West Virginia’s season opener against Niagara on Monday marks the real start of the Ross Hodge era, and one national college hoops voice already sees the Mountaineers headed toward the NCAA Tournament.
CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein made his case for WVU as a team that can land in March Madness, pointing to the overhaul Hodge and his staff have put together. Rothstein highlighted the new-look perimeter with Miles Sadler, Joson Sanon and Finley Bizjack, then singled out Mouhamed Sylla as the interior piece that gives this roster a different shape.
“Ross Hodge looks primed to take the Mountaineers to the NCAA Tournament. Completely revamped perimeter: Miles Sadler, a talented freshman; Joson Sanon, a transfer from St.
John’s; Finley Bizjack, a transfer from Butler. And then up front, you’ve got Mouhamed Sylla from Georgia Tech.
West Virginia to me, looks like a top-half team in the Big 12 Conference.”
That kind of confidence is notable, especially with a roster that has been rebuilt and still has some learning to do. West Virginia does have only one returning player who saw minutes last season, so there’s plenty of uncertainty baked into the early part of the year. Even so, the pieces are there for a team that can be more dynamic than last season’s group, which often played with a six- or seven-man rotation and leaned heavily on one consistent offensive threat.
The appeal starts with the physical tools. Sylla and Amadou Seini give WVU a chance to put serious length and athleticism on the floor at the same time, and that combination is going to show up more than once. Add in Sadler settling into the mix, and the ceiling gets a lot more interesting.
There’s also a path here in the standings. The Big 12 is always loaded with Q1 chances, and West Virginia’s non-conference schedule offers opportunities to bank some important wins before league play really starts to grind. That’s why the idea of the Mountaineers climbing into the top half of the conference doesn’t feel far-fetched.
A dark-horse label in the Big 12 may still be a step too far right now, but a finish in the fifth- or sixth-place range is not out of the question if this group meets expectations and protects home court. And when it comes to the NCAA Tournament, the belief is already out there: this team looks like it belongs in the conversation.
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West Virginias mens basketball program has spent the past four years living through roster churn, and much of it traces back to the instability at head coach. The result is a familiar one for the Mountaineers: former players moving on, new faces arriving, and a lineup that has rarely stayed intact long enough to settle in. Now, some of those departures are coming back around in a way that will feel especially personal for the program.
Amani Hansberry, Miles Powell and Thomas are among the former Mountaineers who transferred elsewhere and are set to face West Virginia in upcoming games. For a team that has already had to absorb so much change, those matchups will serve as a reminder of how quickly the roster has been reshaped and how often the program has had to move on from players who once looked like part of its future. [Read more 🡒]
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West Virginias 2026-27 basketball season opens with a familiar kind of early test, even if the opponent is one the Mountaineers have not seen in Morgantown in generations. Niagaras first trip to town since 1952 brings a fresh face to the schedule, and it arrives with both programs in transition after offseason roster overhauls that will make the opener feel less like a tuneup and more like the first real look at two rebuilt teams.
Greg Paulus brings a Niagara squad with 11 new players, including transfers Logan Woods and Cole Farrell, while West Virginia will also be sorting through a revamped mix of returning and incoming talent. Brenen Lorient and Amir Jenkins give the Mountaineers some continuity, but the additions of Miles Sadler and Finley Bizjack only add to the early lineup questions, making this one of those openers that could tell fans plenty about how the rotation is taking shape even before the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Faces A Nonconference Test That Could Define Its March Hopes
West Virginias early schedule leaves little room to ease into the season, and that is exactly what makes the next few weeks so important. The Mountaineers are headed to the Player Era Tournament in Las Vegas and will also see North Carolina, Pitt and Wake Forest on neutral floors, with Virginia Tech coming to Morgantown before Big 12 play begins. It is the kind of slate that can sharpen a team quickly, but it also asks for consistency against several opponents that should offer real NCAA Tournament-level resistance.
For a program trying to build a March rsum, the margin for error is already thin. A strong run through nonconference play would give WVU a chance to stack meaningful wins before the league grind begins, while a rough stretch could leave the Mountaineers chasing quality victories for the rest of the winter. If they can come out of this opening stretch with only a few losses, the path to the tournament picture gets a lot cleaner. [Read more 🡒]