Morgantown, WV (Sports Network) - The 2009-10 season gets underway for the eighth-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers as they entertain the Greyhounds of Loyola University Maryland on Sunday afternoon at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.

Loyola opened its 100th season of men's basketball on Friday night against Vermont at home, and the result was a 79-66 decision in favor of the Greyhounds. Loyola, which is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, won't play another home game until hosting Morgan State on December 1st. As of now, this game marks the only one the Greyhounds will play against a nationally-ranked opponent. Loyola is 0-20 all-time in games against Top-25 foes.

WVU, which is ranked in the AP Preseason Top-25 for just the third time in program history, has won 25 straight non-conference home games, and is a stellar 42-2 at home against non-conference foes over the last seven years. Overall, the Mountaineers are 54-8 at WVU Coliseum in the last four seasons, including a 24-5 mark under current head coach Bob Huggins. Following this game, West Virginia doesn't have another home date until hosting Duquesne on December 9th. The Mountaineers have reached the NCAA tournament in four of the last five seasons, including one Elite Eight appearance and two other Sweet 16 appearances. In the year the Mountaineers didn't reach the Big Dance, they won the NIT.

This game marks the first-ever meeting between Loyola-Maryland and West Virginia in men's basketball.

Brett Harvey hit five three-pointers in netting 23 points, and Anthony Winbush, known more for his defensive prowess, added 16 points to power the Greyhounds to their season-opening win over Vermont on Friday night. Winbush also added four rebounds, two steals and a block to his solid stat line, while Shane Walker nearly hit for a double-double with his nine points and eight rebounds. As a team, Loyola shot 45 percent from the field, which included a 9-of-16 showing from beyond the arc. The Greyhounds, who came up with 43 rebounds compared to just 31 for the Catamounts, won the game despite committing 18 turnovers and converting a mere 16-of-27 free throws (.593). A much better effort in all facets of the game will be needed if Loyola is to upset a team as talented as West Virginia.

Despite the loss of one of their top performers from last year (Alex Ruoff), the Mountaineers are considered by many to be the class of the Big East this season. WVU went 23-12 overall in 2008-09, and was 10-8 (tied for seventh) in the Big East. The squad made a little noise with two wins in the conference tournament and then earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, but was turned away in the first round by Dayton (68-60). Even though the current roster shows just two seniors, one of them is Da'Sean Butler who led the group in scoring a year ago with 17.1 ppg. Not content solely to be a scorer, Butler also added nearly six caroms per contest. Big East All-Rookie Team member Devin Ebanks (10.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 93 assists) is back to show that his first year with the Mountaineers was no fluke. While he wasn't quite as successful as Ebanks, Darryl Bryant (9.8 ppg, 96 assists) was another first-year player who was a significant part of WVU's success last season. In addition to getting Joe Mazzulla back from a shoulder injury, the Mountaineers will also counter the loss of Ruoff with the addition of transfer Casey Mitchell, the National Junior College Player of the Year.