West Virginia Gears Up for Heavyweight Clash with No. 1 Arizona
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - It’s the kind of matchup that gets circled on the calendar the moment the schedule drops. This Saturday, West Virginia steps into the national spotlight for a showdown with top-ranked Arizona - a program that’s been steamrolling through its schedule and holding firm at No. 1 since week six of the season.
For the Mountaineers, this marks the 17th time they’ve faced the nation’s top team. Their last go-round against a No. 1 came back in December 2020, when they pushed Gonzaga to the brink in a high-octane battle before falling 87-82 in the Jimmy V Classic.
But West Virginia’s history in these moments isn’t just about near-misses - they’ve pulled off five wins against No. 1s, the most recent being a dominant 89-68 victory over Baylor in 2017. That game wasn’t just a win; it was a statement, handing the Bears the largest loss margin ever suffered by a top-ranked team at the time.
This Saturday’s opponent, though, is a different kind of beast. Arizona has built a résumé that screams legitimacy.
The Wildcats have already knocked off heavyweights like Florida, UCLA, UConn, Auburn, and Alabama in non-conference play. Since entering Big 12 action, they’ve continued to flex their muscle with wins over Utah, Kansas State, TCU, Arizona State, UCF, and Cincinnati.
Only two of those league games - against Arizona State and UCF - were decided by single digits. The rest?
Arizona has handled with authority.
“Welcome to the Big 12,” West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge said this week on the United Bank Playbook. “We’ve already played at Iowa State and at Houston, and now we get to play against the No. 1 team in the country. But that’s what you love about this league - it challenges you in every way, and with that comes some incredible opportunities.”
One of the biggest challenges in front of the Mountaineers is slowing down Arizona’s standout freshman forward, Koa Peat. At 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, Peat brings a rare mix of size, strength, and finesse. He leads the Wildcats with 14.6 points per game and is one of five players averaging double figures - a testament to just how balanced and dangerous this Arizona team is.
“He’s so physical, but it’s the control he plays with that makes him tough to guard,” Hodge said. “He’s not just barreling into you.
He’s got great balance and body control, especially in that foul line area. He knows how to create space without forcing it, and he puts a lot of pressure on your interior defense.”
For West Virginia, the game plan is clear: limit Arizona’s momentum and avoid the kind of explosive runs that can turn a close game into a rout.
“You’ve got to weather their storms,” Hodge explained. “You can live with a 6-0 or 7-0 run.
What you can’t afford are those 22-2 or 15-5 stretches. You don’t want to help them - don’t turn the ball over, don’t give them transition chances.
Because once they get their size and athleticism going downhill, it’s hard to stop.”
And perhaps most crucially, the Mountaineers will need to keep Arizona to one shot per possession.
“You’ve got to do your absolute best to give them one shot, and one shot only,” Hodge emphasized. “You give a team that efficient on offense multiple looks, and it’s going to be a long night.”
Hodge didn’t mince words when describing what makes Arizona so difficult to deal with.
“They’re the biggest, most physical, most skilled team we’ll face this year,” he said. “They’re not just big - they can really play.
And when things get tight, Jaden Bradley has that ability to hit big shots late in the clock. That’s what separates good teams from great ones.”
Still, West Virginia enters the matchup riding some momentum of its own. The Mountaineers are coming off their first road win of the season - a gritty victory at Arizona State on Wednesday night.
Treysen Eaglestaff stepped up in a big way, matching his season high with 23 points on an efficient 8-for-14 shooting night. The senior has been heating up in conference play, shooting a blistering 48.6% from three and hitting double figures in all but two Big 12 games.
He’s now averaging 10.6 points per game and trending upward after a slower start to the season.
Honor Huff continues to be the Mountaineers’ offensive engine. The senior guard leads the team with 16.6 points per game and is climbing the NCAA’s all-time three-point leaderboard. With 362 career triples, he’s now 70th in NCAA history and just 17 makes away from cracking the top 50.
Senior forward Brenen Lorient has also been a steady contributor, averaging 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, with national coverage on CBS.
Spero Dedes and Clark Kellogg will be on the call. For those tuning in via radio, the Mountaineer Sports Network’s pregame coverage begins at 1 p.m., with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe, and David Kahn bringing all the action across West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com, the Varsity Network, and the WVU Gameday app.
It’s a tall task, no doubt. But in a league that doesn’t hand out easy nights, this is the kind of test that can define a season - or at the very least, show exactly what kind of fight this Mountaineer squad has in them.