#6 West Chester vs #3 Virginia State
Game Details: March 15 I 12 P.M.
Location: ASRC (West Liberty, W.V.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video I Tickets I Championship Central
Series: 1-1 (L1)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS I GAME NOTES
VSU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Fan Information
Fans attending this weekend’s games are encouraged to purchase tickets online via this link to skip the lines and pay via card. Tickets will be available for purchase at the ASRC; however, sales will be cash only.
With a Win
With a win on Saturday afternoon, West Chester would earn its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2018 and advance to the Round of 32 for the second time in team history. The Golden Rams would face the winner of the #2 Gannon vs #7 East Stroudsburg game, which will be played at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon immediately following the Golden Rams First Round game.
WCU remains in search of its first Round of 16 appearance in program history.
Last Time Out
West Chester fell to Millersville in the PSAC Quarterfinals by an 85-71 final after the Marauders used a big second-half, which included an 8-for-9 effort from three-point range to stun the regular-season Champion Golden Rams. Led by 16 points from Dylan Blair as one of three Golden Rams in double figures, West Chester shot 35.9 % from the field and 5-of-20 from three-point range, while Millersville shot 51.9 % (28-of-54) from the field and 9-of-15 (60.0 %) from three-point range, led by 28 points from Jahme Ested and 18 second-half points from Aiden Gair.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters play on Saturday averaging 78.3 points per game on 42.3 % shooting from the field and 31.9 % from beyond the arc. The Golden Rams remain among the best rebounding teams in Division II, averaging 42.2 rebounds per game, which is +7.9 rebounds per game better than its opponents, while also holding a 15.9-14.0 lead in turnovers, thanks in part to 9.5 steals per game.
Individually, Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) is first on the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game, while Davante Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Red Lion) and Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) are second, averaging 10.6 points per game. Walker also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.0 rebounds per game, while Dylan Blair (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) is first on the team in assists, averaging 4.2 per game. Allen has scored in double figures in a team-best 23-of-28 games this season and led the team in scoring in 13 of those 23 games, leading WCU to an 11-2 record in such games. This includes his 27 points against Pitt-Johnstown in late December and his 20 points in the win over Millersville in the final home game of the regular season.
NCAA Tournament History
On Saturday, West Chester will appear in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in its history and the first time since the 2018-19 season. WCU is 1-10 in NCAA Tournament games and 1-2 in its last three after earning its first victory in 2018 when the team defeated third-seed Wheeling.
West Chester women's basketball remains the only Golden Ram team to make an appearance in the Atlantic Regional Championship game, advancing to that game (Sweet 16) during the 2022-23 season before falling to reigning National Champion Glenville State in Glenville, West Virginia.
He’s the First
Head coach Damien Blair earned his first career PSAC East Coach of the Year Award last week. In doing so, Blair became the first PSAC men's basketball coach to earn both Athlete and Coach of the Year honors in their career.
As a player at WCU in the 1990's Blair was named PSAC Rookie of the Year in 1992 and was the Player of the Year in 1994 and 1995.
It’s an Honor
In addition to Blair's Coach of the Year award, West Chester landed a trio of players on the All-League squad. Elijah Allen was named First Team All-League for the second year in a row, along with Davante Dennis, who captured his first All-League certificate. Joshua Walker also earned his first All-League honor as a Second Team selection.
On the Cusp
West Chester tied its single-season win record with a win in the regular-season finale against Kutztown on March 1 and is just one win shy of a program-record 24th win on the year. West Chester has won 23 games in a season twice, doing so the first time in 1998-99 and again in 2015-16. In both seasons, West Chester appeared in the NCAA Tournament as a fifth-seed, falling to fourth-seeded Charleston (W.V.) 79-77 in 1999 and Kutztown 76-63 in 2015.
