Storylines – vs. West Virginia State University
West Virginia State enters into Wednesday night's matchup undefeated in Mountain East Conference play with a 2-0 record and a 4-2 overall record. Head Coach Bryan Poore's team opened up their 2017-18 campaign hosting the Earl Lloyd Classic with the Yellow Jackets ending the weekend going 1-1, falling to Johnson C. Smith, 81-78, and defeating Elizabeth City State, 69-61. WVSU had its first conference contest of the season against Shepherd University where the Yellow Jackets came from behind to earn a 92-87 win after trailing 49-33 at the half. Senior forward Robert Fomby posted 20 points and eight rebounds in the comeback victory while junior forward Pat Johnson-Agwu recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Yellow Jackets would follow that performance with a 106-100 win over Fairmont State University just a few days later as Johnson-Agwu led the Yellow Jackets with 26 points and six rebounds in the win. The Yellow Jackets finished the night going 36-for-76 from the field with 62 points in the paint and 15 points off the bench against the Falcons. WVSU has gone 189-for-437 (43.2 percent) from the floor this season, hitting 92-of-126 (73 percent) shots from the line. The Yellow Jackets were selected to finish 11th in this year's MEC preseason poll, finishing their 2016-17 campaign with a 7-21 overall record and going 4-18 in the conference.
About UVa-Wise
UVa-Wise will look to continue its winning streak in conference play and remain undefeated as the Cavaliers take on the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets. The Cavalier men have had two tough MEC road tests, with the most recent resulting in a one-point double-overtime win for the Cavaliers, 102-101, against Notre Dame. The Cavs returned to Wise and earned their first home win of the season against Berea College last Wednesday, but were routed on the road against a strong No. 4 Lincoln Memorial team on Friday afternoon. Against the Railsplitters, redshirt senior forward Taiwo Badmus put up a season-high 32 points, scoring 21 of the Cavaliers 38 first-half points. The Cavaliers shot 27-for-61 (44.3 percent) from the field and recorded 25 rebounds. This season Badmus leads the Cavalier men in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 20.1 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. Badmus' stand-out performances in the Cavaliers last three games led to the London, England native being named MEC Player of the Week. In those three contests, Badmus averaged 26 points and 8.3 rebounds. Following Wednesday night's contest against the Yellow Jackets, UVa-Wise will return to Wise and utilize home court advantage as the Cavs face back-to-back MEC opponents inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center. The Cavs will first take on the University of Charleston for a Saturday afternoon matchup and will follow with a Wednesday night contest against West Virginia Wesleyan.
