WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Two undefeated and nationally ranked squads will face off tomorrow night inside the ASRC. The 21^st ranked West Virginia State Yellow Jackets visit the hilltop to take on the fourth ranked West Liberty University men's basketball team. WVSU and WLU are two of 15 teams left undefeated in Division II.

THE BASICS
December 10, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Academic, Sports, and Recreation Complex (West Liberty, W.Va.)
#21 West Virginia State (8-0, 5-0 MEC) vs. #4 West Liberty (8-0, 5-0 MEC)
Live stats and video links will be available here.

THE HILLTOPPERS
West Liberty has rolled to its undefeated start to the season with double-digit victories in seven of its eight games including five by 20-plus, averaging a +27.5 average scoring margin. The Hilltoppers are on the heels of a two-game road trip, in which they downed Davis & Elkins (101-64) and Charleston (98-81). They return to their home confines, where they are 5-0, for the first time since November 30.
 
The Black and Gold lead the country in assists per game (24.2) and attempted three pointers (35.5). They are second in the nation in scoring (101.9 points per game), threes made per game (13.1), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.11), steals per game (12.9), and turnover margin (9.5). West Liberty is averaging a +6.5-rebounding margin and has outrebounded opponents 114-69 on the offensive glass this season.
 
Bryce Butler leads the MEC in points per game, at 22.2. The junior guard has been the leading scorer five times and in each of the last two games for WLU with 21 and 25 points. He has had six games of 20+ points and a pair of 30+ outings headlined by 35 in game two of the season against Cal (Pa). Butler is also the Black and Gold's leading rebounder, at 7.6 per game. He posted his third double-double of the season last game at Charleston (25 pts / 10 reb).
 
Six players average double digits for West Liberty. Steve Cannady (12.9), Ben Sarson (11.9), Christian Montague (11.6), Malik McKinney (10.8), and Zach Rasile (10.5) join Butler. All of them, except Rasile, are shooting over 50% from the floor this season, led by Butler at 63.1%.
 
Cannady leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio and is sixth in DII, at 4.50. He snapped a streak of five double-digit games in a row on Wednesday, with five points. The graduate transfer guard is shooting 54.4% from the field through eight games, second only to Butler on the team.
 
Sarson has had double figures and multiple three pointers in four straight kickstarted by a career-high 24 points against Notre Dame College. He leads the team with 44 three-point attempts.
 
Montague shot a season-high 12 times and scored 14 points on Wednesday at Charleston, his fifth game in double-digits. He has drained multiple threes six times including four in a row and leads the team with a 54.3% mark from deep. The junior guard also leads the team in assists, at 4.1 per game.
 
McKinney posted back-to-back double-digit games for the first time this season with 14 and 13 points against D&E and Charleston. The senior guard has gotten to the line a team-leading 28 times and converted 24 of those for an 85.7 free throw percentage. A career-high 24 points came in the win over Pitt-Johnstown this season.
 
Rasile leads the team with 20 triples and is shooting 46.5% from beyond the arc. The sophomore guard has made a long ball in all eight games and tied his career-high in the last home game versus West Virginia Wesleyan with five.
 
Nine players average over 10 minutes a game for Coach Howlett's squad. Alek West is one of the spark plugs off the bench leading the team with 20 steals, the third most in the MEC and 15^th in DII.

THE YELLOW JACKETS
West Virginia State is off to a perfect start and has survived a pair of overtime games at home, 89-88 over Shaw on opening weekend, along with a 101-99 statement victory over then #12 Fairmont State. The Yellow Jackets put up a season-high 114 points in a 24-point conference-opening victory over Glenville State on November 19. Most recently, WVSU came back from five points down at the half to defeat Wheeling, 92-84, on Wednesday night in Institute. This will be the first road trip in 10 days for the Yellow Jackets after two straight home contests, they have won all three road games this season, two of which in conference at Frostburg and Glenville State.
 
One of the recipes for success by the Yellow Jackets this season has been getting to the free throw line. They are atop DII in free throw attempts per game, at 29.4, and convert 21.4 of those ranking second.
 
West Virginia State will not be surprised by the high scoring 'Toppers, as it ranks fifth in the country at 93.6 points per game. The Yellow Jackets convert at the best rate in the MEC beyond the arc with a 40.8 three-point percentage, averaging 10.8 triples per game. WVSU has the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference, at 1.16, with an average of 16.0 assists and 13.8 turnovers per game. Sophomore guard Dwaine Jones is leading the assist front at four and a half per game.
 
On the glass, the Yellow Jackets average a -3.1-rebounding margin, as they have hauled in double-digit offensive rebounds every game but also allowed double-digits on the o-glass each time out. They have been outrebounded on the offensive end in each of the five conference games this season.
 
6'6" junior forward Malik Whitaker leads WVSU and the country with five double-doubles, including each of the last three games and four of the five conference outings. Whitaker is atop the MEC averaging 10.4 rebounds per game and is scoring 15.2 points per game.
 
Samier Kinsler, a 6-2 sophomore guard, leads the team averaging 16.1 points a game and has scored double figures in all but one game, including a game-high 19 on Wednesday versus Wheeling. He averages 2.75 three pointers per game, the second most in the MEC, and is shooting 40.7% from long range with a team-leading 48.2% clip from the floor.

THE SERIES
The Hilltoppers hold a slight advantage, 56-51, in the overall series heading into the 108^th meeting. West Virginia State ended the WLU season last year in the first round of the DII Atlantic Regional in overtime 103-94 after the 'Toppers won both regular season matchups. West Liberty has won 10 of the last 11 meetings on its home court.

NEXT UP
West Liberty will pack its bags and head west for the DII Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. on December 17 and 18. The Hilltoppers take on Lubbock Christian in the opener on Saturday at 8:45 pm eastern and then Missouri S&T on Sunday at 11 pm eastern.

Follow Hilltopper basketball all season online at HilltopperSports.com and on Twitter (@WLU_Hoops | @WLathletics), Instagram (@wlu_mbb | @wlu_athletics), and Facebook.