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Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here but, for the uninitiated, we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, and don’t be a troll.
GAME VITALS
Date: Sunday, December 29, 2019
Time: Noon ET
Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Channel: FS1
Announcers: Jeff Levering and Donny Marshall
Online Streaming: Fox Sports Go, with a valid cable subscription
Radio: Mountaineer Sports Network on IMG (Online Stream | Radio Affiliates) | XM 375
Radio Announcers: Tony Caridi & Jay Jacobs
Betting Odds: Ohio State -6.5, Total 136.5 via VegasInsider.com
Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.
GAME NOTES
- Sunday’s game will be the 17th in all-time series play that began in 1940. WVU has won seven of the last eight games. WVU has won the last two meetings, but the Buckeyes hold a 9-7 series lead. This will be the first neutral court meeting.
- The last meeting took place on Jan. 23, 2010, in Morgantown. No. 11 WVU won over No. 21 Ohio State, 71-65. The two teams met a year earlier in Columbus with the Mountaineers defeating No. 15 Ohio State, 76-48.
- WVU’s 28-point win at Ohio State in 2008 marked the largest margin of defeat for the Buckeyes in any non-conference home game in their history.
- On Dec. 19, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Bob Huggins is eligible for the Class of 2020.
- WVU’s 10-1 start marks the fifth time in the last six years WVU has started with a 10-1 record: 10-1 in 2019-20, 15-1 in 2017-18, 12-1 in 2016-17, 15-1 in 2015-16 and 14-1 in 2014-15.
- This will be WVU’s 29th meeting against an AP No. 1 or AP No. 2 team. WVU is 4-10 vs. No. 2 and 5-9 vs. No. 1.
- In the latest NET rankings released this week by the NCAA, WVU checked in at No. 10 with a No. 4 strength of schedule.
- WVU’s 11 opponents have a combined winning percentage of .757 (103-33). That is the highest percentage in the country.
- In the latest NCAA statistics, WVU ranks third in offensive rebounds per game (14.9), second in 3-point FG% defense (24.6), fifth in FG% defense (36.2) and third in rebounds per game (42.7).
- Derek Culver (9.4) and Oscar Tshiebwe (9.3) rank first and second, respectively, in Big 12 Conference rebounding. Oscar Tshiebwe leads the country in offensive rebound percentage, rebounding 20.5% of WVU’s missed shots. Derek Culver is 17th in the country in defensive rebounding percentage, rebounding 28.6% of opponent’s missed shots.
- West Virginia is rebounding 39.4% of its missed shots, ranking fourth nationally. The national average is 28.3 percent.
- West Virginia has won five of six and nine of its last 13 games in the state of Ohio
LISTEN LIVE
PROJECTED STARTERS
West Virginia Mountaineers: Emmitt Matthews Jr., Oscar Tshiebwe, Derek Culver, Jermaine Haley and Jordan McCabe
Ohio State Buckeyes: Andrew Wesson, Kyle Young, Kaleb Wesson, Luther Muhammad, and CJ Walker
PREGAME READING & UPDATES
Follow along with us on Twitter @smokingmusket for running commentary, and join us in our Slack to talk about the game with other Mountaineer fans.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
Find a warm, comfortable spot, grab a favorite beverage or threeve, and join in on the running commentary, random observations, silly images, gifs, snark, wit, bitches, complaints, moans, groans, cheers, celebration and jubilation in the comments section below.
And, as always...
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