The Matchup

West Virginia Wesleyan Men's Basketball will take their two-game win streak to Institute on Thursday night, to take on the Yellow Jackets of WVSU. The Bobcats have an extra day of rest this week coming off their sweep of last week's contests, as the Little General Shootout is taking place at WVSU on Wednesday night. The two teams will enter Thursday night separated by two games in the Mountain East Conference standings, the Yellow Jackets tied for fourth at 10-6, and the Bobcats in the seventh spot at 8-8. WVSU is tied for second in the MEC in points per game, as their style of play features athleticism and speed over finesse and half-court offense. That opposes them directly with Coach Nick Patella's team, who loves to let Luka Petrovic and Dusan Vicentic work a two-man game in the half-court to open up opportunities for themselves and shooters Daylin Lee and Clay Todd. The last time these two teams met, WVSU walked out of the Rockefeller Center with a one-point victory, after Michal Sears hit a game-winner with under twenty seconds to play. The Bobcats will hope to be the ones playing spoiler on Thursday night. 

Key Statistics

WVSU is tied for second in the MEC in scoring (94.0 ppg).
WVSU is last in defense in the MEC (89.8 ppg).
WVSU's Glen Abram is sixth in the MEC in scoring (18.2 ppg).
Wesleyan is third in the MEC in rebounding margin (+2.6), WVSU is eighth (-1.8).
Wesleyan is fourth in the MEC in free throw percentage (72.7%).

Storylines

Coming off a 2-0 week against Notre Dame and Urbana, Wesleyan will be thrown back into the MEC fire this week against WVSU and Charleston. Currently vying for the coveted sixth place in the MEC standings due to the tournament bye, the Bobcats are likely going to have to win one game this week to keep pace with Wheeling. If they can knock out WVSU on Thursday night, Wesleyan can drag the Yellow Jackets into the mix for the final two seeds in the tournament as well. Besides an uncharacteristic night against Notre Dame, Dusan Vicentic has been one of the best players in the MEC over the past few weeks, and he has been joined recently by Luka Petrovic. The two Serbians have experience that WVSU does not have, and Coach Nick Patella will lean on them to lead these Bobcats on the road Thursday, and through this tough upcoming stretch that includes Glenville State next week. 

Players to Watch - West Virginia Wesleyan

Dusan Vicentic (16.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 52.3 fg%)
Luka Petrovic (12.8 ppg, 5.5 apg, 4.7 apg)

Players to Watch - WVSU

Glen Abram (18.2 ppg, 37.8 3pt%)
Jeremiah Moore (16.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 59.1 fg%)