MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Georgetown will make its first appearance in 12 years at the WVU Coliseum when the two old Big East rivals meet in a Big 12-Big East battle Friday night.

In previous games, Villanova defeated Cincinnati 68-60 and Providence defeated BYU 83-64 on Tuesday night.

In Wednesday’s action, Creighton defeated top-ranked Kansas 76-63, 25^Th-Ranking Connecticut Upend 15th^Th-Ranked Baylor 76-72.

Sixth-ranked Iowa State got the Big 12 on the right side with an 81-70 win over No. 5 Marquette, while Texas Tech beat DePaul 76-62.

TCU and Xavier will meet tonight in Fort Worth before West Virginia’s game against Georgetown on Friday night. There are more games on the schedule this weekend, including Kansas State at St. John’s and Butler at Houston on Saturday. The Challenge ends Sunday with an Oklahoma State game at Seton Hall.

The 7-1 Hoyas present an intriguing challenge with their size, reminiscent of the old John Thompson-coached Hoya teams that featured players like Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning.

Freshman center Thomas Sorber, a 6-foot-2, 255-pound freshman from Trenton, New Jersey, has been a double-double machine for Georgetown this year, leading the team in scoring (15.8 ppg) and Rebounding (8.9 rpg) on ​​.).

Sorber scored a team-best 23 points in Monday night’s 86-62 win over UMBC while displaying excellent scoring ability around the basket. He also leads the Hoyas with 14 blocks and also has 14 steals.

Sophomore Drew Fielder also boasts outstanding size, standing 6-foot-10 and weighing 235 pounds while contributing 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

TCU transfer Micah Peavy, who played a role in both of the Horned Frog’s wins over West Virginia last year, is a 6-foot, 220-pound player who averages 14.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game .

In addition, the Hoyas can bring 7-foot-10 Julius Halaifonua and 6-foot-10 Kentucky transfer Jordan Burks off the bench. Burks plays 18.6 minutes per game and averages 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Despite their impressive size, the Hoyas only outscore their opponents by an average of 4.5 boards per game.

Coach Ed Cooley’s backcourt features 6-foot-2 Harvard transfer Malik Mack, who averages 13 points per game, and 6-2 Illinois transfer Jayden Epps, who averages 13.9 points per game .

Georgetown is shooting just 28.6% from 3 attempts as a team and is scoring on 53 of its 185 attempts.

The Hoyas earned seven wins against Lehigh, Fairfield, Mount St. Mary’s, Saint Francis, Wagner, UAlbany and UMBC, while their only loss was an 84-63 verdict against Notre Dame at Capital One Arena.

All eight games were played in Washington, D.C., at either the Capital One Arena or the on-campus McDonough Arena.

“It’s a big game for us,” the West Virginia coach said Darian DeVries said earlier today. “They are playing well, they have a good record and are doing some good things. It’s a great game for our fan base and also a great challenge for us.”

West Virginia’s seven games so far this year have been far more challenging, including a 24-point loss to rival Pitt and recent games against third-seeded Gonzaga, Louisville and 24th^Th-ranked Arizona in the Bahamas, all three overtime affairs.

WVU outlasted the Zags 86-78 before falling to Louisville 79-70 a day later. The trip ended with the Mountaineers defeating Arizona 83-76, securing votes in this week’s two major polls.

Guard Javon Small scored 31 points in the Gonzaga win and added 26 a day later against Louisville. Tucker DeVries was West Virginia’s leading point producer against Arizona with 26, including an 8-for-12 shooting performance from 3.

Forward Toby Okani contributed a season-high 20 points against the Wildcats.

Darian DeVries said his team used the week to get some rest.

“Saturday was a long travel day, Sunday was a recovery day, Monday was training and Tuesday was off,” he said. “We need to bounce back a little bit because it wasn’t just three games, it was three and changes.”

Small, who was recently named Big 12 Player of the Week, increased his season average to 19 points per game. DeVries contributes 14.9 points per contest and shoots a team-best 46.9% from 3 while standing 6-foot-8 as a sophomore forward Amani Hansberry is scoring at a clip of 12.6 points per game.

West Virginia (5-2) is hitting 35.4% from three shots and hitting on 75 of its 212 attempts. The Mountaineers outscore their opponents by an average of 8.4 points per game.

When Georgetown last played here on Jan. 7, 2012, John Thompson III coached the Hoyas and Bob Huggins managed the Mountaineers.

West Virginia won that game 74-62 behind guard Truck Bryant’s 25 points and forward Kevin Jones’ 22 points and 16 rebounds. Hollis Thompson was Georgetown’s leading scorer with 20 points.

The two teams have played twice since then, both at McDonough Arena. The Hoyas defeated West Virginia 77-65 in an NIT matchup in 2014 and WVU edged Georgetown 80-71 on December 6, 2020.

West Virginia and Georgetown have met 53 times since 1922, including 23 games in Morgantown, where West Virginia had a 15-8 advantage. The two have played 27 contests in Washington, D.C. and three times at neutral sites, once in the 2010 Big East Tournament Championship at Madison Square Garden, where the Mountaineers won 60-58.


The Hoyas have a 27-26 lead in the series.


Friday night’s game begins at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 (Chuckie Kempf and Jon Crispin).


“I’m excited,” DeVries said. “This will truly be the first time we can have a full audience and see what the Colosseum has to offer.”


Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and David Kahn will begin at 6 p.m. on stations across West Virginia online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.


Tickets are available and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com. Fans attending the game are encouraged to wear their gold in accordance with Friday night’s Gold Rush promotion.