The University of Charleston men's basketball team is marching into today's first round of the Mountain East Conference tournament. West Virginia State's gait has a noticeable limp.
The MEC's men's and women's hoops tournaments begin at school sites throughout the conference, and the winners of those games move to the Charleston Civic Center - the women on Thursday, the men on Friday - to face the top four seeds in the quarterfinals.
UC's men host Urbana at 7:30 p.m. at the Charleston Catholic Athletic Complex, while WVSU's men visit West Virginia Wesleyan at 7 p.m. UC's women host Shepherd at 5:30 p.m. at the Charleston Catholic Athletic Complex, while WVSU's women host the University of Virginia College at Wise at 7 p.m. at the Walker Convocation Center.
The Golden Eagles men (15-13, 12-10 MEC) won their last two games by an average of 32.5 points, including a 30-point win against Concord, which UC would face Friday if it beats Urbana. UC coach Dwaine Osborne said he can see a spring in his players' steps, something he didn't always see during the regular season.
"I think they're confident now, and for a while I wasn't sure they were playing with great confidence," he said. "I feel like their confidence level is growing. I feel like we're getting there, but [Sunday] night, I think I had their attention well. They were locked in pretty good."
Though the Blue Knights (2-25, 1-21 MEC) finished 12th in the 12-team conference, UC won't take them lightly. Urbana's 81.2 points per game ranks seventh in the MEC and 86th in the 300-team Division II.
Sweeping UU wasn't easy for Charleston. The Golden Eagles fell behind by 18 points with 17:30 left in their Dec. 3 game at Urbana. UC outscored the Blue Knights 54-34 in that final 17:30 to escape with a 91-89 win.
"And it's not like we beat them by 50 here," Osborne said. UC beat Urbana 88-73 on Feb. 6 at the Civic Center. "Because we didn't blast them, we can't just overlook them. I think the message will be, hey, we beat them twice and we won those games by a total of 17 points, about eight-and-a-half points per win. That's a three-possession game."
The Yellow Jackets men (6-21, 4-18 MEC) aren't just reeling from a seven-game losing streak and losses in 12 of their last 13. Their list of available players has taken a hit as well. Both Frank Webb (knee) and Keith Harris (foot) were injured in a loss at UVa-Wise, neither played in State's loss to UC on Saturday and WVSU coach Bryan Poore expects neither player to be ready for today. Also, guard Tyler Thompson had a tooth knocked out versus UC and he could miss today's game.
West Virginia State has struggled against the Bobcats (16-12, 11-11 MEC) this season, losing 72-51 in Buckhannon and 76-58 at the Walker Convocation Center. The Yellow Jackets have especially struggled against WVWC post player Tanner McGrew, who averaged 26.5 points and 15 rebounds against State in two games.
Preparation won't be easy for WVSU, considering Poore said he'll likely dress just seven players today and be without Webb, the team's only double-digit scorer past Markee Mazyck and its most accurate shooter.
"It's really difficult right now with where we're at," Poore said. "If we had everybody healthy ... right now, it's going to be a struggle. But it is what it is. It teaches you you have to fight through difficult situations. If this is the worst thing that happens to us, we'll all be OK. We've got to stay together, lay it on the line and see what happens."
On the women's side, both UC (12-16, 10-12 MEC) and WVSU (13-15, 10-12) swept Tuesday's foes in the regular season. Charleston coach Adam Collins said his team entered today's game with plenty of confidence, riding a four-game winning streak to close the regular season. That was done in spite of the injuries, several season-ending, that the Golden Eagles had to face.
"In some ways, what we've done here of late is as good as winning a regular-season championship, with everything they've faced and been able to stick with it," he said.
Yellow Jackets coach David Smith, disappointed in his team's performance in its regular-season finale loss to Charleston, said he was sure Wise would come to the Walker Center with revenge on its mind, especially since the Yellow Jackets just took a game from the Cavaliers in Wise, Virginia, 88-78.
"They're a good team, who has underachieved, who you've beaten twice," he said. "I'm sure they felt like they should have won that one [on Thursday]."