Game Preview: West Virginia vs. Utah men’s basketball
West Virginia plays their final road game of the regular season on Tuesday night when they face Utah.
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WVSports.com offers a look at some key elements of the match-up to get you ready for tip-off.
SERIES: Utah leads 6-1
LAST MEETING: Feb. 8, 2025 in Morgantown — WVU 72, Utah 61
TELEVISION: ESPN+
TIP-OFF: 9:00 p.m. ET
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COACHES
Darian DeVries, West Virginia
17-12 (1st season at WVU), 167-67 (7th season overall)
Josh Eilert, Utah (Interim)
1-1 (1st season at TCU), 10-24 (2nd season overall)
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LAST TIME OUT
Utah enters Tuesday on a five-game home winning streak, with the most recent being a 99-73 win over Arizona State on Saturday. The Utes shot 56.5 percent from the field, and made 10 of their 25 shots from beyond the arc. They also got to the free throw line 27 times, sinking 19 of them. Utah held Arizona State to shoot 43 percent from the field, and the Utes owned the rebounding advantage 40-29.
West Virginia enters Wednesday off a 77-56 loss to BYU on Saturday. The Mountaineers trailed by six at halftime, but it was downhill from there. The Cougars shot 61 percent from the field in the second half, making five of their 11 3-pointers in the second as well. WVU shot 33 percent from the field and went 8-for-27 from deep.
By The Numbers — Team (16-13, 8-10 Big 12)
Utah comes into the contest near the middle of the Big 12 in both scoring offense and defense. The Utes are 8th in scoring offense and 9th in scoring defense. They are 8th in team field goal percentage and 5th in opponent field goal percentage.
From beyond the arc, Utah is making 33.2 percent of their shots, while opponents are making 33.7 percent of their shots. In these two teams’ first meeting, WVU knocked down 37.5 percent of their 3-pointers while the Utes knocked down 26.1 percent.
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Utah gets to the line the fifth-most in the Big 12, but when they do they have the worst free throw percentage, making 63.8 percent of their free throws on the year. On the glass, Utah is second in rebounds per. game but they are 6th in rebounding margin. Utah is 15th in turnover margin as they are averaging the fourth-most turnovers per game in the league.
Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Gabe Madsen, Mike Sharavjamts, Ezra Ausar, Jake Wahlin, and Lawson Lovering. This lineup has been deployed 30.8 percent of the time over Utah’s last five games.
Madsen leads Utah in scoring with 15.2 points per game on the season. Ausar is averaging 12.4 points per game this season. Utah has had nine different players start a game this season.
Utah comes into the game ranked 64th in the NET, and 68th by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 2 game for the Utes and they are 2-4 in such games this season.
By The Numbers — West Virginia (17-12, 8-10 Big 12)
Offense continues to be a struggle for the Mountaineers while they have still played well on the defensive side of the ball. WVU is 16th in the league in scoring offense, but are 2nd in the league in scoring defense. During WVU’s last four road games they have averaged 59.5 points in those games, and lost all four. On the season, WVU is averaging 68.2 points per game, and giving up 64.6 points per game.
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From the field, WVU is shooting 42.4 percent on the year. WVU has eclipsed that mark in 15 games this season, and they are 10-5 in such games. When the Mountaineers go under that mark, they are 7-7 this year. Defensively, WVU is holding their opponents to shoot 40.9 percent from the field and that is third-best in the Big 12.
West Virginia is 12th in the Big 12 in 3-point percentage, but they are 5th in 3-pointers made per game. Defensively, the Mountaineers are holding opponents to shoot 29.3 percent from beyond the arc and Utah is making 8.5 3-pointers per game. WVU is last in the league in rebounding margin, and fourth in turnover margin.
Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Javon Small, Sencire Harris, Jonathan Powell, Toby Okani, and Amani Hansberry. This lineup has been used 25.1 percent of the time over the last five games.
WVU’s leading scorer is Small averaging 18.2 points per game. Small has scored 20 or more points 12 times this year and in those games, WVU is 8-4 in those games.
West Virginia is ranked 48th in the NET, and 53rd by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 1 game for WVU and the Mountaineers are 5-10 in such games this season.
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NCAA Tournament/Standings Implications
This game could go a long way in terms of where teams play in the Big 12 Tournament. The top 8 seeds in the Big 12 earn a bye in the tournament and currently both Utah and WVU are 8-10 in league play, which is tied for 9th in the league. The winner of this game will have a chance to get into the top eight of the standings.
As far as the NCAA Tournament picture goes, WVU is a 10-seed in the latest Bracket Matrix projections, with their average seed line at a 9.95. Utah is not in the NCAA Tournament picture.
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Join the Main Street Morgantown family-friendly holiday shopping event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 13) in Downtown Morgantown.
