WVU Sports Archives - WV MetroNews

Third time’s a charm: Mountaineers top TCU 62-53 to win Big 12

Greg Carey — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:16:18 +0000

West Virginia women’s basketball coach Mark Kellogg has been upfront regarding the importance of hosting games in the NCAA Tournament.

The 15th-ranked Mountaineers took a major step toward enhancing their case for a host bid Sunday, defeating No. 10 TCU 62-53 for the program’s second Big 12 Conference Championship at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

“We have unbelievable character around us, the players included. All the credit to those guys,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said. ”They did the hard work. We just try to put the plans together and put them in place and let these kids showcase what they’re capable of and that was on display tonight.”

WVU (27-6) had lost a pair of competitive games to No. 1 seed TCU (29-5) in the regular season, including on a Marta Suarez three-pointer at the buzzer in Morgantown.

But in the third meeting between the teams over the last two months, the Mountaineers never trailed in the second half.

WVU point guard Jordan Harrison scored nine of her game-high 21 points in the opening half, which the Mountaineers on a 7-0 run to lead 26-23.

Kellogg’s team gained separation in the latter stages of the third quarter, increasing what was a two-point advantage almost 4 minutes into the second half to an 11-point lead through three frames.

A 9-2 spurt over the final 4:02 of the third was pivotal and began with Carter McCray’s second-chance bucket. That stretch also included jumpers from Gia Cooke and Harrison, one free throw from McCray and Harrison’s driving layup just before time expired that left WVU with a 43-32 lead ahead of the fourth.

A three-pointer from Sydney Shaw with 8:45 remaining left TCU with a 46-34 deficit, and it grew to 14 on separate occasions in the final quarter.

The Mountaineers had a 56-43 advantage when Harrison made two free throws with 1:30 left, but the Horned Frogs didn’t go away quietly.

TCU was to within six less than a minute later five consecutive points from Suarez and two free throws from Veronica Sheffey.

Harrison then made two fouls shots to up the lead to eight, and after a defensive stop, Shaw got free for a transition layup that all but wrapped up the result.

CHEERS TO YOU, MARK KELLOGG #Big12WBB | @phillips66gas pic.twitter.com/il5uMlVDHW

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 8, 2026

“I don’t know if we put all four quarters together, but we’re getting closer and closer,” Kellogg said. “When you’re playing elite talent, and probably Suarez and [Olivia] Miles are going to be top 10 draft picks, you try to be disruptive and keep them off-balance and defend the rest of the really good players. We did a good job on them for the most part. They hit a few threes late. Our kids were dialed into the game plan and executed, but they compete. They’ll get out and get after you, guard and they’re relentless.”

The result gives WVU its second Big 12 Championship in what marked the program’s fourth appearance in the Big 12 final.

In addition to being the game’s high scorer, Harrison had six rebounds, four steals and three assists. She was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and joins Shaw on the five-player all-tournament team.

“We knew the things on the line and that’s something we talked about,” Harrison said. “We want to get two [NCAA Tournament] games in Morgantown, but we wanted to stay in the present of the game and situation. We knew if we did that then this would be the outcome of it.”

Shaw scored 17 to go with seven rebounds and Kierra ‘MeMe’ Wheeler added 10 points and eight boards. McCray also had eight rebounds, as WVU won the board battle, 41-34.

TCU shot 33 percent overall and 8 for 31 from long range.

Miles led the Horned Frogs with 17 points and Suarez scored 16 on 19 field-goal attempts to go with a team-high eight rebounds.

Miles and Suarez are also on the all-tournament team, as is Kansas State’s Jordan Speiser.

TCU’s three-lowest scoring outputs this season are the three games against the Mountaineers in which they managed 51, 59 and 53 points.

West Virginia will discover its opponent and site for the NCAA Tournament opener next Sunday.

WVU will enter the NCAA Tournament having won six straight and 10 of 11.

“We’ve just gotten better. Our non-league schedule was really good and put us in these situations,” Kellogg said. “We’re getting comfortable in this now and even in this tournament, [teams] made runs at us in the fourth quarter and that’s where you see us relax and make those runs. Thankfully we played from in front tonight where it felt comfortable.”

The Mountaineers discover their opponent and site for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament next Sunday. The top 16 seeds (four in each region) are awarded host sites. Entering Sunday, WVU had a NET rating of 18 and TCU’s was 10.

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Ineich drives in six as WVU takes series from Columbia, 16-1

Joe Brocato — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 21:32:32 +0000

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — West Virginia scored runs in six of their eight innings at the plate to take the rubber game of their weekend series with Columbia in emphatic fashion, 16-1. After dropping Friday’s series opener, 7-4, the Mountaineers scored 25 runs in the final two games to win their fourth weekend series in four tries this season.

“I think the guys probably played their best baseball of the weekend today,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “Yesterday was a really gritty win where I think we had to fight through a lot of things and we did it defensively.”

Leadoff batter and shortstop Matt Ineich broke the game open with a grand slam to cap a six-run second inning. Ineich added a two-run single in the third inning to finish the game with six runs batted in.

“It is a really good ballpark here with the win blowing out to left field. It definitely rewards misses for left-handed hitters. To be able to see a fastball like that and stay through it to the backside, I let the wind do the rest,” Ineich said of his grand slam.

Gavin Kelly, Brodie Kresser and Sean Smith also had two hits each. Kresser drove in three runs.

“The consistency of that kid as a human is what I like the most,” Sabins said of Kresser. “He is a Mountaineer through and through. He shows up everyday poised and confident. He is team-oriented. Regardless of the results, he is going to give you host best effort every single day.”

Redshirt junior southpaw Maxx Yehl authored another impressive start for the Mountaineers. He allowed just one run in a season-high six innings of work. He yielded five hits and struck out a season-high nine batters. Yehl has allowed one run in 17 innings of work over four appearances this season. Yehl has increased his innings in each of his four starts.

“It was just the confidence with everything,” Yehl said. “Every time I looked down and saw the pitch called, I was convicted with everything I threw. It just felt good and I kept running positive thoughts through my head.”

“Maxx Yehl gave us an incredible start,” Sabins said. “That was the longest outing of his career. He has now done that for four consecutive weekends.”

Hurricane High School graduate and 2025 West Virginia Player of the Year Weston Smith made his collegiate debut for the Mountaineers in the eighth inning. Smith allowed two hits but he later induced an inning-ending double play to put up a scoreless frame.

“He had been banged up to start the season,” Sabins said. “He had an injury and he had been back and available for about seven days. As a freshman coming back from injury, obviously that is a lot of trust in a coaching staff to then put you in a real game. We have ultimate trust in Weston Smith.

Joshua Suriago and JD Costanzo also posted scoreless innings in relief for West Virginia.

West Virginia (10-3) will host Maryland Tuesday at 2 p.m.

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3 Guys Before The Game – WVU Basketball- UCF Recap & B12 Preview (Episode 703)

MetroNews Staff — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 15:02:26 +0000

The bracket is set. It’s tournament time.

The West Virginia men’s basketball team enters the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 7 seed, earning a coveted first-round bye after closing the regular season with a win over UCF and getting a help from TCU’s victory over Cincinnati.

For a team projected to finish 11th in the preseason, the Mountaineers have positioned themselves for a meaningful week in Kansas City. Their tournament run begins Wednesday against the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between Kansas State and BYU.

In this episode, the “Guys” recap the regular-season finale against the Knights and examine what lies ahead in the conference tournament. They also preview the WVU women’s appearance in the Big 12 Championship game against TCU.

As always, Hoppy delivers his Obvious Observations, and Brad dives into the numbers with Spreads on Stats to set the statistical stage for the Mountaineers’ postseason path.

3 Guys Before The Game is sponsored by – Jan Dils Attorneys at Law, Komax Business Systems, GoMart, Lou Wendell Marine Sales, Tudor’s Biscuit World and Conley CPA Group.

Don’t forget to check out the 3 Guys website.

Never miss an episode, it’s free, subscribe below.

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2026 Big 12 Conference Tournament Men’s Basketball Schedule

MetroNews Staff — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 06:56:15 +0000

2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Schedule

(Note: All games at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City; all times listed are EST)

BRACKET

First Round – Tuesday, March 10

Game 1: No. 12 Arizona State vs. No. 13 Baylor (ESPN+) – 12:30 p.m.

Game 2: No. 9 Cincinnati vs. No. 16 Utah (ESPN+) – 3 p.m.

Game 3: No. 10 BYU vs. No. 15 Kansas State (ESPN+) – 7 p.m.

Game 4: No. 11 Colorado vs. No. 14 Oklahoma State (ESPN+) – 9:30 p.m.

Second Round – Wednesday, March 11

Game 5: No. 5 Iowa State vs. Game 1 winner (ESPN/2) – 12:30 p.m.

Game 6: No. 8 UCF vs. Game 2 winner (ESPNU) – 3 p.m.

Game 7: No. 7 West Virginia vs. Game 3 winner (ESPNU) – 7 p.m.

Game 8: No. 6 TCU vs. Game 4 winner (ESPN2/U) – 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 12

Game 9: No. 4 Texas Tech vs. Game 5 winner (ESPN/2) – 12:30 p.m.

Game 10: No. 1 Arizona vs. Game 6 winner (ESPN/2) – 3 p.m.

Game 11: No. 2 Houston vs. Game 7 winner (ESPN/2) – 7 p.m.

Game 12: No. 3 Kansas vs. Game 8 winner (ESPN/2) – 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals – Friday, March 13

Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner (ESPN/2) – 7 p.m.

Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner (ESPN/2) – 9:30 p.m.

Final – Saturday, March 14

Game 15: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner (ESPN) – 6 p.m.

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Mountaineers edge Colorado 48-47, advance to Big 12 title game

Greg Carey — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 04:06:09 +0000

No. 15 West Virginia didn’t put forth one of its better performances this season Saturday against Colorado.

The Mountaineers still managed a way to secure a spot in the Big 12 Conference Tournament title game.

A three-pointer from Gia Cooke with 32 seconds to play left the Mountaineers with a one-point lead, and WVU hung on to defeat the Buffaloes 48-47 in a semifinal at T-Mobile Center.

With the win, WVU (26-6) advances to play top seed TCU in the Big 12 final at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Cooke later missed two free throws with 2 seconds left, but Jordan Harrison poked the ball away from Colorado’s Jade Masogayo just before time expired, preventing the sixth-seeded Buffaloes (22-11) from attempting a potential winning shot.

Cooke’s late go-ahead triple came off a second-chance opportunity and allowed the Mountaineers to lead, 46-45.

On the ensuing possession, Masogayo missed a shot that WVU’s Kierra Wheeler rebounded, and Harrison made two free throws with 16 seconds left for a three-point margin.

Wheeler was then whistled for a foul as Desiree Wooten attempted a triple with 2 seconds remaining, but Wooten missed the first foul shot. She made the next two despite appearing to try to intentionally miss the third.

Both teams locked down defensively and struggled to score throughout the first half, which ended in a 17-all tie.

After turning it over six times in the first half, Colorado had five third-quarter turnovers, while Wheeler and Cooke scored five points apiece in that frame to spark a 17-point period that left the Mountaineers on top 34-30 with 10 minutes remaining.

Wooten’s trey with 6:11 left brought CU to within 37-36, and the Buffaloes gained a one-point lead when Zyanna Walker scored on their next possession.

Wheeler’s bucket inside put WVU back on top, and the Mountaineers led 43-40 when Cooke drained a jumper with 2:59 remaining,

The Buffaloes ran off the next five points, including Wooten’s go-ahead trey with 1:08 remaining, though Cooke countered 36 seconds later to give her team the lead for good.

Harrison led the Mountaineers with 15 points, while Cooke scored 14 and Wheeler added 12 to go with a team-high 10 rebounds.

Walker scored a game-high 16 points and Wotten added 14 in defeat.

Sunday will mark West Virginia’s fourth appearance in a Big 12 final. The Mountaineers are 1-2 on this stage and won in 2014.

TCU (29-4) defeated the Mountaineers in both regular season meetings.

