Allegheny Highlands Today

Preview: Wesleyan Travels To Wheeling For Crucial MEC Matchup

 West Virginia Wesleyan Men's Basketball will travel to Wheeling on Wednesday for a crucial conference matchup with the Cardinals at 7:30 p.m. Wesleyan took the first matchup of the year in dramatic fashion, winning 89-87 in overtime. The two teams sit in a tie for 10th place in the MEC standings.

WHEELING CARDINALS
The Cardinals enter (4-14) overall and (2-10) in MEC play. Wheeling is coming off their biggest win of the year and huge upset over #15 West Liberty 114-107.

Wheeling sits in the bottom four of the league in almost every statistical category. They do rank 3rd in FT%, shooting 73% from the line as a team. The Cardinals especially struggle on the glass, ranking 10th in Team Rebounds (34.9 RPG) and Offensive Rebounds (9.3 AVG/G), while also ranking 9th in the league in Defensive Rebounds (25.6 AVG/G).

John Korte ranks 3rd in the MEC and leads the Cardinals in scoring, averaging 20.6 PPG. The 6-6 Forward was the leader of the upset over West Liberty, dropping a career-high 40 points. Korte is extremely active on the boards as well, sitting 10th in the league and also leading WU in rebounding, grabbing 6.8 RPG. Brent Price leads the team in assists, averaging 3.2 APG, which is good enough for 11th in the league.

Chris Richardson is in his third season as the Head Coach of the Cardinals. Last season, a Richardson-led Wheeling team made it to the MEC Tournament Semifinal game, losing to rival West Liberty. Prior to Wheeling, Richardson spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Central Missouri University. While at CMU, the Mules won 20 or more games three times and made an appearance in the NCAA DII Tournament once. He also spent two seasons as an assistant at Delta State before he went to Central Missouri.

WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN BOBCATS
The Bobcats enter (2-14) overall and (2-10) in MEC play. Wesleyan lost to Davis & Elkins 70-53 their last time out on Saturday.

Wesleyan now ranks 3rd in the MEC in Steals, averaging 9.1 SPG. The Bobcats have been getting more active on the offensive boards (10.4 AVG/G), ranking them 9th in the league.

Darius Green raised his average to 17.7 PPG, leading the Bobcats and ranking 8th in the MEC in scoring. Green continues to lead Wesleyan on the boards, pulling down 6.6 RPG. Green's 1.9 APG also leads the Bobcats. Tyler Slone's 12.1 PPG and Anthony Craven Jr.'s 11.1 PPG aids the Wesleyan offense. 

Original source can be found here