West Virginia’s season hasn’t tipped off yet, but the Mountaineers are already showing up in NCAA Tournament conversations.
A pair of recent court rulings that favored Brenen Lorient and Javan Buchanan in their fight for a fifth year of eligibility helped push WVU up in ESPN’s latest bracketology from Joe Lunardi. He now has the Mountaineers on the right side of the bubble as part of the “Last Four In,” slotted as a No. 11 seed in a play-in game against Creighton. The winner would advance to face Kentucky in the round of 64.
That projection keeps West Virginia in a familiar neighborhood with Kentucky, a program the Mountaineers often seem to land near in postseason bracket talk. The source material also notes that this overlap has started to show up in baseball, too.
West Virginia’s early schedule gives it plenty of chances to build a résumé before Big 12 play arrives. The Mountaineers are set to face North Carolina, along with other major tests against Creighton, North Carolina State and Oklahoma State.
West VirginiaCreightonNorth Carolina StateOklahoma State
The nonconference slate also gives national observers a chance to get a look at a roster that includes Miles Sadler, Finley Bizjack, Mo Sylla and Joson Sanon.
Last season, WVU had a group of players stepping up from the mid-majors under a first-year coach, and the nonconference results were not especially strong. Still, Hodge drew attention with wins over Kansas and BYU, then added more with the team’s run in the College Basketball Crown. If WVU can stay above water in the nonconference portion of the schedule, the Mountaineers should be in good shape to reach the tournament.
In Other News...
West Virginia Let A Winnable Home Game Slip Away Again
Arizona came into Milan Puskar Stadium and left with a 52-31 win, putting up the most points by an opponent in regulation there since 2018. For West Virginia, it was the latest reminder that strong yardage totals do not always translate into control of the game, even at home, where the Mountaineers had enough offensive production to keep things moving but never enough clean execution to settle the crowd or shift momentum.
Noah Fifita carved up the Mountaineers for 341 yards and multiple touchdowns, and Arizona kept finding the chunk plays that made West Virginia chase the game instead of manage it. The Mountaineers finished with 522 total yards, but two first-half fumbles by Cam Cook helped turn a winnable afternoon into another frustrating one, with the defense unable to slow Arizona long enough to let the offense recover. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Has A Defensive Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Arizona had West Virginia on the back foot from the start in a 52-31 loss that exposed just how much the Mountaineers had to chase on defense. The Wildcats were efficient in every phase of the game, averaging 9.9 yards per play and turning big gains into a steady stream of points, while Noah Fifita found Isaiah Mizell for a touchdown and Lee Molette III added a fumble recovery score to keep the pressure squarely on the Mountaineers.
For West Virginia, the concern is not just the final margin but how easily Arizona moved the ball and how quickly the game slipped away. Giving up 52 points is the most the Mountaineers have allowed since a game in 2024, and even with scoring drives of their own, they never found enough stops to make the contest feel manageable. The defensive issues are now hard to overlook, and they leave a familiar question hanging over the program as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Rich Rodriguez Reaches A Breaking Point With West Virginia's Defense
West Virginias 52-31 loss to Arizona left Rich Rodriguez with plenty to sort through, and the defense was at the center of it. The Big 12 matchup exposed the Mountaineers in a way that made the postgame mood as much about frustration as it was about the final score, with Rodriguez making clear that the performance on that side of the ball has to get better.
Rodriguez also pointed to the offenses struggles, a reminder that this wasnt a one-unit problem for a team still trying to find steadier footing in conference play. For West Virginia, the challenge now is turning a lopsided loss into something useful as the season moves along, because the margin for error in the Big 12 doesnt leave much room for repeated lessons. [Read more 🡒]