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Kresser’s walk-off grand slam lifts WVU over Columbia in 10 innings, 9-5

Joe Brocato — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 22:37:16 +0000

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — Denied a chance to potentially be the hero in the ninth inning, WVU second baseman Brodie Kresser did not waste a second opportunity when another came in the tenth. Kresser delivered his first walk-off home run at any level of baseball with a grand slam as the Mountaineers defeated Columbia, 9-5 in 10 innings.

With two out, Kresser launched a line drive home run just beyond the wall to the left of the bullpen in left field, touching off a raucous celebration in front of a crowd of 2,885 fans at Wagener Field/Kendrick Family Ballpark.

“I kind of blacked out there. But I knew it had a chance,” Kresser said.

“It was a barnburner today. Things weren’t going our way and then we’d get things going. They answered right back. To do it in extras in the tenth inning was pretty special.”

“When you accomplish certain things, you get to carry yourself differently. You get to walk tall or you get to have that confidence,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “Kresser has been swinging the bat well. But he hadn’t driven the ball like that in a while. I think that was really important for him and our team. You saw jubilation out of that team today.”

With the game tied at 5 in the bottom of the ninth, Kresser stepped to the plate with a runner on first. He hit a sharp ground ball down the left field line that could have produced the winning run but would have at least put two runners in scoring position for West Virginia. However, Sabins called for time just before the pitch was thrown.

“That was unbelievable. We have PitchCom, which is how you control the signs. I gave Kresser a bunt the first pitch. I gave Kresser a bunt on the second pitch. But the PitchCom has different modes. Essentially, the mode had flipped over and I pushed ‘steal’. We did not want to steal in the biggest moment in that situation. So I called timeout pretty early. Unfortunately, that was not granted in a hurry,” Sabins said.

“It is poetic the fact that Kresser comes up later that game with the bases loaded and hits a homer. He is screaming in my face to not feel sorry about the timeout call. He is just a team-oriented guy and knows how this thing flows.”

The game-winning opportunities may not have been possible without a pair of brilliant defensive plays from left fielder Matthew Graveline. With the game tied at 5 in the top of the ninth, Graveline, who shares time at catcher with Gavin Kelly, robbed Owen Estabrook of a potential two-run home run.

“The wind was blowing out pretty hard today,” Graveline said. “I didn’t get much action in the first few innings. I just stayed ready. I was playing pretty deep just in case something like that happened. The ball was traveling pretty well today. I wasn’t too far from the fence. Once I got to the fence, I kind of just jumped up and caught it.”

An inning earlier, Graveline cut down the potential go-ahead run for Columbia. A Jackson Brewer double scored Hunter Snyder to tie the game. However, Graveline’s throw home ended the inning.

“I knew I had to make a really good relay to Matt Ineich,” Graveline said. “It was a good throw and he also made a really good throw to home. [Gavin] Kelly made a really good tag.”

In addition to Graveline’s defensive heroics, first baseman Armani Guzman made a pair of sterling defensive plays in the early innings. Guzman’s first collegiate start at first base came last week in WVU’s home opener against Ohio.

“Guzman was incredible. You guys are learning as I am too because he has played a lot of infield. But you don’t necessarily know what you are going to see when the lights turn on and you’ve got a different glove. He was exceptional.”

WVU starting pitcher Chansen Cole produced five scoreless innings before running into trouble in the sixth. A four-run rally from the Lions (2-6) gave them a 4-3 lead.

“He kept them off balance. He did what he does. He got to 87 pitches today. It looked like going out for the sixth, it didn’t look like the same stuff,” Sabins said of Cole.

“But if you give the Mountaineers five innings, five hits, three runs, we are going to be in every ballgame.”

David Perez (2.1 IP) earned the win in relief for West Virginia.

“We just played really clean defense that allowed us to stay in the game the entire day,” Sabins said. It wasn’t easy, that’s for damn sure. Nothing has been easy for a couple days. It felt like our team needed that. They had been working for that. Maybe they were pressing a little bit. But man, they battled.”

Brewer had two hits and drove in two runs for the Lions. Kelly and Sean Smith each collected three hits for WVU (9-3).

The rubber game of the series will be played Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Steve Sabins on the value of an extra-inning, walk-off victory to halt a 2-game losing streak: pic.twitter.com/IQeuD6Rn7I

— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) March 7, 2026

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No. 15 WVU pulls away late in 67-54 victory against Arizona State

MetroNews — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 05:44:15 +0000

— From WVU Athletic Communications

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No. 15 West Virginia used an 11-0 run in the late stages of the fourth quarter to get past Arizona State, 67-54, in the quarterfinal of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament on Friday night at T-Mobile Center.

Sydney Shaw led all players with 19 points, knocking down five 3-pointers to tie the program’s single game record at the tournament. Gia Cooke finished with 16 points, while Harrison added 10. Harrison also finished with five assists and three steals and Kierra Wheeler filled the stat sheet with eight rebounds, seven points, two assists and three steals.

After trailing 17–11 late in the first quarter, the Mountaineers closed the frame on a 7–0 run, taking an 18–17 lead on Celia Riviere’s layup with 32 seconds left.

The game’s largest swing came early in the second quarter. Shaw hit a 3-pointer on the opening possession, sparking a 17–4 run that included two more Shaw threes, a transition layup and a 3-pointer from Riley Makalusky. West Virginia built a 34–21 advantage with 6:05 remaining in the half.

Arizona State cut the lead to 39–30 at halftime, then closed within 40–36 midway through the third. But WVU answered with an 8–2 push, capped by back-to-back baskets from Jordan Harrison and a three-point play from Kierra Wheeler to restore a 48–40 margin entering the final minute of the quarter.

The Sun Devils mounted one final charge in the fourth, pulling within 52–50 on a Marley Washenitz 3-pointer at the 8:05 mark. West Virginia countered immediately. Shaw drilled a 3-pointer with 7:35 left, igniting an 11–0 run that featured another Shaw triple and a transition three from Cooke. The burst stretched the lead to 63–50 with 2:37 to play, effectively sealing the win.

Washenitz, a Fairmont native, made four of the Sun Devils’ five threes and led her squad with 14 points.

The Mountaineers (25-6) have reached the 25-win mark for the third straight season. It marks the first time in program history to reach the mark in three consecutive seasons.

West Virginia plays again Saturday against No. 6 Colorado at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Kansas State and top seed TCU meet in the first semifinal at 4 p.m.

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Mountaineers sweep regular season series with UCF, 77-62

Joe Brocato — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 04:53:24 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Three days removed from perhaps their most disappointing loss of the season at Kansas State, West Virginia’s all-senior starting lineup authored one more memory on their home court as the Mountaineers pulled away from UCF, 77-62 on Senior Night at Hope Coliseum.

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge celebrates with his players after defeating the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

After defeating the Knights in Orlando three weeks earlier, the Mountaineers secured a regular season sweep of UCF, a team that looks to be on the good side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.

With the win, West Virginia (18-13, 9-9 Big 12) secured an opening-round bye in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. WVU will open play in Kansas City on Wednesday. If Cincinnati loses to TCU Saturday, West Virginia will be the No. 7 seed. If the Bearcats win in Fort Worth, WVU will be the No. 8 seed. West Virginia’s Big 12 Tournament seeding and potential opponents will be finalized Saturday night following the last seven games on the regular season schedule.

“Now it is 0-0 for everybody. And we’re just trying to get as many wins as we can,” said WVU senior forward Brenen Lorient.

WVU’s senior class of six players combined for 74 of WVU’s 77 points.

“It has been, obviously a bumpy road as all things are in life. It is a special moment,” said WVU senior guard Honor Huff. “I have been in college for a minute and there is not a better feeling than what you do after a win here, singing and being able to evoke yourself in emotion in a positive way.”

“It was a very emotional day for us after the ceremony and whatnot,” said WVU senior forward Chance Moore. “We just tried to get a win for the fans, get a win for the guys and execute. Just go out swinging as best as possible.”

“Be able to hear Country Roads with their families in attendance, it will be a moment they will never forget as a family unit for the rest of their lives,” said WVU head coach Ross Hodge.

Slow starts have cost the Mountaineers in many of their losses. On this night, West Virginia built a double-digit first-half lead (22-10) on the strength of a 9-0 run. WVU led 32-23 at intermission.

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) shoots a three-point shot during the second half against the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

“Jasper [Floyd] got us off to a good start and finished some baskets around and close to the basket. Trey [Eaglestaff] made a tough three,” Hodge said.

UCF pulled within four points (44-40) midway through the second half before the Mountaineers rebuilt their sizable lead with a 15-4 run and they kept a double-digit advantage the rest of the way. West Virginia turned the ball over just seven times and UCF was held to four fast break points.

“They are so explosive in transition and [Themus] Fulks is such a good passer,” Hodge said. “They have such good athleticism, if you are going to give them live-ball turnovers, they are going to convert.

“I thought we just did a little bit of a better job condensing the open spaces. Harlan [Obioha] did a really good job with his ball screen coverage and he made them play in tighter space.”

Huff led the Mountaineers with 24 points. He went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

“He has grown so much as a player, he has seen just about every defense you can imagine,” Hodge said. “He has been the focal point of every team’s defense that we have played.”

The Mountaineers made 21 of their 25 attempts from the charity stripe.

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) celebrates late in the second half with the fans against the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

“If Honor is shooting 10 of your 20 free throws, you are probably going to have a good night at the foul stripe,” Hodge said.

Lorient scored 14 points while Moore chipped in with 13 and Floyd added 10.

UCF (20-10, 9-9 Big 12) was led by Fulks and Riley Kugel. Both players scored 16 points.

West Virginia has their work cut out for them at the Big 12 Tournament, likely facing one of the league’s top two teams in the quarterfinal round if they win their opening game on Wednesday.

“If you have hopes of winning a tournament, you want to play the fewest amount of days possible,” Hodge said.

“Yeah, you are fighting to keep playing games, but if you really care about each other, you are fighting for one more film session, one more plane ride, one more bus trip.

“We put this team together with the belief that we could win games in March and make a run in the NCAA Tournament. I still believe that this team can do that.”

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Columbia holds off late WVU rally to take the series opener, 7-4

Joe Brocato — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:07:24 +0000

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — West Virginia was held to a season-low hit total and they could not erase a sizable deficit in a 7-4 series-opening loss to Columbia. The Mountaineers fell behind 6-0 in the fifth inning and saw their comeback bid fizzle out in the late innings.

“Guys played tough. A little bit of press today, I think. I think they came out wanting to play. They were excited to play,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “I thought when we got down early, maybe there was a little bit of press, offensively.”

In his fourth start of the season, WVU pitcher Dawson Montesa allowed a season-high five runs in four innings of work. Columbia (2-5) sent nine batters to the plate in a five-run second inning.

“His fastball today had cut on it. So the velocity was good — 93-96 like it traditionally is. But it was really cutting on him. So that affected his curveball and his splitter. His cutter was different today. Everything was kind of taking off glove side. So he just didn’t have feel.”

Montesa’s counterpart, Alex Sotiropoulos pitched into the sixth inning, allowing three runs [one earned] and three hits.

“Good pitcher, really good. He’s a sophomore and a big-bodied dude at 94-96 [mph]. He’s got plus stuff. He was out of the zone a little bit. But he always kind of got back in the zone.”

WVU’s bullpen kept the game in range by allowing two runs in five innings. Ian Korn allowed one run in three innings.

“He was crisp. It was his longest outing. It was his least amount of traffic. He had three strikeouts in three innings. I thought he took a big step forward today.”

Reese Bassinger allowed an insurance run in the ninth in a two-inning stint.

West Virginia (8-3) chipped away at their six-run deficit with two runs in the fifth and runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Their runs came on a groundout, a throwing error, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. The top four hitters in WVU’s lineup combined to go 2-for-15.

“We had one hit [each] between [Gavin] Kelly and [Matt] Ineich today. That’s unusual for us. Those guys have really been fire starters for our offense. We just didn’t quite get in rhythm. We ended up having five hits and four walks. So there was just not a ton of traffic and not a ton of pressure. I thought we made it fairly comfortable for them.”

