West Virginia feels it is beginning to jell after a disjointed start to the season and will put that theory to test against Ohio State on Saturday in Cleveland.
The Mountaineers are 5-7 under interim first-year coach Josh Eilert despite not having a full roster for any game. They will be close to full strength against the Buckeyes (10-2), who defeated New Orleans 78-36 on Dec. 21 with starting center Felix Okpara and head coach Chris Holtmann absent because of the flu.
Zed Key stepped in for Okpara and scored 16 points but he’s happy to see Okpara return against the Mountaineers.
“He’s a really good player and we really missed his presence,” Key said.
West Virginia will look to newcomer RaeQuan Battle to continue his torrid scoring in just his third game of the season.
After playing two seasons at Washington and then two more at Montana State, Battle sat the first nine games this season due to NCAA transfer rules. He became eligible Dec. 13 when a federal judge issued a restraining order against the NCAA.
He missed the first game after the ruling because of the flu but in the two games since against Radford and Toledo he scored 29 points in each.
Noah Farrakhan also missed the first nine games because of the transfer rule and transfer Kerr Kriisa was suspended the first nine games by the NCAA for improper benefits while he was at Arizona. Also, Akok Akok missed the first seven games due to medical reasons.
Just when it looked the roster was complete, Jesse Edwards fractured his wrist on Dec. 16 and will be out until mid-January.
“I feel like our offense is getting better by the day,” Akok said. “It’s started in practice, and I feel like it’s translating into the games.
“The more time we spend together on the court, the more that will help us come together as a complete team.”
