WVU Basketball

5 Things to Know Before WVU vs. Monmouth

Published

6 months ago

November 10, 2023

West Virginia hosts Monmouth at the WVU Coliseum on Friday night for the second game of the season. Let’s take a look at five things to know before the game.

Meet the Opponent: Monmouth

Monmouth began the season with a loss to George Mason, 72-61 on Monday. Luckily for Monmouth and WVU, both teams have a common opponent with GMU. West Virginia played George Mason in a charity exhibition on Oct. 27 where the Mountaineers won by eight points late.

Monmouth is coached by King Rice, who is in his 13th season with the program. Monmouth is ranked 301st in the country by KenPom. Hawks G Xander Rice scored 21 points against GMU, shooting 33% from the field. Rice is a transfer from Bucknell as he averaged 14.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists last season.

No Update on Battle, Akok Trending Positively

WVU interim HC Josh Eilert was asked about RaeQuan Battle (waiver) and Akok Akok (health) during his press conference on Thursday. Eilert had no update on Battle but is anticipating an answer soon on his appeal.

Eilert didn’t have an update on Akok but mentioned that things are heading in a positive direction for the fifth-year senior.

“Nothing new on Akok. Things are certainly trending in a positive direction if I can speak from a general side of things,” Eilert said. “Everything seems to be trending positively, which is great for him and his health, which is something we can all put a smile on our face for.”

During the second half of the George Mason exhibition game, Akok collapsed on the floor, resulting in him being stretchered out and taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital for the night. Akok was released after a night and has been tested throughout the last two weeks.

Eilert added that Akok is not participating in anything at the moment as medical officials continue to keep an eye on him.