West Virginia had three runners erased on the base paths, one on an attempted steal of home and another on a double steal.

“Probably our biggest mistake of the game was getting thrown out at second with the trail runner and then being back-picked on a dirt ball read. In those situations, you can’t afford an out, because the outs are precious, especially when you are trailing at that point. Baserunning was probably the worst part of our game today that we need to clean up and do better at.”

Jimmy Chadwell and Cole Fellows each had two hits for Columbia, as the Lions outhit WVU 10-5. Payton Soske pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save.

Game two of the series is set for noon Saturday and the series finale will be at 12:30 Sunday.

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3 Guys Before The Game – WVU Basketball – KSU Recap – UCF Preview (Episode 702)

MetroNews Staff — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 15:45:47 +0000

The final game of the regular season will have a significant impact on what lies ahead for the WVU basketball team.

A win on Friday against UCF will give the Mountaineers an opening round bye in next week’s Big 12 Championship in Kansas City.

A victory would also give the Mountaineers the schoo’s second non-losing Big 12 record in the last five years.

In this episode, the “Guys” recap Tuesday’s loss at Kansas State and preview the second regular season encounter with UCF.

Hoppy Kercheval presents his Obvious Observations and listeners contribute with Textual Healing.

3 Guys Before The Game is sponsored by – Jan Dils Attorneys at Law, Komax Business Systems, GoMart, Lou Wendell Marine Sales, Tudor’s Biscuit World and Conley CPA Group.

Don’t forget to check out the 3 Guys website.

Never miss an episode, it’s free, subscribe below.

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Mountaineers continue to work around scheduling adjustments

Greg Carey — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:00:22 +0000

(UPDATE as of 3/4/26, 1:45 p.m. — Wednesday’s WVU-Marshall baseball game was canceled some 3 hours prior to the scheduled first pitch.)

Schedule changes aren’t uncommon in college baseball.

West Virginia has dealt with an abundance of them early into the 2026 season, the latest of which has the Mountaineers set to play at 5 p.m. Wednesday against Marshall at Jack Cook Field.

WVU (8-2) had originally been slated to host Radford for two games Tuesday and Wednesday in Morgantown. Those contests were canceled after Highlanders’ freshman pitcher Joey Raccuia died last week in a car crash. Raccuia was the son of former Radford baseball coach Joe Raccuia.

“A tough spot that they’re in and they had a funeral service that they were going to attend as a team [Monday night] and they just didn’t think it was in their best interest to get on a bus, rush home and try to get to Morgantown,” WVU head coach Steve Sabins said as a guest on Statwide Sportsline. “There was some weather involved. We learned about that [Monday] afternoon and went full steam ahead.”

Full steam ahead meant exhausting all options searching for a replacement as a midweek opponent.

“It’s no longer a rolodex. It’s the Google Drive sheet with hours from Morgantown, and it’s basically characterized from 45 minutes to 5 hours,” Sabins said. “You go right down that list contacting everybody. We’ve worked with most of these coaches at some point for scheduling, fall games or something in the past. It’s never really how you want to spend your day, but playing is the most important thing, and so that kind of becomes priority. No. 1.”

Sabins mentioned Dayton, Akron, Ohio, UMBC and Binghamton as potential opponents the Mountaineers checked into playing as it didn’t initially appear Wednesday’s contest would come about with Marshall, which won 13-4 at Virginia Tech on Tuesday.

But after initial talks, Thundering Herd head coach Greg Beals got back in touch with Sabins and indicated the state’s two Division I programs could meet under one condition.

“He came back a few hours later and said, ‘administration said we’ll take you, but the only catch is you have to come to Huntington.’ I said, ‘no doubt.’ We just want to play baseball and want our team to stay in rhythm and get better, and be in a good environment with passionate fans, so it ended up working out well for us,” Sabins said.

Thus, WVU and Marshall are now set to meet four times this season, with the later matchups set for March 24 in Huntington, April 7 in Morgantown and May 5 in Charleston.

The Mountaineers (8-2) have won each of their three series thus far, though they missed out on a second sweep last weekend after squandering a 6-0 lead Sunday in a 7-6 loss at Kennesaw State.

“If you win that last one, you feel like you had a successful weekend and a little bit less when you lose the last one, because you keep that taste in your mouth,” Sabins said. “From a competitive and development standpoint, at this point in the year, it’s not necessarily bad. Often times, you’ll have better practices leading up to the next game.

“Some of it is has to do with this time of the year, in non-conference play, you’re really working to figure out your team. Opportunities are critical and guys getting opportunities to have success, experience failure and getting thrown in the fire is part of this journey whether we like it or not. I don’t think you ever hold your head. Winning a series on the road is a difficult thing to do. Don’t ever take wins for granted. We talk to our team about that. But we had a chance to win that game, sweep that series and it’s always the goal. That one slipped away from us. We’ll learn from it and hopefully bounce back on Wednesday.”

WVU got outstanding starting pitching for the entirety of its series against the Owls. Dawson Montesa, Chansen Cole and Maxx Yehl combined for 17 innings pitched and one run allowed on 10 hits over the three games. Montesa allowed the only run, but also went seven innings, while Cole and Yehl logged five scoreless each.

“Something that really stands out that I don’t know if we had done for the last several years was we started the same three pitchers three consecutive weekends on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Sabins said. “Last weekend, all three of those guys had quality starts. The name of the game is quality starting pitching. That’s what everybody recruits and that’s what you need to win. Over the course of the season, those are the teams that get to keep playing versus the ones that don’t.”

Ian Korn is WVU’s projected starter against Marshall, which has won three of four since a five-game skid.

The Herd (5-6) took two of three last weekend in a pitching-dominated home-opening series against Butler, before exploding for 13 runs against the Hokies in Blacksburg.

Both teams have three-game home series scheduled over the weekend. The Mountaineers host Columbia and Marshall will welcome St. Bonaventure.

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West Virginia falls flat in 65-63 loss to Kansas State

Greg Carey — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 05:30:37 +0000

West Virginia has said the right things about the need to capitalize on opportunities.

The Mountaineers aren’t following through when they come about.

The latest example came Tuesday night at Kansas State, which scored 21 unanswered points in the second half before holding off a furious West Virginia charge for a 65-53 victory at Bramlage Coliseum.

“The level of urgency and desire to win a game with so much on it wasn’t where it needed to be,” West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge said on postgame radio.

The Wildcats (12-18, 3-14) played without leading scorer PJ Haggerty, a surprise scratch with an undisclosed injury.

Although WVU (17-13, 8-9) defeated Kansas State 59-54 with Haggerty in the lineup during a January matchup in Morgantown, the Mountaineers were unable to capitalize on his absence in the rematch and fell to 1-4 in their last five games.

Both teams were dismal offensively in the opening half, which ended with West Virginia leading, 26-23.

The Mountaineers got 10 points apiece from reserve forwards Chance Moore and DJ Thomas, helping the visitors to at least somewhat overcome a starting lineup that scored six points on 3-for-15 shooting over the first 20 minutes.

“When you’re playing a team that is a little down and out, you can’t give them life and can’t give them hope,” Hodge said. “We had so many opportunities in the first half and at the beginning of the game to make some plays and entice a team that’s been struggling to maybe keep struggling.”

After a scoreless first half, WVU guard Honor Huff made his 100th three-pointer this season with 18:33 to play, allowing the Mountaineers to lead 31-27.

West Virginia went the next 8-plus minutes without a point, and Wildcats took control during that stretch.

Khamari McGriff scored the Wildcats’ first four points of the extended 21-0 spurt and accounted for four buckets and eight of the first 15 points during that time.

A jumper from CJ Jones with 10:53 remaining left the home team with a 48-31 advantage, before Thomas scored from close range to end his team’s extended drought at the 10:27 mark.

“I’m aware of our shortcomings and I understand when you’re deficient in some areas, your margin for error to win is razor thin,” Hodge said. “I’m disappointed with what was at stake, we got beat to loose balls. Would it have been nice to make more layups and threes? Of course. But when those things aren’t happening, you better do those other things.”

KSU had separate 19-point leads, the latter of which came at 57-38 when McGriff made two free throws with 7:29 to play.

WVU then increased its aggressiveness offensively and reeled off the next 11 points, while the Wildcats began to play tentative while in possession.

A three-pointer from K-State’s Nate Johnson left the Wildcats with a 60-49 lead with 3:48 left, but the Mountaineers continued to battle and trailed by six when Chance Moore scored in the paint at the 1:24 mark.

Moore’s next basket made it a five-point game, and after a Johnson turnover, Huff made two free throws to bring WVU to within 61-58 with 48 seconds left.

Another KSU turnover gave the visitors the ball back, but after Moore missed a shot that the Mountaineers rebounded, Huff committed a costly turnover.

Johnson made two free throws with 17 seconds left, and McGriff added two more with 7 seconds remaining before Huff made a trey at the buzzer.

Moore led WVU with 18 points and made 6-of-7 shots, but again struggled on free throws, finishing 5 for 9. WVU hurts its cause at the charity stripe and made only 9-of-16 attempts.

Brenen Lorient was the Mountaineers’ second-leading scorer with 14 second-half points, while Thomas followed with 12 and Huff added 11 on 3-for-11 shooting.

Treysen Eaglestaff led all players with 11 rebounds in defeat, but made only 3-of-12 shots in a six-point showing.

McGriff led KSU with 18 points and added seven rebounds.

Johnson finished with 16 points and nine boards.

WVU had nine of its 13 turnovers in the second half.

“Nine turnovers in the second half creates more busted floors, more cross match opportunities and through that, it makes you vulnerable for paint touch opportunities,” Hodge said.

K-State played under the guidance of interim head coach Matthew Driscoll. Driscoll replaced Jerome Tang, who was fired in between the team’s first and second matchups with West Virginia this season.

“Sometimes in life you get what you deserve,” Hodge said, “and we deserved to lose tonight.”

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WVU’s Jordan Harrison named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year

Joe Brocato — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 04:03:38 +0000

Jan 11, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Against the Iowa State Cyclones, West Virginia Mountaineers guard Jordan Harrison (10) shows some frustrations during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After the graduation of JJ Quinerly, Jordan Harrison made sure that one of the Big 12’s top honors remained in the WVU family. The West Virginia senior guard has been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Quinerly, who will soon enter her second season with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, won the award the two previous seasons.

In addition to the top Big 12 defensive honor, Harrison was one of ten players named to the All-Big 12 first team.

Harrison leads the Big 12 with 94 steals, helping WVU’s defense that yielded just 60.9 points per game, the second-best mark in the conference.

Harrison also made the Big 12’s all-defensive team last year as a junior.

WVU newcomers Gia Cooke and Kierra Wheeler earned honorable mention distinction from the Big 12.

No. 15 West Virginia (24-6, 14-4 Big 12) opens the Big 12 Tournament Friday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinal round against Arizona, Arizona State or Iowa State.

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Pitcher Chase Meyer no longer with Mountaineer baseball program

Greg Carey — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 21:21:06 +0000

West Virginia baseball is off to a strong start in the 2026 season, but will be moving forward without a prominent piece of its pitching staff.

Mountaineer head coach Steve Sabins confirmed Tuesday pitcher Chase Meyer is no longer with the program.

“Junior right-handed pitcher Chase Meyer is no longer with our baseball program,” Sabins said. “I want to thank Chase for his contributions the past three years to our team and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

The Mountaineers’ lone selection to the Preseason-All Big 12 Team, Meyer was removed from the team’s official roster earlier in the day.

Meyer was West Virginia’s top rated pro prospect by D1 Baseball, which listed him the Big 12’s No. 7 pro prospect entering this season.

He was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America Second Team.

The right-hander began this season in a limited relief role as a result of a broken finger on his pitching hand suffered not long after Thanksgiving. Meyer appeared in two of WVU’s first 10 games and had a 1-0 record with a 2.70 earned-run average, no hits allowed and five strikeouts over 3.1 innings.

Meyer’s first appearance this season came at Georgia Southern in relief of Ben McDougal with an 0-2 count. He dropped in a curve ball on his first pitch for a called third strike in an outing that amounted to him recording a win.