The Second Unit
West Chester's bench enters the NCAA Tournament averaging 24.9 points per game, which is fourth best in the PSAC and 71st in Division II. The WCU bench has outscored the opposing bench in 20 of 29 games this season, including a 42-31 advantage over No. 17 West Liberty in the season opener.
Made in the Paint
West Chester has outscored its opponents in the paint in 19 of 29 games. West Chester is unbeaten when finishing the game tied (IUP 34-34, Mansfield 34-34) or ahead of its foes in points in the paint. WCU is 3-5 when being outscored in the paint (West Liberty 50-44, ESU 34-26, Millersville 46-20, Shepherd 22-26, Shippensburg 40-22, Bloomsburg 34-38, Millersville 36-40, Millersville 28-38) with its lone wins coming vs Shepherd, at Bloomsburg, and at home vs Millersville in the home regular-season finale.
Chasing 1,000
Senior forward Joshua Walker is just 22 points away from his 1000th collegiate point and only 27 away from achieving this milestone as a Golden Ram.
When Leading at the Half
West Chester is 20-1 when leading at the half this season, with its first and only loss coming in the PSAC Tournament when the team was outscored 53-36 by Millersville.
Drawing Parallels
West Chester last went dancing at the end of the 2018-19 season, which was also the last time West Chester opened its season 0-2, opened its season at West Liberty, and enjoyed a mid-season winning streak of 12 games or longer, rattling off 15 wins in a row during this campaign.
Series History
Saturday afternoon will be the third meeting between West Chester and Virginia State and the first neutral site meeting between the two squads. Early season opponents in two of the last three seasons, West Chester and Virginia State are 1-1 against one another, with each team winning on its home floor. West Chester started the series with an 85-78 victory over the Trojans in Hollinger, led by 25 points from Kyle McGee. In the second meeting at Virginia State on the opening weekend of the 2023-24 season, West Chester fell to its hosts by an 82-62 final despite a 13-point effort from Joshua Walker as he was 5-for-9 from the field and 3-of-5 at the line in 22 minutes.
Scouting Virginia State
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Tournament Champions, Virginia State (21-8), enter the NCAA Tournament on an eight-game winning streak after defeating Bluefield State in the Conference Championship game on ESPNU by a 71-64 final on March 1. Prior to this, VSU posted a 78-72 win in the Quarterfinals over Bowie State and a 66-57 victory over Lincoln in the Semifinals to capture its first Conference crown since 2019.
In this victory, Virginia State held a slim 36-35 lead at the half after shooting 40.6 % (13-of-32) from the field to open the game before outscoring Bluefield State 35-29 in the second half on 41.2 % (14-of-34) from the field to earn its first Conference crown since 2019. Jacob Cooper led Virginia State in scoring with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting, eight rebounds, and eight assists, while Jared White added 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Davian Coleman and Jayson Harris led the way in rebounding with 12 each, while Coleman also registered a team-best three blocks in a game, which saw the lead remain within single digits throughout the afternoon.
For the year, Virginia State is averaging 76.7 points per game on 46.3 % shooting from the field, including 35.0 % from beyond the arc, while also outrebounding opponents by a 37.0-30.5 margin on the year. One area West Chester may exploit on Saturday will be turnovers as the Trojans average 15.6 turnovers per game, while opponents average just 13.4 per game. Opponents enter play averaging 70.6 points per game on 40.1 % shooting from the field, including a 27.6 % effort from beyond the arc.
Individually, Cooper leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game, while Clint Wright Jr. is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.8 points per game. Tim Uzochuwku leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.0 per game, while Cooper leads the squad in assists, averaging 6.0 per game, which is among the best in Division II men’s basketball. Saturday will be West Chester’s first game vs a CIAA foe this season, but it will be the third game of the year for Virginia State after opening the season at home vs Gannon and Shepherd. VSU lost its opener to Gannon by an 89-65 final before rebounding with a dominant 93-50 win over Shepherd on Saturday, November 9, led by 15 points from Jared White as one of six Trojans in double figures.
