Storylines – vs. Glenville State College
Head Coach Justin Caldwell begins his first season with the Glenville State men's basketball program following at two-year stint at California University of Pennsylvania. Caldwell was a former standout for the Pioneers spending his senior year of college as a member of the men's team and served as the assistant coach for Glenville State for three seasons. Last season, the Pioneer men posted an 8-21 overall record and a 6-16 mark in Mountain East Conference play before falling to the Cavs in overtime of the opening round of the conference tournament, 89-83. The team returns starting junior guard Darhius Nunn who leads the team this year in scoring with 23.9 points per game and is shooting 47.1 percent from the field. Nunn ranks second in the league in scoring while ranking first in the league and nationally with 10.1 assists per contest. The Pioneers currently are second in the conference and third in the nation in scoring, averaging 105 ppg with a -0.4 scoring margin. Glenville is led in rebounding by junior forward Phil Bledsoe who has posted 10.9 rebounds per game. The Pioneers were selected to finish eighth in the league's preseason poll.

About UVa-Wise
UVa-Wise looks to bounce back in their home game against Glenville State Saturday following back-to-back conference losses on the road. In the Cavs most recent game against West Virginia Wesleyan, junior forward Eric Okenchi had a career-day with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting and added 11 rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Michal Seals followed with 16 points, six assists, and two rebounds in the loss to the Bobcats. So far this season, four players are averaging double figures including Seals (19 ppg), freshman guard Briggs Parris (15.6 ppg), Okenchi (12.7 ppg), and freshman guard Cameron Whiteside (10.6 ppg). Okenchi leads the Cavs in rebounding posting 8.1 boards per game while junior forward Tajh Eason is recording 6.5 rpg and Seals is averaging 5.1 rpg. As a team, UVa-Wise holds a slight scoring edge over opponents with a +0.3 margin, registering 82.9 points per contest. Shooting 42.6 percent (264-for-619) from the field through nine games, the team will try to find more consistency on offense while sustaining solid numbers defensively. UVa-Wise ranks fourth in the league in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents on average to 45.3 percent shooting from the floor. The Cavs rank atop the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense with opponents averaging 27.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Blake Mellinger's team sits at the number three spot in offensive rebounds (12.56 rpg) and the number two spot in defensive rebounds (28.44 rpg) in the conference. UVa-Wise went 3-0 against the Pioneers last season, meeting for the final time of the 2017-18 campaign in the opening round of the Mountain East Conference tournament.