“Chase Meyer has the best out pitch arguably in the country in his curve ball,” Sabins said.

Meyer’s second and ultimately final outing this season came the following week at Liberty when he went two innings, allowing one run on two walks and a pair of hit batsmen.

In 2025, Meyer led the team in wins, finishing 9-1 across 48 innings over 22 appearances and three starts. He struck out 63, walked 38 and had a 3.94 ERA.

While assuming a far more featured role, Meyer also displayed significant improvement from his freshman season in 2024, which he finished 1-1 with a 8.38 ERA in 19.1 innings. He struck out 28 and walked 24 that year.

“The reality is he’s been our get out of jail free card, because we’ve brought Chase Meyer in every spot where our backs against the wall and it’s basically if you don’t get out of this, you’re going to lose the game,” Sabins said. ”His stuff is so good that you’re OK losing the game because you’re in such a bad situation.”

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Despite another massive roster overhaul, Rodriguez believes culture continues to be established at WVU

Joe Brocato — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:52:44 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The 2.0 version of the 2.0 tenure for WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez continues Saturday with a key benchmark in the building of his roster. The Mountaineers will take the field for the first of 15 spring practices.

For the second consecutive season, the bulk of the West Virginia roster has been turned over. After fielding a senior class with over 40 players in the 2025 season, just 31 players return to this year’s roster. Those players combined to make 33 starts last fall.

Oct 3, 2025; Provo, Utah, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez coaches during the fourth quarter against the Brigham Young Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

“There’s not a lot of returning starters, of course. We feel comfortable with what we have and where our program is at right now,” Rodriguez said.

“There’s so much more competition, true competition at every position. That’s something all coaches want to have. I think we truly have that from a player standpoint. We brought that in with some of the transfers that we got in and a really good high school freshman class that we brought in. And a couple of junior college guys we signed back in December I think are really going to be able to help us as well.”

West Virginia is coming off a 4-8 season in 2025, the worst season for the program in a dozen years. Hired in mid-December of 2024, Rodriguez quickly assembled a large class of one-year players from the transfer portal.

“A year ago, it was everything. We knew it was going to be kind of hectic. I thought we would be a little deeper than what we were, but we weren’t as deep as we wanted to be. The injury part probably exposed that a little bit. Until we start practicing, I am never sure. But I think we have a better football team certainly now than we did a year ago at this time.”

Despite having just six players that started a game for West Virginia in 2025 back for this fall, Rodriguez believes the departed seniors made important contributions in building a foundation for the program.

Offensive lineman Landen Livingston. Photo by Teran Malone

“There’s different challenges now. You still have to establish the culture. We took so many transfer guys last year. I think you kind of had to because of where we were at and we were late in the process. This year, we intentionally took a lot more high school guys. We don’t have 40-some seniors who are one-and-done. We’ve got 21 or 22 seniors. Everybody else are guys we want to have now and we want to keep and finish their careers here. I think we are able to build it the way we want to. We should get better every year.

“The seniors, even the six-month guys we had last year helped us establish that [culture] for this year. There’s enough returning players that have been in our program for the last 12 months that are helping us move forward with it too. It wasn’t all bad. It was more bad than good. But it wasn’t all bad.”

With a larger high school and junior college recruiting class in place for the 2026 season, Rodriguez is hopeful his team can avoid another significant shuffling of players in and out by signing players to multi-year agreements.

“Going forward, that’s always going to be the first thing after the season, the retention. We don’t have guys on like four-year contracts like the NFL. We’ve got guys, a lot of them are one year. We are trying to get more on two-year. I wouldn’t mind getting some guys on three-year contracts. All that is kind of an ongoing process that we are dealing with.”

Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.. left, scrambles away from Kent State defensive lineman Mason Maddox (6) during the first half of an NCAA football game between the Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and Kent State Golden Flashes at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.

One of the most notable transfer portal acquisitions this offseason is former Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. He played in nine games over the course of two seasons with the Sooners. Hawkins Jr. will compete with returning signal callers Scotty Fox Jr. and Max Brown. Fox Jr. accounted for ten total touchdowns in ten games (six starts) last year as a true freshman.

“Obviously we had some guys that were at Oklahoma that saw [Hawkins Jr.] in person, who he was as an athlete and who he was as a person. We wanted somebody to come in and compete with Scotty and Max for the job, somebody we thought had the skill set to be special. Mike has that and he has shown that so far. He is a smart guy. It is really important to him and he works hard.”

Two starters return on West Virginia’s offensive line with Nick Krahe [12 starts] and Landon Livingston [11 starts] in place to lead the group.

“Landon has played. Nick Krahe has played. And Malik Agbo has played a little bit. Some of those guys have played. And some of the guys that are young guys behind them I think have gotten better. We signed a really good freshman class. And we’ve got some transfers on the O-line that we are so much deeper now with guys that have experience playing. Last year, we got some transfers in but they didn’t have a whole lot of experience as a starting offensive lineman.”

Dec 2, 2017; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles offensive line coach Rick Trickett is carried off the field after the game against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

A pair of Jacksonville State transfers who played for Rodriguez at Jacksonville State joined the Mountaineers this offseason. Both were starters for the Gamecocks last fall.

“Bubba Grayson and Cam Griffith know the system and they know the offense. They also know a lot of the techniques and things that Coach [Rick] Trickett installs. That helps. They are helping teach the guys, ‘Hey, this is what he wants here and this is what he wants there’. They are great guys. They are great program guys.”

The most notable addition to the Mountaineer coaching staff comes with the return of Preston County native and Glenville State College graduate Rick Trickett. Trickett was the architect of WVU’s Sugar Bowl champion offensive line in Rodriguez’s first tenure at WVU. His son, Chance, is also joining the staff as the Director of Player Evaluation.

“Why I hired Chance is because I wanted some NFL scouting experience. He’s done it for 12 years. The system and how they go about scouting and evaluating prospects and all that, we’re not just evaluating high school guys, we are evaluating other college prospects and guys that have gone in the portal. Chance’s experience has already helped.

“Rick, we’ve worked together a lot. I think he is the preeminent offensive line coach in college football and has been for a long, long time. He knows the system and he knows how to get the best out of his players. It has been really good to have him. Of course, [Senior Offensive Assistant] Travis is on the staff and is doing a great job as well.”

No schedule for spring practices has been announced, but Rodriguez did confirm that a “Spring Festival” has been set for Saturday, April 18.

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2026 Big 12 Conference Tournament Women’s Basketball Schedule

MetroNews Staff — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:30:33 +0000

Big 12 women’s basketball tournament schedule

(Note: All times listed are EST. All games at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri)

Wednesday, March 4

Game 1: Kansas State 91, Cincinnati 66
Game 2: BYU 76, Houston 66
Game 3: Arizona State 54, Arizona 51
Game 4: Kansas 56, UCF 35

Thursday, March 5

Game 5: Kansas State 58, Texas Tech 51
Game 6: BYU 70, Utah 52
Game 7: Arizona State 77, Iowa State 68
Game 8: Colorado 55, Kansas 48

Friday, March 6

Game 9: Kansas State 74, Oklahoma State 73
Game 10: TCU 63, BYU 46
Game 11: West Virginia 67, Arizona State 54
Game 12: Colorado 62, Baylor 53

Saturday, March 7

Semifinal: TCU 74, Kansas State 62
Semifinal: West Virginia 48, Colorado 47

Sunday, March 8

Championship: West Virginia 62, TCU 53

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Mountaineers look to duplicate high level of urgency and execution at Kansas State

Greg Carey — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 23:28:23 +0000

As in anything, there’s an expected certain level of desperation that comes upon the realization finality is setting in.

West Virginia showcased it from the jump in a 79-71 victory over then-No. 19 and now unranked BYU last Saturday at Hope Coliseum to end a three-game losing streak.

Still thought to be playing meaningful basketball in large part thanks to that result, the Mountaineers are tasked with trying to duplicate the effort twice this week starting Tuesday at Kansas State. Tip-off at Bramlage Coliseum is 8 p.m. for a contest that can be seen on ESPN+.

“They’re human beings, but their commitment level to what we’ve been doing and how we’ve been asking them to do it has been really good — as good as I’ve been around,” first-year WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. “They’re really incredible in hotels, on planes, in locker rooms and how they interact with other people. It wasn’t something I wanted to take for granted. I wanted to make sure that I was giving them everything I have. That was what we asked.

“Let’s make sure our commitment level doesn’t waver. This is the Big 12. You’re going to go through tough stretches and have some tough losses. We’re not looking at an insurmountable mountain that we have to climb. That was where the urgency came in.”

Feb 28, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge yells from the sideline during the second half against the BYU Cougars at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Ahead of Friday’s home finale against Central Florida, the Mountaineers seek a regular season sweep against the struggling Wildcats.

Between a 59-54 loss in Morgantown back on January 27 and Tuesday’s second meeting, Kansas State fired head coach Jerome Tang.

The Wildcats (11-18, 2-14) are 1-3 with Matthew Driscoll serving as interim head coach.Driscoll’s first game amounted to perhaps the team’s best showing this season — a 90-74 win against Baylor, but was followed with a 28-point loss at Texas Tech and consecutive nine-point setbacks against Colorado and TCU.

Whereas the Mountaineers (17-12, 8-8) are in a three-way tie with BYU and Cincinnati for eighth place in the Big 12 Conference, the Wildcats can finish no better than 15th and are battling with Utah to avoid last place.

Coming off two of the three highest-scoring games in Big 12 play, WVU is looking to maintain its recent high level of offensive execution.

The Mountaineers amassed 84 points in an overtime loss at Oklahoma State (77 in regulation) prior to defeating the Cougars. Only the 86 in a home win over Kansas back in January account for a higher total in league play than the last two games.

“There’s a do or die mindset we have right now as a team,” said senior guard Honor Huff, WVU’s leading scorer at 15.7 points. “The camaraderie we brought every day over the last 72 hours since the defeat at Oklahoma State and not wanting to let my team down, I came out with a mindset that I’m going to leave it all out there and have some fun. It shows in the plays I was able to make and these guys made.”

While no more than an adequate rebounding team for much of the season, West Virginia dominated the backboards for a 39-29 edge against BYU, including 18-8 on the offensive end. Forward Brenen Lorient had one fewer offensive rebound than the Cougars and was especially effective in the second half, when he scored 14 of his 18 points.

“We got killed on the glass against Utah and TCU,” Lorient said, referencing the Mountaineers’ minus-21 rebounding margin over two recent setbacks. “A big emphasis from coaches has been to get more rebounds and second-chance opportunities.”

The Mountaineers also enjoyed a halftime lead against BYU for only for the fourth time against a Big 12 team this season, with this one 40-26 to account for their largest advantage against a league foe at the break.

West Virginia was also in solid shape through 20 minutes in its first meeting with KSU with a 28-22 lead.

A solid start would go a long way for WVU, which can assure itself of a non-losing Big 12 mark with a second victory over the Wildcats.

“You always want to focus on the next game at hand, but we’re not naive to the fact that we have two games guaranteed in the regular season,” Huff said. “We still have a chance to do something special that we all want to do, which is go to the NCAA Tournament, but we can’t have any slip-ups. Our aggressiveness and assertiveness showed from the jump. I’m not saying it’s because of that, because we should have been doing it from the jump, but we’re in that situation now and we have to make the best of it. We started off right, so we have to get the next two.”

— — — — —

With one three-pointer made, Huff will reach 100 triples for the third straight season and become only the third Mountaineer to do so in a season.

Frank Young’s program record of 117 from 2007 is within reach, while Chris Leonard remains second for the time being with 101 in 1992.

Huff has already set the single season program record for three-point attempts with 276, which he did so with his seventh of 10 attempts from long distance Saturday.

“It’s a testament to the people around me and the confidence they have in me to shoot those threes, because I didn’t go 99 for 99 — I can promise you that,” Huff said. “Their confidence in me to get them up and the work I’ve put in since I was a kid all comes to fruition at this stage. I’m grateful to be able to do that again this year.”

