West Virginia is rolling out the same kind of talent-heavy lineup it opened with, as head coach Ross Hodge has set his starting five for Friday night’s matchup with Stetson at Hope Coliseum.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST, with the game streaming on ESPN+. The Mountaineers come in off their season-opening win over Niagara on Monday, while the Hatters are still chasing their first victory of the year.
The group Hodge is sending out features a mix of immediate production and high-end pedigree. Darrian Sadler, who made a loud first impression against Niagara with 16 points and nine assists, is in the starting five again.
The Brampton, Ontario, native arrived at West Virginia carrying plenty of hype, signing as a five-star prospect and earning rankings among the top five point guards and top 20 overall recruits in the 2026 class from multiple scouting services. According to 247Sports recruiting rankings, he is the highest-rated recruit to sign with WVU.
Also starting is Honor Bizjack, who wasted no time getting downhill in his Mountaineer debut. He scored 11 points against Niagara and got to the line often, finishing 6-for7 at the stripe.
Bizjack spent three seasons at Butler before entering the transfer portal and landing at West Virginia. Last season, he led the Bulldogs with 17.1 points per game, picked up All-Big East Third Team honors and was named Big East Player of the Week on Jan. 26 after putting up 28 points against Marquette and 24 against DePaul.
Seydou Traore is in the mix as well after posting five points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal in 15 minutes in the opener. Traore came to West Virginia after his junior season at Utah, where he started all 31 games and averaged 9.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. His best scoring night there came against San Jose State, when he dropped 23.
Javon Lorient keeps his spot after extending his double-figure scoring streak to 16 straight games, a run that dates back to last season. He finished with 13 points and five rebounds in the win over Niagara.
Mouhamed Sylla rounds out the starting five after making his 16th career start - and first as a Mountaineer - on Monday. He opened his West Virginia career with 10 points and seven rebounds against Niagara.
Sylla arrived from Georgia Tech, where he appeared in 16 games as a freshman before an injury kept him out for 15 of the final 17 contests. In that season, he averaged 9.6 points and 7.2 rebounds, with 10 double-figure scoring games and five double-doubles.
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West Virginia basketball is getting another boost off the court, with the universitys athletics department and the Mountaineer Athletic Club teaming up again with DAC Energy to buy $100,000 worth of mens basketball tickets for fans across the state. The plan is to put those seats into the hands of communities through outreach programs, giving more West Virginia families a chance to take in games at the Coliseum.
The tickets will be spread across nonconference matchups and select Big 12 games, a move that should help keep the building connected to the wider state as the season unfolds. DAC Energy, led by Ken and Jennifer Mason, has long been involved in supporting WVU athletics and community efforts, and this latest partnership continues that pattern in a way that reaches beyond the scoreboard. [Read more 🡒]
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For West Virginia, the encouraging part is that a few players who had been listed as probable are now available, which gives the staff more flexibility as it prepares for a late start in Lubbock. Even so, the report leaves a few questions hanging as the Mountaineers head into a 9:30 p.m. ET game on ESPN, where every bit of depth and availability could matter in a Big 12 matchup that figures to be shaped as much by who is on the field as by the game plan itself. [Read more 🡒]