can win a couple of those games before he comes back.”

It’s good to see Battle isn’t discouraged but the fact is this team has 10 losses on Jan. 10. It’s no easy schedule for West Virginia coming up as the next three games are ranked. WVU will host No. 25 Texas before going to No. 9 Oklahoma and then hosting No. 3 Kansas. This group has missed Jesse Edwards but it could be too little too late.

“Hopefully, we are playing our best basketball in March. That’s the goal of every team to play their best basketball and continue to get better and better,” WVU interim HC Josh Eilert said. “We’re like that shooter in a slump. We just need to see one go in and build some confidence.”

West Virginia and No. 25 Texas will tipoff at 6 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum on Saturday as the Mountaineers look to break a three-game losing streak.