A home loss to Texas Tech is Huff’s lone game without at least one trey this season, while he’s made multiple threes in 26 of 29 contests.

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3 Guys Before The Game – WVU Basketball – BYU Recap & Kansas State Preview (Episode 701)

MetroNews Staff — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:09:45 +0000

Momentum matters this time of year, and the Mountaineer basketball team suddenly has it.

Fresh off Saturday’s upset victory over No. 19 BYU, West Virginia enters the final week of the regular season with an opportunity to build postseason positioning. The Mountaineers travel to Kansas State on Tuesday before closing the regular season Friday night at home against UCF.

In this episode, the “Guys” break down what fueled WVU’s win over the Cougars and preview the critical matchup with the Wildcats.

Hoppy Kercheval delivers his Obvious Observations, Brad Howe dives into Spreads on Stats, and listener questions and comments complete the episode with Textual Healing.

3 Guys Before The Game is sponsored by – Jan Dils Attorneys at Law, Komax Business Systems, GoMart, Lou Wendell Marine Sales, Tudor’s Biscuit World and Conley CPA Group.

Don’t forget to check out the 3 Guys website.

Never miss an episode, it’s free, subscribe below.

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No. 17 West Virginia wraps regular season with 118-60 win over Cincinnati

Joe Brocato — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 22:41:00 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — If all goes well for the WVU women’s basketball team over next weekend at the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Kansas City, the Mountaineers may earn at least another game inside Hope Coliseum. If not, the final home contest for WVU’s class of five seniors will be remembered as a record-breaking performance. The No. 17 Mountaineers rolled over Cincinnati, 118-60. West Virginia set a scoring record against a Division I opponent.

Sydney Shaw (left) and Riley Makalusky celebrate WVU’s 118-60 win over Cincinnati.

Four Mountaineers (three seniors) reached the 20-point mark. Sydney Shaw led the way with a career-high 24 points. Kierra Wheeler scored 21 points and she grabbed ten rebounds. Jordan Harrison also notched a double-double with 20 points and ten assists. Gia Cooke added 20 points.

“That was as complete of a game, I think, as we have probably played the entire season, said WVU head coach Mark Kellogg. “I am just proud of them for this one. Their energy was great, which I expected it to be with seniors, when you have five of them that have given a lot to this program.

“Did we put the whole 40 [minutes] together? No. We gave up 23 in the fourth quarter. That’s a little disappointing. I understand it. It was hard and we were having fun. The kids were relaxed. When you are making shots like that and you are defending at a high level, there’s fun to that and you can relax as a coach.”

In addition to her career-high in points, Shaw also set a new single-game personal mark with six three-pointers.

“It means the world only because I didn’t know,” Shaw said. “I was just out there playing. To hear that just felt amazing, especially to do that in front of the fans that came out to see us on Senior Night. If that is the last way I end it here, I am glad I ended it like that.”

“When you start to see one or two go with a kid like Sydney, that rim starts looking pretty big,” Kellogg said. “There were a couple of those where I don’t even know if she saw the rim. It was hand in face and you just have the feel.”

West Virginia led 30-9 after the opening quarter and they scored at least 25 points in all four quarters.

WVU connected on 15 of 30 attempts from three-point range and they shot 58 percent from the floor.

“That’s what I am probably the most pleased with, we are making perimeter shots at a much higher rate now than we were earlier in the year, which gives us a chance to have a little more balance on that end,” Kellogg said.

WVU’s senior class of Harrison, Cici Riviere, Shaw, Wheeler and Sydney Woodley took the floor as a group to start the fourth quarter before Kellogg substituted seniors out one-by-one to rounds of applause from the crowd of 6,095 fans.

“I was just ready to play,” Harrison said. “Once we got all the tears out and the good-byes, just knowing that it is not over. We plan on playing in this building again. It was pretty easy for me to get over it and just get ready to play.”

“The idea is that you try to get most of the emotion out yesterday, so we don’t have to do it today,” Kellogg said. “But all of a sudden, I look out there and a bunch of them are crying and emotional. We got over it pretty quick.”

Senior Day ceremonies for the WVU women’s basketball team:

Kierra Wheeler, Sydney Woodley, Cici Riviere, Sydney Shaw and Jordan Harrison: pic.twitter.com/PEIkScC3ts

— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) March 1, 2026

Midway through the fourth quarter, Riley Makalusky connected on back-to-back three-pointers, giving the Mountaineers a new scoring record against Big 12 opponents.

WVU turned the ball over just four times while the visitors had 18 turnovers. West Virginia swept the season series against the Bearcats after winning the meeting at Fifth Third Arena, 84-76 on January 18.

All 11 players on the WVU roster entered the game and played at least six minutes.

Mya Perry led Cincinnati (11-19, 6-12 Big 12) with 19 points.

Just like that, the #Big12WBB regular season comes to a close… but the best is yet to come.

Ladies and gentlemen: the OFFICIAL 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament Bracket pic.twitter.com/VI7njw8a8L

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 1, 2026

TCU denied West Virginia a chance at sharing the Big 12 regular season championship. The Horned Frogs (15-3 Big 12) defeated Baylor late Sunday to secure sole possession of the title. WVU will be the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. The Mountaineers will open play Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Kansas City against either Arizona, Arizona State or Iowa State.

The Top 16 teams selected by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee earn hosting rights in the NCAA Tournament. WVU (NCAA Net ranking: 19), was not selected in Sunday’s reveal of the second committee rankings

“I am sure we need to win at least a couple games in the tournament,” Kellogg said of possibly hosting NCAA Tournament games. “I think if we win it, I would hope that would probably. But we may need a little help too. We may need some of those other 4-line teams to get beat. That’s something we really can’t put a whole lot of emphasis on.”

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West Virginia holds off 19th-ranked BYU, 79-71

Greg Carey — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 02:29:17 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia has too often found itself needing second-half comebacks to have a chance down the stretch against competition within the Big 12 Conference.

In Saturday’s contest against 19th-ranked BYU at Hope Coliseum, it was a role reversal for the Mountaineers.

West Virginia built a 14-point halftime lead that was cut to seven less than 2 minutes into the second half. Yet the Mountaineers maintained their composure and consistently scored in the closing minutes to fend off the Cougars for a 79-71 victory.

“I told the guys in the locker room I really felt today was a byproduct of the last 72 hours,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. “Handle disappointment in the same manner they handle success. Learn from it and not run from it.“

The Mountaineers (17-12, 8-8) led by three with inside 1 minute remaining and the Cougars came up with a steal that put them in position to tie or draw closer. But only three seconds after BYU (20-9, 8-8) gained possession, Chance Moore sprinted back on defense and forced a Keba Keita turnover.

“That play was symbolic of this team to keep playing, and that was about as big of a keep playing moment as you can have,” Hodge said.

Brenen Lorient’s offensive rebound off an Honor Huff missed shot allowed Huff to make the first of two free throws with 26 seconds remaining, and Lorient’s block of an AJ Dybansta three-point attempt on the next trip gave the ball back to WVU, which sealed the verdict when Jasper Floyd made two free throws for a six-point advantage with 15 seconds.

“I was strapped in on trying to get a stop. It was a crucial moment,” Lorient said. “I saw him slide out and knew he wanted to get something up at the three-point line. I just contested it and blocked the shot.”

The Mountaineers were able to play with a lead for the final 26:41 after outscoring BYU, 20-4, over the final 6:41 of the first half.

Freshman DJ Thomas’ conventional three-point play allowed the Mountaineers to lead 23-22, and Huff ran off the next five points to up the advantage to six.

Thomas made three-pointers on successive possessions to stretch the advantage to 34-24, then added a dunk in the paint to give his team a lead of a dozen.

“DJ was tremendous in the first half,” Hodge said, “and it was kind of one of those baton games where it kept getting passed to other people in big spots for big stretches.”

In holding a 40-26 halftime advantage, WVU had its largest lead at the break in Big 12 play this season. The Mountaineers have led at halftime in only four of 16 Big 12 games, and on Saturday, it came about despite Treysen Eaglestaff and Lorient combining to shoot 1 for 10 through the opening 20 minutes.

But Thomas (11), Floyd (9) and Huff (8) led the way offensively at the break, while the Cougars had eight field goals, nine turnovers and had been outscored 9-0 on second-chance points after recording only two of the game’s 10 offensive rebounds to that point.

“Our decision-making, driving into crowds, turning the ball over and not getting shots on goal, and the defensive intensity was abysmal in the first half,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said. “Those two factors got us off to that start.”

Young’s displeasure was felt and the Cougars scored the first seven points of the second half, pulling to within 40-33 on an Aeksej Kostic triple.

Eaglestaff’s three out of a timeout marked the mountaineers’ first points of the second half, and WVU maintained its separation for much of what remained, including a 58-45 lead after Huff made two foul shots with 9:54 left.

“We knew they were going to make a run,” Huff said. “Weathering that storm, we’ve shown we can do, and I’m glad we did that today.”

The Cougars didn’t go quietly though, displaying the offensive prowess the rest of the way that’s led to much of their success this season.

BYU trailed 60-51 before scoring on six consecutive possessions, the last of which was Keita’s conventional three-point play that brought the visitors to within 71-66 at the 3-minute mark.

Dybansta’s trey with 2:12 left made it a one-possession game at 72-69, before Lorient drove to the basket out of a timeout for a pivotal bucket 35 seconds later.

“Offensively, [our execution] was fine,” Young said. “Defensively, it was a disaster.”

Important basket from Brenen Lorient out of a timeout that gave West Virginia a 74-69 lead in its 79-71 win against No. 19 BYU. pic.twitter.com/jU5oK7FOAi

— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) March 1, 2026

The Cougars never got closer than three the rest of the way in what marked their third loss in four games without Richie Saunders and seventh setback in their last 10.

BYU guard Robert Wright III led all players with 23 points. Dybnasta scored 20, including 16 in the second half.

Kostic made four threes to score 12 points.

Huff led WVU with 19 points and Lorient followed with 18, all but four of which came after halftime.

“It’s definitely tough when you miss a couple early ones, but usually when I don’t get easy ones to go in early, I focus on doing the little things better like rebounding and getting stops on defense,” Lorient said. “That’s my main focus during those times.”

Thomas (13), Floyd (11) and Moore (11) also scored in double figures.

Lorient led all players with nine rebounds and Moore added eight. That duo was pivotal in WVU holding a 39-29 rebounding advantage, including 18-8 on the offensive end. Seven of Lorient’s nine rebounds came on the offensive end.

“That’s why we lost. They had 18 offensive rebounds,” Young said. “We’re usually really good and one of the best teams in the conference with that. They only turned those into 15 second-chance points, but every time we got close, it felt like they got an offensive rebound. You hold their two top guys [Huff and Eaglestaff] to 6 for 23 shooting, and most nights they’ll have a hard time winning. Lorient, Moore and Thomas were men out there and kicked out butt. Credit to them.”

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As Mountaineers try to move forward from recent struggles, freshman sensation Dybantsa awaits

Greg Carey — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 01:04:33 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia is mired in a three-game losing streak for the first time under head coach Ross Hodge.

To make the slump a thing of the past, the Mountaineers have to find a way to be successful Saturday against No. 19 BYU when the teams battle at 5:30 p.m. Saturday inside Hope Coliseum for a matchup airing on FOX.

That means contending with freshman sensation AJ Dybantsa, the leading scorer in the Big 12 Conference at 25.1 points and one the top pro prospects in all of college basketball in recent memory.

“He’s definitely worthy of all the praise and attention that he’s gotten,” Hodge said. “What impresses you as much as his talent, which is very impressive, is his commitment to his teammates and how he celebrates those guys and his leadership for a young player on top of what he can do individually.”

At 6-foot-9, Dybantsa has a surplus of size for a primary ball-handler. It’s part of what makes his skill set so unique. He shoots north of 53 percent from the field, averages almost seven rebounds and four assists and shoots more than eight free throws per game thanks in large part to an ability to consistently draw contact.

