Bob Huggins will look to climb the NCAA Division I wins list for the second night in a row Friday.
The 68-year-old coach will lead West Virginia into the semifinals of the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic against Marquette on Friday night in Charleston, S.C.
When the Mountaineers (3-0) beat Elon 87-68 in the event’s first round on Thursday, Huggins earned career victory No. 903. That broke a tie with Bob Knight and left him tied with former Kansas and North Carolina coach Roy Williams for fourth place in Division I history.
West Virginia was led Thursday by Taz Sherman, who scored 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He is averaging a team-high 20.7 points this season. Sean McNeil added 16 points, and Kedrian Johnson and Isaiah Cottrell each notched nine points.
“We’re here to win. Everything else is second,” Sherman said recently. “You got to prepare for a team that night of a win, or that next morning of a win.”
Freshman James Okonkwo will still have to wait to make his collegiate debut as he continues to nurse a foot injury. He is expected to miss the first month of the 2021-22 campaign.
West Virginia has won the rebounding battle in just one of its three games but has forced opponents to shoot under 40 percent from the field in two of three. The Mountaineers also are averaging 12.3 steals per game.
The Golden Eagles (4-0) earned a 78-72 win against Ole Miss in the opening round of the tournament on Thursday. Darryl Morsell, who has eclipsed the 20-point mark in all four games this season, paced Marquette with 22 points. Justin Lewis and Kam Jones each recorded career-high point totals, scoring 21 and 18, respectively.
“I got here this summer with this group of guys, and they all just took me in and embraced who I was as a person,” Morsell said recently.
Greg Elliott could make his return against the Mountaineers after missing Marquette’s first four games due to a team-issued suspension stemming from an undisclosed policy violation.
Following lackluster shooting performances from 3-point range in the first three games, the Golden Eagles got back on track from deep and hit 13 of 32 (40.6 percent) from distance against Ole Miss. They hadn’t topped 30 percent from beyond the arc previously.
Marquette has won each of the past three meetings between the two teams.
–Field Level Media
