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GAME NOTES: Bob Huggins welcomes his former team to Morgantown this afternoon, as his West Virginia Mountaineers play host to the Cincinnati Bearcats at WVU Coliseum.

The eighth-ranked Mountaineers continue to jockey for position among the Big East elite. WVU's conference run hit a road block earlier this week, as the team faltered at UConn, 73-62. The loss dropped West Virginia to 10-5 in league play.

Cincinnati has had its ups and downs this season and the team's 7-8 league ledger is indicative of that. The Bearcats have split their last four games, but enter this tilt off a 74-69 win over DePaul.

The Bearcats hold a 10-6 advantage in the all-time series with West Virginia, including wins in the last two meetings. Cincinnati has won four of the last five meetings overall and are 3-1 against West Virginia under Mick Cronin.

Yancy Gates poured in a career-high 23 points, leading the Bearcats to a five- point win over the Blue Demons last time out. Gates was an impressive 11-of-15 from the floor and also pulled down eight rebounds. Lance Stephenson added a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Ibrahima Thomas matched the output on the boards, with 10 of his own. In all, Cincinnati dominated the play on the glass, outrebounding DePaul 47-31. The Bearcats are not the most potent offensive team in the league, averaging a mere 70.0 ppg, on .446 shooting. The team has struggled from behind the arc (.291) and the free-throw line (.614) as well. Stephenson leads the team with a modest 11.5 ppg. Deonta Vaughn is a close second at 11.2 ppg, followed by Gates' 10.6 ppg.

The Mountaineers are not an offensive juggernaut either, averaging 74.7 ppg on .439 shooting. The team has a explosive playmaker in Da'Sean Butler, who paces WVU in both scoring (17.2 ppg) and assists (86) and is third in rebounding (6.1 rpg). Kevin Jones (13.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and Devon Ebanks (12.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg) form a solid frontcourt duo. Darryl Bryant rounds out the top scoring threats at 10.7 ppg. West Virginia trailed by nine points at the half and was unable to recover, falling by 11 points to the Huskies this week. Ebanks and Jones led the way in the loss. Ebanks just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. Jones added 12 points and six boards. Butler however, struggled, converting just 2-of-10 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the free-throw line to finish with nine points.

Cincinnati has won the last couple of meetings, but West Virginia gets the nod here. The Mountaineers are looking for some momentum heading into the postseason and will begin with a big win over the Bearcats.