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Monmouth University Athletics

Monmouth Basketball at George Mason 11-06-23
Monmouth Athletics

MONMOUTH HEADS TO BIG 12 MEMBER WEST VIRGINIA FRIDAY

November 09, 2023

2023-24 Monmouth Basketball Gameday Preview: Game Two
                                                                                       
Monmouth Hawks (0-1, 0-0 CAA) at West Virginia Mountaineers (1-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Friday, November 10, 2023 - 7:00 p.m.
WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, WV
  
TV
ESPN+ / Big 12 Now
Play-by-Play: Nick Farrell
Analyst: Warren Baker
Sideline: Amanda Mazey
 
RADIO
Monmouth Digital Network
Play-by-Play: Matt Harmon
 
QUICK BULLETS
-Monmouth has nine new players on this season's roster
-Xander Rice scored 21 points in his MU debut
-Rice was one of five Hawks to make their MU debut Monday
-Rice was named All-CAA Preseason Honorable Mention and was also named CAA Newcomer of the Year by Blue Ribbon Yearbook
-MU has three incoming transfers on this years roster
-Jack Collins was a 2023 CAA All-Rookie selection
-Monmouth's King Rice enters his 13th season as the MU head coach
-Monmouth returns three starters in Klemen Vuga, Jack Collins and Jakari Spence
-Monmouth's roster boasts 19 players this season, the largest under King Rice
A MONMOUTH WIN WOULD...
-mark the ninth high-major win in nine seasons for King Rice
-be the first win over West Virginia in program history
-mark Monmouth's first win of the 2023-24 season
-register as MU's first road win since February 8, 2023 at Stony Brook
-be the Hawks second program win over a current Big 12 school (Cincinnati, 2021)
-register as the 190th win of Rice's career
-hand West Virginia its first loss of the season
-be the first win in a Monmouth uniform for nine new Hawks
-put the Hawks at 1-1 on the season
MORE INFO ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES
-Monmouth and West Virginia are meeting for the third time ever
-West Virginia leads the all-time series, 2-0
-The first meeting was played in 2014 on opening night, a 64-54 WVU win
-In the 2014 meeting, Deon Jones led MU with 14 and Brice Kofane had 11 rebounds in a game that Monmouth led by as many as 14 and led with under five minutes left
-The teams also met in 2018 at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, a 71-53 WVU victory
-The 2018 matchup saw Deion Hammond lead MU with 10 points, while Nick Ruther ford had seven assists and five steals. Monmouth was within two in the second half
-Monmouth's only visit to Morgantown came in 2011
-MU's only victory over a current Big 12 program came in 2021 over Cincinnati, who was a member of the AAC at the time
-The Blue and White are 1-7 against current Big 12 membership

NOTES FROM THE LAST TIME OUT
-Five Hawks made their MU debuts tonight.
-Xander Rice, making his Monmouth debut, led MU with 21 points, his 12th career game with 20+ points.
-Jack Collins finished with 17 points, his 17th double-figure game of his career.
-Nikita Konstantynovskyi tied his career high with three blocks.
-This marked MU's first matchup with George Mason since 2011.
-Abdi Bashir, Jaret Valencia and Cornelius Robinson scored their first collegiate points.
-Monmouth was better on the fast break, 15-11.
-MU had nine steals to George Mason's five.
-Each team made nine threes.
-Monmouth forced 18 Patriots turnovers.

NEXT UP
-Monmouth will host Princeton in its 2023 home opener on 11/18
-Princeton, a 2023 Sweet 16 participant, will be one of three NJ opponents
-Princeton and Monmouth are meeting for the 22nd time ever
-The game will air on SNY and FloSports
FAMILY CONNECTIONS
MU has ties to campus all across the roster, including Xander Rice, who is playing his final collegiate season for his father, MU Head Coach King Rice, after scoring 1,000 points in four seasons at Bucknell. Monmouth University President Dr. Patrick F. Leahy's son Jack Leahy is also on the roster, a freshman guard. Freshman Quinn Peters' father, Josh, played at MU from 1992-94 and also wore #42, while freshman Corey Miller's mother, Kathleen played soccer at Monmouth. 
 
RICE'S OPENING NIGHT
Xander Rice scored 21 points in the opener at George Mason, his 12th career game with 20+ points, leading the Hawks on the evening. It marked his 55th career double figure scoring game, and put him three points shy of 1,100 for his career.
 
COLLINS EFFICIENCY
Sophomore Jack Collins picked up where he left off as a CAA All-Rookie selection, pouring in 17 points on an efficient 6-9 from the floor and 4-5 from deep on opening night, including a deep three and the foul, converting the four-point play to get MU within four deep into the second half. 
 
KONSTANTYNOVSKYI BLOCKS
The graduate center blocked three shots in the season opener, tying a career high, set at Tulsa two seasons ago. He had two rejections on consecutive possessions.
 
OPENING NIGHT UNDER RICE
Xander Rice became the eighth Hawk under King Rice to score 20+ points, joining Walker Miller (2021), George Papas (2020), Deion Hammond (2018, 2020), Micah Seaborn (2017), Deon Jones (2013) and Andrew Nicholas (2012). Konstantynovskyi became the third Hawk with three opening-night blocks, joining Walker Miller (2021) and Chris Brady (2016).
 
TOUGH COMPETITION
As has become the standard under King Rice, MU is taking on three high-major opponents this season, including West Virginia, Seton Hall and Oklahoma. MU also takes on two NCAA Tournament teams and one NIT team from 2023, including Sweet 16 qualifier Princeton. Nine of MU's 13 non-league opponents posted a winning record last season. Ken Pom lists seven of Monmouth's non-conference opponents in the top-165 nationally. 
 
WHAT RETURNS
Monmouth returns 1,136 out of 2,036 points from last season, a 54.9% mark, including nine players returning from last seasons roster. Three returning starters in Jakari Spence, Jack Collins and Klemen Vuga are back for the Hawks.
 
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