West Virginia Hosts Buffalo in a Sunday Evening Matchup

The Mountaineers meet one of the top transition teams in the country

Morgantown, WV - The West Virginia Mountaineers (8-2) host the Buffalo Bulls Sunday evening at 5:00 p.m. EST with the action streaming on ESPN+.

Dec. 10, 2022: West Virginia guard Joe Toussaint drives against UAB guard Efrem Johnson.  / Julia Mellett - Sports Illustrated: FanNation - Mountaineers Now

WVU and Buffalo had the week off for finals.

For the Mountaineers, head coach Bob Huggins explained conditioning was the team’s priority during the layoff.

“We did a lot of transition things – just try to keep them in shape and get a lot of shots.”

Huggins also used it to improve the Mountaineers’ transition game.

“I don’t think we’ve been very good in transition,” he said. “I think it’s an area we can get a lot better, maybe we can flourish in because we got guys who can run, and we got a bunch of guys that can handle the ball. We should be better than what we are.”

West Virginia handled the reigning Conference USA champions in their last outing in Morgantown, 81-70, and head into the final two games of the four-game homestand with four Mountaineers averaging double figures. Guard Erik Stevenson leads the group, averaging 13. 6 points per game behind a solid 43.5% shooting from three-point range.

Dec 10, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Erik Stevenson (10) shoots a three pointer during the second half against the UAB Blazers at WVU Coliseum / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Forward Tre Mitchell is second on the team in scoring (12.9 ppg) and second on the team in rebounding (4.6 rpg).

Meanwhile the Bulls dropped their second 25-point loss of the season last Saturday to Tulane 88-63, ending a four-game winning streak and falling to 5-5 on the season.

Buffalo is 31st in the country in steals per game, averaging 9.4, leading to 17.0 fastbreak points per game which ranks 11th in the nation.

“I’ve watched then quite a bit,” said Huggins. “They’ve got pretty good players. They do multiple things. They’re going to play you different ways defensively.”

“They’ve got great length. They press multiple ways and they rebound it well,” later added Huggins. “I think they’re capable of beating the so-called high majors. They’re talented enough and they’re well-coached enough.”

The Bulls are led by Sophomore guard Curtis Jones’ (6’5”, 180-lbs) 14.9 points per game, including a career-high 32 points versus Stony Brook on Dec. 3, to go with team-bests 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

Nov 15, 2022; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Buffalo Bulls forward LaQuill Hardnett (1) drives the ball against Connecticut Huskies forward Alex Karaban (11) in the second half at XL Center / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Junior guard Zid Powell (6’4”, 195-lbs) is second on the team in scoring at 13.8 ppg and is tied for a team-high with 2.7 assists per game and second in steals (1.7), while senior forward La’Quill Hardnett is grabbing a team-best 5.9 rebounds per game and chipping in 8.3 ppg.

West Virginia is 2-2 all-time versus Buffalo. The Bulls took the last meeting with an 99-94 overtime win in the Mountaineers’ 2018-19 season opener at the WVU Coliseum. However, West Virginia beat Buffalo 68-62 in first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament in the previous meeting. 

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