WVU BASKETBALL

There are a few things West Virginia's Alex Ruoff will miss after this season. "I love it,'' said the 6-foot-6 senior guard of the Charleston Civic Center. "I love the fan base we've got down here. This place gets really rockin' when we get on a run.'' Ruoff and his Mountaineer teammates hope to have the joint jumping when they take on Delaware State (1-5) at 7 tonight at the Civic Center in an early-season tune-up that is part of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational, which moves from campus sites to Las Vegas Friday. WVU is playing its first of two games at the Civic Center this season - the other is the annual clash with in-state rival Marshall Jan. 14. "It means a lot to come down [to Charleston] and get a victory for the people,'' Ruoff said before Monday's practice. "I remember that Oklahoma loss [88-82 in double overtime] last year. I'm still thinking about that. "Hopefully, we'll have a better showing. We've got a long ways to go. Our last outing wasn't very good. We're looking to bounce back with a better performance against Delaware State to get ready for the competition in Vegas.'' WVU (2-0) has hardly been terrible in its first two games this season, beating Elon (92-47) and Longwood (86-54) by an average of 35 points. The Mountaineers, however, have set a high standard for themselves after making a run to the Sweet 16 in last year's NCAA tournament. "It's early,'' said second-year WVU coach Bob Huggins. "Offensively, we're not playing very well. I think we have some guys playing pretty well defensively. We're not playing well as a unit yet and it just takes time. "[The players] want to get better [and] they want to be a good team. They're unselfish. The best part is that they're great guys. They're fun to be around [and] they work hard in practice. It's a good bunch of guys.'' The Mountaineers are averaging 89 points on 56.2 percent shooting while holding opponents to 50.5 points on 33 percent accuracy. WVU is also outrebounding its opponents by 43 and has forced 22.5 turnovers per game. Ruoff and 6-7 junior forward Da'Sean Butler lead the Mountaineers in scoring at 15.5 points per game. Six-2 freshman guard Darryl "Truck'' Bryant is the only other player in double figures at 14.0 points per game and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 5-to-1. Six-7 junior forward Wellington Smith (9.0 points), 6-9 freshman forward Devin Ebanks (8.0) and 6-8 freshman forward Kevin Jones (7.5) have also contributed. Nine players are averaging at least 16 minutes per game. Smith is the top rebounder at 6.0 per game while Jones and Ruoff (5.5) and Butler and Ebanks (5.0) also lend a hand underneath. Huggins split the two games in Charleston last year - his first as WVU head coach - falling in double OT to Oklahoma and beating Marshall 66-64. Counting his playing days at WVU, Huggins owns a 3-2 record at the Civic Center. "It's great,'' said Huggins of the atmosphere. "I thought the crowds a year ago we're terrific. I haven't won enough here, but we're going to try and fix that.'' Delaware State should be the perfect prescription. The Hornets, who are located in Dover, Del., and are a member of the Mid - Eastern Athletic Conference, will be playing their seventh game in 12 days and are losers of five straight. Delaware State is averaging 53.2 points and shooting just 39.6 percent from the field. Donald Johnson, a 6-4 senior guard, is the top scorer at 10.2 points per game while 6-7 senior forward Arturo Dubois adds 7.4 points and 12 blocks. Frisco Sandidge, a 6-6 junior forward, chips in 7.0 points and 7.4 rebounds. Four other players average between 5.5 and 6.8 points. "They're going to try and control tempo a whole lot more, run the flanks and spread us out and try to beat us off the bounce,'' Huggins said. "I would think it would be a good game for us.'' Briefly WVU and Delaware State met in an opening-round game of the National