Feb 21, 2026; Provo, Utah, USA; BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) drives while being defended by Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) during the first half at Marriott Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Baker-Imagn Images

“He’s a problem in every facet of the game,” Hodge said. “He certainly can distort you in ways that a lot of people can’t because of his size, versatility and fluidity. Typically, in your transition defense, your guards are going to be the ones stopping the ball and he can create an automatic mismatch from the jump because he has the ball in his hands so much.”

The Cougars are relying on Dybantsa even more at present after Richie Saunders suffered a significant season-ending injury. Saunders averaged 18 points and has missed three straight games, and in essence four, as the injury occurred in the first minute of what amounted to an overtime victory against Colorado. Saunders’ 64 three-pointers remain a team high, but Dybantsa has the luxury of another consistent scorer in guard Robert Wright III, who averages 18.1 points and has 50 triples.

BYU averages 84.6 points, good for second among Big 12 teams.

“Do you play [Dybantsa] individually and live with if he gets 35 or 40, or try to shrink gaps and live with are these other guys going to make shots? That is the challenge,” Hodge said. “He’s shown the ability that he can beat you both ways.”

The Cougars (20-8, 8-7) have dropped two of their last three and six of nine since a 17-2 start. Most recently, Central Florida had its way offensively and cruised to a road win over the Cougars, 97-84, on Tuesday.

WVU (16-12, 7-8) has lost three straight by a total of 18 points, most recently suffering a 91-84 overtime setback at Oklahoma State on Tuesday.

The Mountaineers struggled to get stops for much of the contest, with Hodge referring to the first half of that game as his team’s worst defensive half of the season.

Still, much like the game before at TCU, the win was there for the taking late and the Mountaineers were unable to close strong.

West Virginia continues to put itself in position where it’s required to overcome significant second-half deficits, and while the Mountaineers have often caught up or led late, they’ve been unable to pull through recently.

WVU has played eight straight games decided by 10 or fewer points and recorded a 3-5 record over that time.

“The initial aftermath of any loss you’re going to be disappointed, but we’re mature enough and from a leadership standpoint,” Hodge said. “It’s hard not to just fall into the trap of you win and you’re great, you lose and you’re terrible. We’ve been fortunate enough to win some one-possession games that easily could’ve went the other way and the last three games we were in easily could’ve went our way, but they didn’t.

“But you’re not looking at an insurmountable mountain to climb. A block out here, a free throw there, a rebound here, a made shot here, a missed shot here, that’s the difference in what you’re dealing with. Do you have the emotional intelligence and maturity to stay the course and stay together, which this group does better than anybody I’ve been around, and still find a level of excitement in what you’re doing every day. That’s where if you love basketball and love each other and love challenges, then you’re going to be in the right place. There’s going to be a certain level of excitement even in the midst of disappointing times.”

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Still holding Big 12 title hopes, WVU concludes regular season Sunday vs. Cincinnati

Joe Brocato — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:47:36 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Two results must fall in West Virginia’s favor Sunday for the Mountaineers to claim their second Big 12 regular season championship in program history. The first is in WVU’s control while the second is not.

No. 17 West Virginia (23-6, 13-4 Big 12) hosts Cincinnati (11-18, 6-11 Big 12) at Hope Coliseum at 2 p.m. Shortly after the Mountaineers and the Bearcats clear the court in Morgantown, league-leading TCU (26-4, 14-3 Big 12) will tip off against Baylor (24-6, 13-4 Big 12) at 4 p.m.

While WVU has no path to claim the No. 1 seed in next week’s Big 12 Conference Tournament, West Virginia can still clinch a share of the Big 12 title for the first time since 2014. If WVU defeats Cincinnati and Baylor knocks off TCU, the Mountaineers, Horned Frogs and Bears will all share the Big 12 title with 14-4 records.

“If we are fortunate enough to beat Cincinnati and something else happens later Sunday, awesome, you are a Big 12 champion,” said WVU head coach Mark Kellogg. “If not, we’ll be a No. 2 seed. That’s pretty damn good too and you are playing for all sorts of NCAA stuff.”

WVU can finish no lower than the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, clinching a double bye into the quarterfinal round. They will open play in Kansas City on Friday, March 6.

Mark Kellogg on coaching Jordan Harrison for four seasons (1 at SFA, 3 at WVU):

WVU hosts Cincinnati Sunday on Senior Day. pic.twitter.com/rHdN3sg6ht

— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) February 27, 2026

The Mountaineers remain very much in the mix for a Top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosting rights for the first two rounds. In Charlie Creme’s latest ESPN Bracketology, WVU is listed as a No. 5 seed in the Norman regional. West Virginia checks in at No. 19 in the latest NCAA NET ratings.

West Virginia is coming off a 74-62 win at UCF on Wednesday. The Mountaineers defeated the Knights by 50 points two weeks ago.

“UCF played much better, much, much better. Getting [Khyala] Ngodu back changes their whole look. It wasn’t as simple as that. I am making it much simpler than it is. Certainly we made some shots, hit some threes, got out in transition a little bit before that defense could set.”

Jordan Harrison looks to disrupt an inbound pass. Photo by Greg Carey

Although the Mountaineers hope to host NCAA Tournament games, Sunday’s contest could be the last at Hope Coliseum for WVU’s senior class of Jordan Harrison, Cici Riviere, Sydney Shaw, Kierra Wheeler and Sydney Woodley.

Harrison was one of Kellogg’s first recruits at WVU. She played for Kellogg at Stephen F. Austin as a freshman. The 2022-2023 Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year has developed into one of the Big 12’s elite guards, earning all-league honors in each of the last two seasons. Harrison averages 12.7 points per game and she leads the Mountaineers in minutes per game (31.7), assists (146) and steals (90).

“I’ll probably try not to have emotion unless she has some emotion,” Kellogg said. “That might trigger it a little bit more. But I will try to be the calm, cool, collected guy out there.”

“She is amazing. I love Jordan so much. She is a sweet girl. She is funny,” Wheeler said. “I mess with her all the time just because you’ve got to mess with the little people. As post players, they feel your presence. Jordan has been amazing, just having somebody that is passionate about basketball and somebody that is willing to be kind but will also let me know what it is and what it isn’t.”

Shaw has played two seasons at WVU after transferring in from Auburn. Woodley and Riviere are also two-year Mountaineers after transferring in from Long Beach State and NW Florida State, respectively. Wheeler joined the WVU roster from Norfolk State during the most recent offseason.

“Stepping on the floor for our last time in our last home game is definitely going to be emotional, especially for Jordan and Cici and those that have been here for so many years,” Wheeler said. “The fans love them and they adore them. I am just excited to see how much they show up for them.”

Iowa State Cyclones’ guard/forward Sydney Harris (25) put high pressure on Cincinnati Bearcats guard Caliyh Devillasee (4) during the first quarter in the Big-12 women’s basketball on Jan. 21, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

West Virginia defeated Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena, 84-76 on January 18. Leading 43-26 at halftime, the Mountaineers struggled to pull away from the Bearcats in the second half before winning by eight points. Five WVU players scored in double digits and they were led by Wheeler’s 17-point effort.

“Obviously, we have played Cincinnati several times, multiple times a year in our tenure,” Kellogg said. “One time, it was three when we played them in the tournament as well. So there is some familiarity, obviously there. They are playing better. They are playing people close. They had TCU down at half and TCU went on a big run in that third quarter. Cincinnati still punched back a little bit late. They are certainly more than capable and they are playing with a lot of confidence.”

Cincinnati stands 13th in the Big 12 standings. The Bearcats come to Morgantown with three wins in their last five games after knocking off Arizona, BYU and UCF.

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3 Guys Before The Game – WVU Basketball: OSU & TCU Recap and BYU Preview (Episode 700)

MetroNews Staff — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 15:43:25 +0000

The Mountaineers return home searching for traction.

West Virginia hosts No. 19 BYU on Saturday inside Hope Coliseum in a matchup between two programs trying to steady themselves in the rugged Big 12. WVU has dropped three straight, while the Cougars have lost six of their last nine.

Even with an injury to standout Richie Saunders, BYU arrives with likely No. 1 NBA Draft pick AJ Dybantsa, who’s pouring in more than 25 points per game. The Cougars rank second in the league in scoring.

Can West Virginia slow the tempo, defend at a high level, and protect home court?

In this episode, the “Guys” preview the matchup and break down what went wrong on the recent road swing through TCU and Oklahoma State.

Hoppy delivers Obvious Observations, and listener questions and comments close the show with Textual Healing.

3 Guys Before The Game is sponsored by – Jan Dils Attorneys at Law, Komax Business Systems, GoMart, Lou Wendell Marine Sales, Tudor’s Biscuit World and Conley CPA Group.

Don’t forget to check out the 3 Guys website.

Never miss an episode, it’s free, subscribe below.

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Mountaineers cruise past Ohio in home opener, 19-6

Joe Brocato — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 01:09:11 +0000

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — With Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark covered in a fresh blanket of snow four hours before first pitch of WVU’s home opener against Ohio, quick snow removal efforts and a 16-hit attack allowed the Mountaineers to roll past the Bobcats, 19-6. West Virginia (6-1) scored in six of their eight innings at the plate while 24 players took the field for the Mountaineers.

The scheduled first pitch of 1 p.m. was delayed by 30 minutes to allow snow removal efforts to continue.

“To be honest, we had an early lift and walking out of the apartment this morning and seeing all the snow, it was questionable,” said WVU senior infielder Matt Ineich. “You look out the window at lift and it is still snowing. You are thinking, are we going to play? It was definitely in the back of my mind. I am glad it cleared up and got sunny. It wasn’t too bad out there.”

“Waking up and there’s snow on the ground, we practice and play in the snow a lot,” said WVU senior outfielder Brock Wills. “So I think just being ready and getting your body warm, you kind of just overcome that mental block of playing when it is freezing out.”

Steve Sabins. Photo by Greg Carey WVU defeated Ohio, 19-6

Playing against his former Ohio University teammates, Ineich drove in three runs and he went 4-for-5 with three runs scored.

“It felt good,” Ineich said. “I was just kind of trying to do what I do best, it just happened to be against my former team. It is definitely good to get a win against those guys.”

Armani Guzman also had three hits while Matthew Graveline, Gavin Kelly, Paul Schoenfeld, Brodie Kresser, Brock Wills and Tyrus Hall had multi-hit games. Wills and Graveline hit home runs in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively. 16 Mountaineers had at least one at bat.

“I think we can be one of the best offenses in the country,” Wills said. “When you’ve got guys behind you and you are just trying to pass the sticks, I think good things happen and I think we can play with anybody so when that better competition comes, I think we will be ready.”

Eight pitchers took the mound for the Mountaineers. Starting pitcher David Hagen did not allow a run in two scoreless frames.

“Hagen was good. Hagen is a sophomore that got some starts for us as a true freshman,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “He ended up getting hurt. So he has worked really hard coming back from this injury. We feel like he is kind of right back where he left off freshman year, developmentally.

“We went into today with a plan of trying to get eight arms in the game. There are quite a few pitchers that haven’t pitched for us yet because we hadn’t played a midweek [game]. All that with getting guys in, that’s a luxury. You have to be able to win the game, first and foremost. If you want to be best at the end of the season, you have to get guys experience. There is no way around it.”

Tennessee transfer Bryson Thacker inherited a bases loaded, no out jam in the third inning. He recorded the next three outs in succession without allowing a run.

“We view Bryson as a strike thrower. And now Thacker leads the team in appearances. I believe he has four on the year. Last year at Tennessee, he had four innings total. We just feel like we hit the jackpot with Bryson Thacker because he loves the moment.”

In a different defensive alignment, Guzman started a first base, a position he had almost no experience with. He recorded seven putouts.

“Armani has never taken a ground ball at first before today. That’s pretty unusual. He played second the entire fall. And he started in a Super Regional and a regional at third base. He is a capable infielder, for sure. It has come down to today, we wanted to get nine specific players in the game offensively and we wanted to start Gavin Kelly behind the dish. In order to do that, we had to make a decision to put Guzman at first.”

Playing in his first home game as a Mountaineer, Morgantown High School graduate Weston Mazey reached on a walk in the eighth inning and he later scored on a wild pitch. Former Calhoun County and Gilmer County pitcher Bryant York picked up the final three outs in the ninth inning.

