Jackson Fields will make WVU men's hoops debut, as Mountaineers host Mercyhurst

Nov. 28—MORGANTOWN — Whatever defensive goodwill that was built up by the WVU men's basketball team over a 5-0 start took only a weekend to tear down.

Clemson and Xavier both shot north of 45 % in victories over the Mountaineers during the Charleston (S.C.) Classic. Xavier scored at will beyond the 3-point line. Clemson put up most of its damage in the paint.

"We've been good defensively and got exposed a little bit, " Hodge said after WVU fell to Xavier 78-68. "You've got to learn from it and take it on the chin and figure out a way to be better the next time you play a team that can space the floor."

It's been a week of reflection for the Mountaineers (5-2), and likely a week of getting back to the basics and finding out who they can be.

WVU will not see the type of opposition today in Mercyhurst (Erie, Pa.) it saw last week. The Lakers (3-4) enter today's 3 p.m. matchup having lost 3 of 4, including two straight against Miami (Ohio) and Marshall.

It won't be for another two weeks — when WVU heads to the Charleston (W. Va.) Convention Center to play Wake Forest — before the Mountaineers get another measuring-stick type of game.

Until then, there are still plenty of kinks to work out, including working two more players into Hodge's rotation. Chance Moore made his season debut against Clemson and will be playing in his third game of the season today.

Troy transfer Jackson Fields, a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds last season, is also expected to make his season debut today after recuperating from preseason wrist surgery.

The presence of Fields certainly gives the Mountaineers another big to matchup against taller and more physical teams. It also changes the equation for Hodge on how and when to work Fields into a game and how much playing time will remain for freshman forward D.J. Thomas and starter Brenen Lorient.

The addition of Moore also changes how Hodge can use guard Treysen Eaglestaff. Maybe he plays both together in a smaller lineup or he now has the option of using Fields somehow in what could be WVU's bigger option.

"It gives you another athlete. It gives you more length, " Hodge said on his weekly radio show. "It gives you more depth at either forward position. He can play the five or play the four. Another guy that's played a lot of basketball and played on an NCAA tournament team.

"He's played in high-stress, high-magnitude moments. Can stretch the floor from that position as well. A very good vocal leader, good intangibles, and is a guy that you can feel his voice when he's out there. He can move, he can defend, he can switch, he can block shots. He was our leading rebounder in the summer. He was our leading shot blocker in the summer."

Eventually, it will all come back to defense for WVU, which wasn't good enough against Clemson and Xavier.

That includes holding shooting percentages down, rebounding the ball, creating turnovers and not allowing the opposition to get comfortable. Xavier was real comfortable in making 16 3-pointers and the Musketeers were the second team to finish with more assists than turnovers against WVU.

"The bottom line is you're going to put a lot of stress on your offense if you're going to give up 16 threes, " Hodge said. "If we're giving up 80 points, it's going to be hard for us to win games at that rate. That's the truth of the way we are constructed."