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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

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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

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And, as always...