Will Henson went 2-for-3 for the Bobcats (1-7) with three runs batted in.

No. 24 West Virginia heads to Kennesaw State for a three-game series starting Friday at 4 p.m.

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Mountaineers miss out on another opportunity in 91-84 overtime loss at Oklahoma State

Greg Carey — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 05:21:25 +0000

Another opportunity squandered.

A theme for West Virginia lately surfaced again Tuesday night at Oklahoma State.

The Mountaineers fought back from a 14-point second-half deficit to force overtime, but finished with two baskets and three turnovers during an extra session they never led in, and the Cowboys prevailed, 91-84 at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

“Got it into overtime and felt good, and they were able to execute better down the stretch than we were,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said on postgame radio. “They got the ball to where they wanted and converted. We got the ball where we wanted to and didn’t convert.”

The result leaves WVU (16-12, 7-8) with its first three-game losing streak this season, while the Cowboys (17-11, 5-10) brought an end to a five-game skid.

WVU trailed 33-31 with inside 5 minutes to play in the first half, but starting with Anthony Roy’s layup at the 4:45 mark, OSU outscored the Mountaineers 13-2 over what remained of the half. The Cowboys accounted for nine straight points to end the half, including a Jaylen Curry three for a 46-33 advantage at the break.

Oklahoma State was 17 for 29 from the field with four threes and 8 of 9 on free throws in the opening half. Additionally, the Cowboys had six players with at least five points and only two turnovers through 20 minutes.

“The first half was probably as poor of a half defensively as we’ve played,” Hodge said. “They’re a good offensive team and they play with a lot of pace and confidence. We allowed them to establish a little too much of a rhythm and didn’t make them miss. Jasper [Floyd’s] foul trouble really hurt us. Our point of attack defense wasn’t good enough. It was just too easy.”

WVU trailed by 14 on separate occasions in the second half, but after Christian Coleman converted a dunk off a second-chance opportunity to leave the home team on top 55-46, the Mountaineers countered with 10 straight points. That stretch began with Honor Huff’s three, before DJ Thomas and Chance Moore combined for seven straight points, including Thomas’ layup that gave the Mountaineers their first lead since 22-20 with 10:48 remaining in regulation.

Five was the largest lead on either side of what remained in regulation, with the Cowboys having it at 68-63 and 77-72, the latter occurring after a Kanye Clary trey with 3:06 remaining.

But Oklahoma State never scored again in regulation, missing all four of its shots, while WVU forward Chance Moore scored the final five points of regulation, including a driving basket with 19 seconds left to tie the game at 77.

After giving two fouls in the final seconds, the Mountaineers forced Clary into a challenged three that was off the mark as time expired.

But any momentum garnered from the strong finish to regulation quickly vanished in overtime, which began with Roy’s conventional three-point play that allowed the Cowboys to play from in front.

Not until Moore made the second of two free throws with 1:34 left did WVU score in overtime, at which point it trailed, 84-78. Floyd’s layup with 19 seconds left marked the first WVU field goal of OT.

Oklahoma State center Parsa Fallah dunked in the final seconds to set the score, but appeared to suffer a significant non-contact injury on the play.

Huff’s 20 points were a team high, while Treysen Eaglestaff followed with 18. Moore scored 14 off the bench, but was 2 for 6 on free throws, including a miss with 1:08 left in regulation that could’ve cut a two-point deficit in half.

Brenen Lorient added 12 to make it four double-figure scorers in defeat.

WVU shot north of 48 percent (33 for 68) and made 12-of-31 threes.

“Minus the overtime execution, offensively, we executed pretty well for the whole game,” Hodge said. “We took good care of the ball and had good looks.”

Six OSU players scored in double figures — Fallah (18), Clary (17), Curry (15), Andrija Vukovic (12), Roy (10) and Coleman (10).

The Cowboys enjoyed a decisive advantage on free throws by making 19 of 27 compared to WVU finishing 6 for 12.

Since the Mountaineers made 16-of-19 free throws in their most recent win at Central Florida, they are 22 for 39 on free throws over their last three games. Over that same stretch, WVU opponents have made 51-of-75 foul shots.

“When you get in close, one-possession games, it certainly hurts when you’re splitting,” Hodge said, “or going 0 for 2 from the foul line.”

West Virginia is 0-2 in overtime and 5-9 in games decided by 10 or fewer points.

The 91 points were the most scored against the Mountaineers this season.

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As opportunities dwindle, Mountaineers in need of better results starting Tuesday at Oklahoma State

Greg Carey — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 23:27:41 +0000

West Virginia has played at a methodical pace throughout the 2025-26 campaign, one that’s allowed the Mountaineers to achieve adequate enough defensive numbers for success while the team often struggles to score.

Yet if the Mountaineers are to avoid losing control of the season and aspire to play meaningful basketball in March, they need to start generating favorable results in a hurry, starting with Tuesday’s 7 p.m. matchup against Oklahoma State. The contest at Gallasgher-Iba Arena will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.

WVU (16-11, 7-7) did itself no favors last week with what could widely be considered its most disappointing two-game stretch this season — a 61-56 home loss to Utah and a 60-54 setback Saturday at TCU in which the Horned Frogs won the final 4-plus minutes, 12-2.

“I told our team the beauty of being in the Big 12 is you’re going to get quality opportunities,” first-year WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. “We had one [Saturday] and didn’t take advantage of it. More opportunities are in our grasp and in our reach, but eventually, you have to take advantage of the opportunities. I did feel like we had an opportunity to get one and we weren’t able to do that, but more opportunities are on the way and obviously Tuesday night in Stillwater will be another opportunity.”

It marked the sixth time over the last eight games the Mountaineers were held to fewer than 60 points, while they managed 63 during in another game over that stretch.

WVU is averaging a shade under 59 points over its last eight games after scoring 67 over its first six within the Big 12.

Against the Horned Frogs, an inability to execute down the stretch made all the difference as the visitors lost a 52-48 advantage and conference games in consecutive fashion for the first time this season. Over the two games last week, the Mountaineers made 42-of-101 shots and only 10-of-44 three-pointers, while turning it over 24 times, 16 of which came at TCU.

“Ultimately, we had 10 offensive possessions after we went up five or six, and we turned the ball over on four of ten possessions,” Hodge said. “You can’t do that in a close game against a quality team.”

If the Mountaineers can’t generate more offense Tuesday, they’ll almost certainly have a tough team keeping up. The Cowboys (16-11, 4-10) are the Big 12’s third-highest scoring team at 83.4 points, but surrender the highest total at 82.6. Excluding non-conference play, OSU averages 76.4 points and surrenders 84.2. WVU is at 62.4 points scored and 66.6 allowed within Big 12 games.

The Cowboys left themselves in prime position to qualify for the NCAA Tournament through the first half of Big 12 play, but have dropped five straight since a seven-point home victory against nationally-ranked BYU.

During the skid, Oklahoma State has allowed at least 81 points in all five contests, with Saturday’s 83-69 loss at Colorado the latest example of the Cowboys struggling to get stops.

The Buffaloes shot 48 percent, made 11-of-27 threes and had 20 of the game’s 28 assists, while the Cowboys were held to 38 percent shooting, made 5-of-23 triples and turned it over 15 times.

OSU gained a one-point second-half lead after overcoming a 17-point deficit, and the contest was tied as the 13-minute mark neared, before the Cowboys shot 3 for 21 the rest of the way.

Feb 21, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Steve Lutz calls out in the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

“They did a good job defensively, but we missed some shots that we’ve made throughout the course of the season and we certainly had some costly turnovers where you get a chance to maybe go up two, three or four, and we shot ourselves in the foot unfortunately,” Cowboys’ head coach Steve Lutz said. “But it’s part of basketball and we have to get our heads up and figure out a way to beat West Virginia.”

The teams play at total opposite speeds, with WVU ranking No. 362 out of 365 Division I teams in adjusted tempo and Oklahoma State 10th in that category, according to KenPom.

Anthony Roy leads Oklahoma State in scoring at 17 points and the 6-foot-5 senior is among the better shooters in the Big 12 with 77 threes made at a 40.1 percent clip.

The Cowboys also possess a productive interior threat in Parsa Fallah, a 6-10 senior averaging 14.5 points and six rebounds while shooting 60 percent from the field.

Sophomore Vyctorius Miller is the team’s third player averaging double-figure scoring at 12 points, though he’s struggled of late, scoring 36 points over the last five contests.

There is a recent history between Hodge and Lutz. North Texas, then coached by Hodge, defeated Oklahoma State 61-59 in a NIT quarterfinal last season.

“You have opportunities, but you have to start taking advantage of them,” Hodge said, “because eventually your opportunities can run out.”

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With strong showing against Oklahoma State, WVU builds confidence, hangs in Big 12 race

Greg Carey — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 19:38:02 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In handling Oklahoma State from start to finish Saturday at Hope Coliseum, 19th-ranked West Virginia bolstered its postseason resume with a resounding 72-40 victory over a Cowgirls’ team all but assured of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.

Factoring in that the opponent has 21 wins and 10 in the Big 12, it was unquestionably among the Mountaineers’ top performances this season. The victory allows WVU (22-6, 12-4) to stay squarely in the race for a Big 12 regular season championship.

“I don’t know that we ever use the term or statement win or that would ever come out of my mouth,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said when asked if he viewed the result as such. “Is it a good win? Yes. Is [Oklahoma State] a really quality basketball team? Yes. Were we good for longer stretches in this game? Yes. So there was really good stuff from this, but when you think statement or relax and you’re not going to focus on the next one, for us it’s process driven. We got one against a really good team at home, which we needed to get.”

League leader TCU is 12-3 in the conference and plays Sunday against Iowa State. While the Horned Frogs have the tiebreaker in the event of one with WVU by virtue of a pair of head-to-head wins, the Mountaineers would be assured of at least a share of the Big 12 title with a 2-0 finish over the next week and one TCU loss.

West Virginia next plays Wednesday at Central Florida before wrapping up the regular season next Sunday when it welcomes Cincinnati. The Mountaineers have defeated both this season, with the two teams combining for eight Big 12 victories, six of which the Bearcats account for.

“We still want a Big 12 title. If TCU were to lose and we have to split it multiple ways, that’s still a Big 12 title,” Kellogg said. “That’s goal one is always to be a Big 12 regular season championship and when you get done with that, there are other ones like getting a double bye in the Big 12 tournament. We’ve talked brackets and seedings, but not too worried about that. We really just want to win the next one but we understand all of those things. We’ve put ourselves in position to get to talk about it on February 21. That’s maybe the most exciting piece. We’re talking Big 12 titles with two games to go.”

The win over Oklahoma State was equally dominant on both ends, highlighted by 20 for 30 shooting in the first half with nine three-pointers. WVU scored the final 12 points of the half to lead 49-23 at the break, and its defense helped cool off the high-powered Cowgirls from the outset.

Oklahoma State entered among the more potent offenses in all of college basketball with an average of more than 83 points, but finished with more turnovers (16) than field goals (15) while shooting 23.1 percent.

At times, the Cowgirls simply missed clean looks. At others, they appeared overwhelmed.

“We were sped up. Their defense does that to everyone,” Cowgirls’ head coach Jacie Hoyt said.

It was a welcome sign for Kellogg, whose team has plenty to play for down the stretch and currently has a NET rating of 20.

“This time of year, I want them to be physically fresh and mentally excited and prepared of course,” he said. “If you can do that, you’re in a great spot in late February.”

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Mountaineers falter down the stretch in 60-54 setback at TCU

Greg Carey — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 01:26:26 +0000

This time around, West Virginia didn’t find itself in catchup mode for most of the matchup.

Instead, the Mountaineers failed to finish Saturday against TCU after leading for more than 7 minutes in the second half.

The Horned Frogs responded to a late four-point deficit by outscoring WVU 12-2 over the final 4:17, and that dominant stretch made all the difference in their 60-54 victory at Schollmaier Arena.

“Down the stretch, they did a better job executing and they got the ball close to the basket and we did not,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said on postgame radio.

