WVU Basketball Hosts Georgetown for Big 12-Big East Battle

Former WVU basketball Big East foe Georgetown returns to the WVU Coliseum tonight for a matchup with the Mountaineers in the Big 12-Big East Battle.

The Big East currently holds a 4-2 lead in the crossover with the Big 12 with four games left to play, including WVU (5-2) and Georgetown (7-1) tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

“I’m excited, our staff and our team are excited,” WVU coach Darian DeVries said on Thursday. “This will be the first time we get a really full crowd and get to see what the Coliseum has to bring.”

Georgetown has won five in a row since losing to Notre Dame on Nov. 16, however, tonight’s game in Morgantown will be Hoyas’ first game away from home all season.

Center Thomas Sorber led Georgetown in its most recent win over UMBC with 23 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. The 6-foot-10 freshman leads the Hoyas averaging 15.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

“They throw it in there to to him and he’s been really efficient down there,” DeVries said. “He’s effective finishing around the rim and he can step out (and shoot) a little bit too. Another big challenge for us.”

While Sorber handles things inside Jayden Epps and Malik Mack are both averaging double-figures as the team’s backcourt duo. Epps averages 13.9 points per game, shooting 33.3% from three and Mack averaged 13 points per game shooting 40.6% from range.

The 6-foot-8 Micah Peavy is an effective swingman, averaging 14.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and shooting 41.2% on three-pointers.

“It is a big game for us,” DeVries said. “Georgetown is playing really well, has got a good record and is excited and doing some good things. It’s a great game for our fanbase and a great challenge for us as well.”

West Virginia is playing its first game back home since returning from its exciting run in the Battle 4 Atlantis, which included a pair of ranked wins over Gonzaga and Arizona.

For a related story, WVU basketball is down in the KenPom rankings ahead of the Big 12-Big East Battle.