Storylines – vs. King University (Tenn.)
Head coach George Pitts' team will be opening its season at the Conference Carolinas/South Atlantic Conference challenge this weekend with their first game of the campaign against the Cavaliers. Now in his 14th season with the team, Coach Pitts' program finished the 2018-19 campaign with a 15-14 overall record and a 8-10 mark in Conference Carolinas play, with the team tabbed to finish fourth in the this year's preseason poll. The Tornaodo averaged 75.1 points per game last season and shot 43.7 percent from the floor. On the defensive end, King averaged 36.2 rebounds per contest, 7.2 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game during the 2018-19 season. The Tornado return third team all-conference senior James Brown who ranked in the top-10 in the conference and led the team last year in points per game (14.3) and steals (43, 1.7 per game) while shooting 46.6 percent from the floor. Senior guard Jordan Floyd, who was the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year two seasons ago, also returns to the court for the Tornado this year after redshirting last season. During the 2017-18 campaign, Floyd was a first team all-conference selection as well as garnering D2CCA and NABC all-region honors. King will wrap up tournament play Saturday, Nov. 9, with a game against Carson-Newman at 2 p.m. before returning to Bristol for seven-straight home contests.

About UVa-Wise
Picked 11th in the South Atlantic Conference preseason standings, the Cavalier men open their campaign against King Friday at the Conference Carolinas/SAC Challenge  with a 5 p.m. game time in Banner Elk, N.C. Now in his seventh year at the helm, Coach Mellinger's team closed out the 2018-19 season with a 9-20 overall mark and a 6-16 record in the Mountain East Conference while advancing to the conference tournament. UVa-Wise averaged 81.9 points per game last season with a 44.2 field goal percentage. The team shot 36.5 percent from three-point range and 67.6 percent from the free throw line, led by redshirt sophomore Briggs Parris who shot 41 percent from downtown and 79.1 percent from the charity stripe. Parris concluded his freshman debut with all-conference and VaSID all-state recognition while being ranked in the top-20 in NCAA Division II in both three-point field goals per game (3.5) and total three-pointers made (102). The 6-foot-4 guard was also named to the Preseason All-SAC Second Team this year. Fellow sophomores Cameron Whiteside and Kaeleb Carter will look to continue to make an impact for the Cavs defensively as Whiteside and Carter led the Cavs with 36 and 34 steals, respectively, last year. The two combined for 21 blocks last season while Whiteside contributed 11 and Carter finished with 10. Senior Eric Okenchi returns as the top rebounder for the Cavs, accumulating 187 boards last season and averaging 4.2 defensive rebounds per game. Coach Mellinger's team will return to the court Saturday afternoon for a 4 p.m. tipoff against Lees-McRae.