The event will feature a district-wide scavenger hunt for a chance to win prizes and the opportunity to explore holiday pop-up markets by Hoot and Howl, The Co-Op and Apothecary Ale House.
While exploring downtown shops, participants who spot DASH the Dog can collect stamps. Each stamp brings participants closer to the chance of winning prizes from downtown merchants such as gift cards and goods. To qualify for prizes, completed Downtown Dash Guides with five or more stamps must be turned into Hoot and Howl, The Co-Op, Apothecary Ale House or at Breezeline’s play-to-win tent on Courthouse Square.
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As a break from shopping, parents and their little ones can visit Kids Craft, Cookies & Cocoa Central at the WARD Building to enjoy a complimentary hot cocoa and cookie bar and children’s crafts provided by Hotel Morgan sponsored by Main Street Morgantown and Breezeline.
Visitors can also visit the beautiful 25-foot-tall holiday tree on display at Courthouse Square, a collaboration between the City of Morgantown, Monongalia County and Main Street Morgantown.
Sponsored by Breezeline, the Downtown Dash celebrates the holiday season, promotes walking and shopping throughout the downtown district, and supports local businesses by driving foot traffic directly to storefronts.
WHEELING, W.Va. — The West Virginia First Foundation visited the Wheeling Police Department to commend its efforts in addressing the area’s mental health and opioid crisis.
Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger presented to the WVFF board, highlighting the department’s progress.
Schwertfeger attributed a 14% decrease in Group A crimes from 2024 to 2025 to the department’s crisis intervention program.
“Just another great partnership,” he said. “More collaboration in this area that we are very proud of and we want to keep the momentum going,.”
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WVFF Executive Director Jonathan Board praised the program’s success.
“This in particular, the CIT program, that isn’t just in the ether, but is showing success – actual scientific success about de-escalation, about bringing together services providers and to boots on the ground and first responders, this is vitally important to not only this region but the entire state,” Board said.
The visit was part of WVFF’s ‘Hold the Line’ tour across the state.
Now that you know about West Virginia’s2026 recruiting class, I figured it’d be a good time to give a little insight into those who were once committed to the Mountaineers and landed elsewhere.
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What happened, and where did they go?
QB Brodie McWhorter (Mississippi State)
McWhorter committed to Neal Brown and his coaching staff, but reopened his recruitment when the coaching change was made. Rich Rodriguez did recruit him at the beginning, holding several conversations with him before backing off and pursuing Jyron Hughley and Legend Bey. Hughley committed, Bey committed to Ohio State (signed with Tennessee), while WVU added two more quarterbacks in Wyatt Brown and John Johnson III.
RB Jett Walker (Texas)
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Walker fit the bill for what Rodriguez wanted in the backfield. A big, physical presence who could absorb contact and hammer it in between the tackles. With multiple backs committed and feeling good about a few others, WVU didn’t feel pressed to hold onto him. Walker flipped to Minnesota and then flipped to Texas just three weeks later
WR Jeffar Jean-Noel (Georgia Tech)
Jean-Noel was the second recruit to commit to Rodriguez in the 2026 class, but reopened his recruitment in mid-April. He then considered Purdue, Pitt, Kentucky, UCF, and Florida State before landing at Georgia Tech.
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OL Justyn Lyles (Marshall)
The Mountaineers had a number of offensive line commits, and with the late additions of Kevin Brown and Aidan Woods, and their chances of securing Jonas Muya, Lyles took a visit to Marshall and flipped his commitment.
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LB Caleb Gordon (North Carolina)
Gordon’s commitment to WVU was very brief. As a matter of fact, it was the shortest of the bunch, announcing his pledge on November 24th and then flipping to NC State on the first day of the early signing period (December 3rd).
LB Daiveon Taylor (Kent State)
Taylor was the first commit in the class; however, it was so early that he was committed to Neal Brown’s staff, announcing his decision in April of 2024. He backed off that pledge the very day Brown was fired (December 1st) and eventually signed with Kent State.
CB Emari Peterson (unsigned)
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Peterson decommitted from WVU just days before signing day, likely due to the Mountaineers zeroing in on a pair of JUCO corners in Rayshawn Reynolds and Da’Mun Allen. He will sign in February and currently has offers from Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Bowling Green, Charlotte, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky, Liberty, LSU, South Florida, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, Toledo, Wake Forest, and a few others.
S Aaron Edwards (committed to Tulsa)
West Virginia chose to part ways with Edwards and ultimately replaced his spot with fellow JUCO safety Da’Mare Williams.
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S Jaylon Jones (undecided)
Jones decommitted in late October and did not sign during the early signing period. He will likely choose between Central Michigan, Hawai’i, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, and Texas State.
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S Taj Powell (Louisville)
Taj is the brother of former Mountaineer basketball guard Jonathan Powell, who is now at North Carolina. He decommitted the day after West Virginia lost to Ohio and flipped to Louisville that same day.
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