Game 2: Zips Travel to Morgantown, W.Va. to Play WVU

Akron Zips (1-0) at West Virginia (0-0)
Friday, Nov. 8 • WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, W.Va. • 7 PM

West Virginia Head Coach
Bob Huggins (West Virginia '77)
Overall Record: 860-362 (37th Season)
Record at WVU: 270-151 (13th Season)
Record at Akron: 97-46 (Five Seasons)
OAC Record at Akron: 25-17 (Three Seasons)

AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 212-165 (12th Season)
Record at Akron: 32-34 (3rd Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 14-22 (3rd Season)
Overall MAC Record: 48-52 (at Ohio and Akron)

All-Time Series
Series Tied: 2-2 Groce vs. WVU: 0-1 (Illinois)
Last Meeting: WVU 77, Akron 56 at WVU Coliseum on Nov. 28, 2011
First Meeting: Akron 31, WVU 25 in Akron on Feb. 9, 1905

Broadcast
TV/Video: AT&T SportsNet (Pittsburgh) also streamed on Mountaineer TV (Link on GoZips.Com)
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats
Radio: Akron Sports Network - Steve French (PxP), Joe Dunn (Analyst), WARF 1350 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio, TuneIn.com/Akron Zips

What's Ahead
Akron continues the 2019-20 campaign on the road, traveling to Morgantown, W.Va. to play Big 12 conference member West Virginia. On Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m., the Zips are scheduled to play the Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum. In addition, the Akron men's soccer team squares-off against the Mountaineers in Morgantown on Thursday night, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m.

The Broadcasts
The game is scheduled to be televised on AT&T SportsNet with Rob King calling the action, Warren Baker providing analysis and Robby Incmikoski reporting from the sideline. The game will also be streamed on Mountaineer TV with a link on GoZips.Com. The Zips' radio broadcast will air on the Akron Sports Network SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) with Steve French calling the action and Joe Dunn providing analysis. The pregame show starts 30 minutes prior to the contest. The free audio stream is available at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/AkronZips. Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats.

Scouting the Mountaineers
Friday's game marks the season opener for West Virginia, a team that posted a 15-21 overall record and advanced to the Big 12 Championship Semifinals last season. In addition, the Mountaineers played in the Roman College Basketball Invitational (CBI) postseason tournament and defeated Grand Canyon before falling to Coastal Carolina.

WVU returns seven players from last season and added seven players for 2019-20. Among the returners is sophomore forward Derek Culver, who is the only player returning that averaged double figures in scoring. He finished the season as WVU's fourth-best scorer with 11.5 points per game. In addition, he controlled the glass for the Mountaineers, grabbing 10 rebounds per game (258 total rebounds) and adding 43 assists and 14 blocked shots.

Averaging double-digits in minutes and scoring between 5-7 points per game were Jermaine Haley (25.1 min, 7.1 ppg), Jordan McCabe (18.5 min, 5.8 ppg), Emmitt Matthews, Jr. (16.4 min, 5.4 ppg), Chase Harler (22.3 min, 5.4 ppg) and Brandon Knapper (13.8 min, 5.0 ppg). In addition, Logan Routt played 8.3 minutes per game and averaged 2.3 points.

Defensively, WVU allowed opponents to score 77.4 points a night on 45.8 percent shooting from the floor and 36.1 percent from 3-point range, allowing 7.7 long distance strikes per night. The Mountaineers caused 484 turnovers (13.4 to/g) with 223 steals (6.2 stl/g). WVU outrebounded the opponent by a +4.6 margin as the opponent to grabbed 1,260 total boards (35.0 rebs/g) compared to WVU's 1,1,425 total rebounds (39.6 rebs/g).

Bob Huggins at Akron
Huggins was head coach for the Akron Zips for five seasons from 1984-1989. In his tenure, he posted a 97-46 overall record with a 67.8 winning percentage that stands fifth-best in program history. For three years ('85-'87), the Zips competed in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and Huggins led the squad to a conference championship during the 1985-86 season. He received 1986 OVC Coach of the Year honors and led Akron to its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament appearance. In Huggins last two seasons, the Zips had no conference affiliation and Huggins led them to back-to-back National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances. The Zips have made four NCAA Tournaments and seven NIT appearances all-time.

The Akron-West Virginia Series
Friday's game marks the fifth meeting in series history between Akron and West Virginia, and the first meeting for a Groce coached UA squad. The all-time series is tied 2-2 as Akron won the first two meetings and WVU won the last two contests.

The series began on Feb. 9, 1905, in Akron, Ohio as the Zips posted a 31-25 victory. Akron followed with a 34-32 win on Jan. 2, 1937 in Akron. The third meeting was played in Morgantown and was Akron's first game as a Division I program. The Zips fell 108-74 on Nov. 29, 1980. WVU evened the all-time series on Nov. 28, 2011 with a 77-56 win at the WVU Coliseum. Zips' head coach John Groce is 0-1 against the Mountaineers as WVU posted an 89-57 win against Groce's former team (Illinois) on Nov. 24, 2016.

UP NEXT
Akron returns to James A. Rhodes Arena for a three-game homestand, starting on Friday, Nov. 15 against North Carolina Central. The homestand continues against South Carolina Upstate (Mon., Nov. 18) and Youngstown State (Thur., Nov. 21). All games are part of the Global Sports Shootout and scheduled for 7 p.m.

The University of Akron Athletics

Game 2: Zips Travel to Morgantown, W.Va. to Play WVU

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