Western Kentucky and West Virginia Preview

Conway, S.C.:

After opening the Myrtle Beach Invitational with a win the Hilltoppers and Mountaineers are set to square off in Friday nights semi-final matchup. The winner will advance to the Championship game on Sunday,  where they will face the winner of UCF and Saint Josephs.

This will be the first meeting between since 1987 where the Hilltoppers got the best of the Mountaineers by a score of 64-62 in the NCAA Tournament.

West Virginia defeated Monmouth by a score of 71-53 to advance to the semi-final game against Western Kentucky. West Virginia was led by Esa Ahmad who led the Mountaineers with 16 points. West Virginia shot 45% from the field in their win over Monmouth, the Mountaineers will have to do better from the free throw line in order to beat Western Kentucky. The Mountaineers went 23-37 from the charity line a mere 62%. West Virginia will need to use the full-court pressure to force the talented Hilltoppers backcourt into turnovers.

On the other side of the court, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers defeated Valparaiso by a score of  83-71 to advance onto the semi-final matchup with West Virginia. This is the second game that the Hilltoppers will face off with a Top 25 team, Western Kentucky faced off with Washington in the first game of the year. That game with Washington ended in a heartbreaking loss for the Hilltoppers. The Hilltoppers will look to carry on their offensive ways after shooting for an impressive 50% from the field, and 52% from three-point land. Much like the Mountaineers, the Hilltoppers struggled from the charity stripe yesterday going for a dismal 60%.

This game between Western Kentucky and West Virginia will be a huge opportunity for both teams to gain an early win over an RPI top 30 team. This game will likely come down to the last few possessions because these two teams are very evenly matched.

Game 4

Myrtle Beach Invitational

West Virginia (1-1) Vs. WKU ( 2-1)

November 16, 2018, 8 P.M. CT

HTC Center, Conway, S.C.

ESPNU