MOUNT ST. MARY'S (0-0) at WEST VIRGINIA (0-0)
Monday, November 7, 2022, 7 pm
WVU Coliseum | Morgantown, W. Va.
WATCH: ESPN+/BIG XII NOW
GAME NOTES (PDF) | LIVE STATS
MOUNT STORY LINES
- Mount St. Mary's opens its 114th season on Monday at West Virginia. The Mountaineers finished the 2021-22 season with a 14-16 overall record, falling to eventual champion Bryant by one point in the Northeast Conference semifinals. Jalen Benjamin is the top returning scorer, averaging a team-high 13.3 points and 4.0 assists last year. Graduate student Malik Jefferson chipped in 7.1 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds last year.
- Mount St. Mary's is in its first season as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Mountaineers were announced as the 11th member of the MAAC on May 2 after a 33-year run in the Northeast Conference. The Mount won six NEC titles (1995, 1999, 2008, 2014, 2017, 2021) during its tenure, the last coming in 2021.
- Mount St. Mary's was picked to finish in 10th place in the Preseason Coaches' Poll as voted on by the league's 11 head coaches. Iona was tabbed as the league favorite, followed by Manhattan, Rider, Quinnipiac, Fairfield, Siena, Marist, Niagara, Saint Peter's, Mount St. Mary's and Canisius.
- Senior guard Jalen Benjamin was named Third Team Preseason All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference as voted on by the league's 11 head coaches. Benjamin averaged 13.3 points and 4.0 assists last year in his first season with the Mountaineers. The 5-10 guard was named Second Team All-NEC while appearing in 29 games with 28 starts.
- Mount St. Mary's holds a 58-55 record all-time in season openers. Since the school moved to NCAA Division I in 1988-89, the Mountaineers are just 4-30 (.118) in season openers, having played 31 of the 34 games on the road. The Mount has not opened a season at home since a 92-88 overtime win over La Salle on Nov. 14, 1998.
- Mount St. Mary's is 0-5 all-time against West Virginia in the all-time series that began in 1988. This will be the fourth time that the Mount and WVU have met in the season opener, joining the 2006, 2013 and 2016 seasons. WVU won the last meeting, 87-59, in the season opener on Nov. 11, 2016.
- Up next, the Mountaineers visit Coppin State for a 7:00 p.m. matchup on Friday, November 11.
