WVU rising, Mercyhurst falling ahead of matchup

West Virginia will look to take another step toward the Top 25 in its final tune-up for the Big 12 Conference gauntlet when it hosts struggling Mercyhurst on Sunday afternoon in Morgantown, W.Va.

The Mountaineers (8-2) have won four straight games, the past three at home, with the most recent an 84-61 triumph over Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 14. Javon Small led West Virginia with 27 points in the victory, which kept the Mountaineers perfect in six home games.

Small has scored at least 20 points in five of the team's past seven games, and he has posted double-digit points in all 10 of the Mountaineers' contests.

West Virginia's four-game winning streak, which began with an overtime victory against then-No. 24 Arizona in the third-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis, is the program's longest since December 2022. The past two victories, over mid-majors North Carolina Central and Bethune-Cookman, came despite the absence of star guard Tucker DeVries, who is out with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Freshman Jonathan Powell is expected to start his second consecutive game in DeVries' stead. Powell, who had 14 points and sank four 3-pointers in the Dec. 14 win, closely mirrors the playing style of DeVries.

"We've done some nice things," West Virginia coach Darian DeVries said. "There's certainly been some moments, too, when you see some of the disconnect on offense. We've had to keep it fairly simple as guys are trying to learn new roles and new positions during these games."

The Mountaineers begin Big 12 play on Dec. 31 at No. 8 Kansas.

Mercyhurst (6-8) heads to Morgantown after a 62-60 loss at Binghamton on Wednesday. The Lakers dropped their second straight game and fourth in their past five outings by giving up a layup at the buzzer off an inbounds play.

Jeff Planutis led Mercyhurst with 13 points in the defeat, while Shemar Rathan-Mayes added 12 and Aiden Reichert had 11. Planutis is atop the Lakers' season scoring stats, contributing 14.9 points per contest.

The Mountaineers, who were No. 45 in the KenPom rankings entering the weekend, are -- by far -- the best team Mercyhurst has faced this season. The Lakers were No. 355 in the 364-team rating.

--Field Level Media