After Honor Huff made a three-pointer to give the visitors a 52-48 lead with 5:42 remaining, the Mountaineers made 1-of-6 shots and had three turnovers the rest of the way.

“Somebody has to be able to make a physical play, drive the ball with physicality and make the official make a choice,” Hodge said.

Meanwhile, TCU’s Brock Harding scored twice at the rim to tie the game at 52, before David Punch converted from close range for the Horned Frogs to lead by two with 2:35 left.

TCU capitalized on a second-chance — a theme throughout the contest — for a late four-point lead, which came when Punch scored in the paint again at the 1:36 mark.

Brenen Lorient’s layup with 25 seconds left marked the only WVU points down the stretch and brought the Mountaineers to within two, but Harding made two free throws 8 seconds later, and Jayden Pierre two more after Jasper Floyd’s turnover.

TCU (17-10, 7-7) trailed 21-16 before scoring 10 unanswered points and gaining a five-point advantage after a Harding triple.

“For large stretches of the game, it kind of felt like who actually wants to win this game today? I didn’t think either team played very well for most of the night,” Hodge said.

The Horned Frogs led by seven twice and 30-25 at halftime, though that advantage was gone 5 minutes into the second half following a Huff triple that knotted the contest at 34.

WVU gained its first second-half lead at 42-40 on a Lorient layup, and the led grew to six at the 8:03 mark after DJ Thomas scored inside.

TCU got back to within one before Huff connected from long range with 5:42 remaining, but things went south for the Mountaineers from that point forward.

It marks the second time WVU (16-11, 7-7) has lost consecutive games and the first instance in Big 12 play.

Huff scored a team-high 13 points in defeat and Lorient added 10. Chance Moore contributed nine.

The Mountaineers had 20 field goals and 16 turnovers.

“We got too passive. The ball is moving east and west and none of it is vertical,” Hodge said. “Somebody has to be able to physically attack a gap with some pace.“

WVU has failed to score 60 points in eight of 14 Big 12 games and six of its last eight. The Mountaineers are 2-6 in those eight games.

TCU had four double-figure scorers led by 14 from both Xavier Edmonds and Liutauras Lelevicius, who made half of his team’s six threes on four attempts. Punch scored 12 and Harding 11, with that duo combining for 16 after halftime.

The Horned Frogs enjoyed decisive advantages rebounding (39-28) and on free throws, where they made 18-of-27 attempts to the Mountaineers’ 9 of 12. Nineteen of the Horned Frogs’ boards were on the offensive end, helping them overcome 34 percent field-goal shooting.

“Too many times, they won 1-on-1 situations and kind of pushed us under the basket,” Hodge said.

Edmonds led all players with 13 boards.

“Our inability to rebound the basketball was the difference in the game,” Hodge said.

TCU has won five straight at home against the Mountaineers.

“The truth is, you can play hard, but at some point you have to play good,” Hodge said. “We didn’t play good enough for long enough today.“

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No. 19 West Virginia starts strong, never looks back in 72-40 dismantling of Oklahoma State

Greg Carey — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 22:41:20 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Its last time out, 19th-ranked West Virginia squandered a six-point halftime lead and lost at TCU, preventing WVU from controlling its destiny in the Big 12 Conference regular season race.

The Mountaineers played like a team eager to jump back into action Saturday afternoon at Hope Coliseum when they welcomed Oklahoma State.

West Virginia jumped all over the Cowgirls from the opening tip, making its first six shots and never coming close to trailing in a 72-40 victory.

“We put the TCU game behind us in a good way and maybe used it as a little motivation,” Mountaineer head coach Mark Kellogg said.

West Virginia (22-6, 12-4) made its first six field-goal attempts, a stretch that included a Gia Cooke three-pointer that was banked in, which left the Mountaineers with an 8-0 lead at that time.

“We started a little off the past couple games and off this bye week, we were excited to play,” Cooke said. “We had a lot of momentum and kept our foot on the gas and never took it off. We made shots and made the right reads.”

When Carter McCray scored in the paint with 4:16 left in the first quarter, WVU had its first double-digit advantage at 16-6.

The Mountaineers led 20-6, before OSU (21-8, 10-6) drew to within 23-12 when Haleigh Timmer closed the first-quarter scoring with a triple.

WVU led 37-23 after Oklahoma State got a jumper from Stailee Heard 2:40 before halftime.

Starting with Cooke’s second made triple off the backboard in response, the home team closed the opening half by running off a dozen unanswered points, a stretch that included two buckets from Kierra ‘MeMe’ Wheeler, another one from Cooke and Sydney Shaw’s trey just before time expired that left the Cowgirls facing a 49-23 halftime deficit.

“I called the second one,” Cooke said of her threes off the backboard. “I didn’t call the first one. We talked at halftime like, are you doing this on purpose?”

Through two quarters, WVU made 20-of-30 shots, including 9 of 16 from long range and had 16 assists.

“We had ball movement and an understanding spots on the floor we wanted to attack going in,” Kellogg said. “Credit the players for making the right plays. Oklahoma State switched to zone for majority of that game. It slowed us for a little bit and we kind of got going when we figured our footing there.”

OSU, meanwhile, went to the break shooting 9 for 30 with nine turnovers.

“West Virginia was really good today. They could not miss in the first half,” Oklahoma State head coach Jacie Hoyt said. “They came out looking like a team off a loss and a bye week. We couldn’t make anything. Then it’s just really hard to recover after you have a half like that. The game was pretty much over in the first half. “

Playing without injured guard Jadyn Wooten for the first time this season, the Cowgirls struggled to grow comfortable offensively. Wooten averages 12.1 points and 5.1 assists.

“There couldn’t be a worse team to play without Jayden because of their press,” Hoyt said.

OSU, which entered averaging 83.4 points, did not surpass 23 until nearly halfway through the third quarter when Amari Whiting converted a follow-up attempt to make it 55-25.

In the third, the Cowgirls were held to five points on 2 for 17 shooting shot 2 for 17 and they faced a 62-28 deficit through 30 minutes.

“You have to find ways to be disruptive with your defense and we found ways to be disruptive,” Kellogg said.

Cooke led all players with 21 points. Five of her seven field goals were threes — the second-highest single game total for Cooke in a Mountaineer uniform.

Wheeler scored 18 on 9-of-14 shooting and led all players with 10 rebounds.

Jordan Harrison scored 12 to make it three double-figure scorers. She also had seven assists — one more than OSU.

Sydney Shaw scored nine over 21-plus minutes, and did not return after exiting the third quarter with an injury to her head and mouth area that led to stitches.

“She wasn’t medically cleared to return,” said Kellogg, who had no further update on her status.

Heard’s 13 points led OSU, which finished with 15 field goals, 16 turnovers and 17 offensive rebounds that led to only four second-chance points.

“We practiced guarding the three-point line and we knew they were good in transition,” Wheeler said. “We knew what they were good at and wanted to take that away.”

WVU donned pink jerseys and encouraged fans to wear pink in support of breast cancer. All five Mountaineer starters were joined by at least one breast cancer survivor as they were introduced.

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Mountaineers look for multitude of fixes starting Saturday at TCU

Greg Carey — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 20:11:54 +0000

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia men’s basketball coach Ross Hodge spaced an index finger and thumb within no more than a quarter inch of each other to signify what the Mountaineers’ margin for error is within Big 12 Conference play.

Minutes before, Hodge looked on as the Mountaineers were unable to overcome an abundance of early errors in Wednesday night’s matchup with Utah. In turn, the home team trailed 18-3 and played from behind throughout in a 61-56 setback to the Utes.

Utah hadn’t won on the road this season and brought an end to a 15-game road losing streak. West Virginia, once 13-0 inside Hope Coliseum, lost its third straight home game before returning to the road for two straight — Saturday at TCU and Tuesday at Oklahoma State.

This time, unlike in several Big 12 wins and each of its last two (at Cincinnati and at Central Florida), WVU couldn’t quite catchup from the double-digit deficit. The Mountaineers were to within two late, but never led.

“We have a small margin for error and when you continually put yourself in these positions and dig yourself holes, some of that is the inconsistency that you’re playing with whether it’s individually or collectively,” Hodge said. “It’s to be commended that we continuously fight back and give ourselves a chance, but when you dig the holes, so many things have to go right. In the games we were able to do that, we were able to get over the hump with a big shot. We weren’t able to do that.”

The Mountaineers (16-10, 7-6) failed to rebound at an adequate level, with the Utes grabbing 23 to WVU’s 12 through the first 20 minutes. Perhaps even more alarming was that Utah rebounded seven of its 17 first-half misses. The Utes settled for a 38-28 rebounding advantage on the night, and had a 9-4 edge on second-chance points in a game decided by five.

“So much of that is the force at which they drive the ball with and we couldn’t really stay in front of the ball, so they collapse you,” Hodge said. “Those guards get a lot of attention and make your forwards step up and they get it up on the window. Our physicality and urgency to block out wasn’t good enough.”

While Hodge at least somewhat downplayed the significance of the free-throw shooting, there’s no denying it played a pivotal factor in the outcome.

WVU made 5-of-10 foul shots in the opening half while struggling to score for lengthy stretches of it. The Mountaineers were 2 for 5 from the charity stripe in the second half.

“All you can really do is continue to work on it, try to find creative methods and different ways and put them in different situations,” Hodge said. “But those guys want to make those. They really do.

“If you’re going to get out-rebounded by 10, you can’t go 7 for 15 from the foul line. If you’re going to miss 30 shots and only get seven offensive rebounds, you better make your free throws. You can miss your free throws if you miss 30 shots and go get 15 offensive rebounds, but you can’t do all of them. But it certainly helps, in particular when you’ve dug yourself a hole and you’re trying to dig yourself out of that hole and you’re splitting.”

WVU is 0-3 within the Big 12 this season when failing to score more points off free throws than its opponents and 6-3 in league action when it does exactly that.

But the Mountaineers are second-to-last in the conference in free-throw shooting at 67.3 percent, and that figure drops to a Big 12-worst 63 percent in league games.

For a team that struggles to score and has the minuscule margin for error Hodge often references, those are precious (and free) points they’re missing out on too often.

Moving forward from disappointment is something the Mountaineers have shown they’re plenty capable of. WVU has been victorious after each of its five previous Big 12 losses and the team has lost consecutively only once this season.

To keep that intact, West Virginia will need to win Saturday at a place where success has been tough to come by — TCU’s Schollmaier Arena. The Mountaineers have lost four straight in Fort Worth and seven of eight.

The Horned Frogs (16-10, 6-7) are in better postseason standing than WVU with a NET rating of 47 to the Mountaineers’ 61, but their three-game win streak was snapped Tuesday with a loss at Central Florida.

Jan 28, 2026; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs forward David Punch (15) makes a jump shot over Houston Cougars forward Kalifa Sakho (14) during the first half at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Forward David Punch is TCU’s most productive player with team-best averages of 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds. Three teammates — forward Xavier Edmonds (12.4), guard Jayden Pierre (10.7) and forward Micah Robinson (10.4) also are double-figure scoring.

TCU is surrendering 80.2 points on average on 47.2 percent shooting against Big 12 teams, but averages just south of 77 points in those games and nearly 79 overall.

For WVU, containing the Horned Frogs early comes into focus, as does the ability for the Mountaineers to create offense and develop rhythm.

“We are trying to feel the game out and when we do that, the other team is pressing [on the gas],” WVU guard Honor Huff said. “When you have a team with nothing to lose, they come in here with reckless abandon and we’re not in tune with the physical process. Little things are being replicated every game and that’s something we have to figure out as a group. It’s really hurting us and determining what we want to do on the end goal.”

Instead of praising his team’s ability to respond to early deficits, Hodge would much prefer to discuss his squad building a rare early lead.

“You can’t continuously put yourself in those situations and think you’re always going to be able to come back, but the fight back and togetherness, you appreciate that,” Hodge said. “But some of it is we need to play better, with more consistency from individuals and collectively so we don’t find ourselves in those situations. There is something that’s leading up to being down 14 and 15 and starting slow in these games. That’s what we have to ultimately figure out.”

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