Tomorrow afternoon, Ross Hodge will get a shot at his mentor, Grant McCasland, as the Texas Tech Raiders come to Morgantown ranked 13th in the country.
Here are our picks for tomorrow’s game.
This is a massive opportunity for the Mountaineers to pick up another signature win and potentially move into fifth place in the Big 12 standings. Hope Coliseum is going to be rocking for the annual Coal Rush, so that, combined with the debut of the new uniforms, should give WVU a chance to open the game much better than what we’ve seen over the majority of league play.
The high-powered duo of Christian Anderson and JT Toppin is just going to be too much for West Virginia to handle. Ross Hodge will find ways to slow them down here and there, but the Mountaineers just won’t have the shotmaking or offensive efficiency to keep up with them.
For the first time in a while, the script will flip. WVU comes out swinging and plays well for much of the first half before slipping into some sloppy play in the final minutes, which will then spill into the second half. Texas Tech hands WVU its second home loss this season.
WVU had its 16-game home winning streak snapped last weekend against Baylor and now faces the possibility of dropping back-to-back games in Morgantown for the first time since last season.
Texas Tech, meanwhile, is coming off consecutive losses for the first time this season, including its first defeat to an unranked opponent, dropping to UCF and falling at home by three to red-hot Kansas, a team that hasn’t lost since it left Morgantown with an L.
While the Knights were ranked earlier in the year following a win over Kansas, the loss still exposed some vulnerability for the Red Raiders. Tech now finds itself staring at its first losing streak in nearly two years, a situation reminiscent of a stretch that featured a home game sandwiched between two road contests.
With a top-four seed in the Big 12 standings slipping out of reach, Texas Tech should enter with a heightened sense of urgency. That urgency could be problematic for a West Virginia team that has endured some sluggish starts, especially against a Red Raiders squad capable of heating up quickly from the perimeter. JT Toppin is one of the best scorers in this league and presents another challenge with his ability to finish and facilitate around the rim, which can make mounting a comeback difficult once Texas Tech establishes momentum.
Ross Hodge is well acquainted with Red Raiders head coach Grant McCasland, having spent eight seasons on his staff. While familiarity cuts both ways, Hodge’s intimate knowledge of McCasland’s system could provide a subtle edge in preparation. Even with Texas Tech looking to bounce back from one of its least efficient offensive outings of the season, the Mountaineers are positioned to limit one of the league’s top offenses and grind out another upset at home, 67-65.
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Today on MetroNews This Morning:
–Federal judges are raising concerns about detained illegal aliens in West Virginia
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Listen to “MetroNews This Morning 2-16-26” on Spreaker.
A woman and a man from West Virginia were arrested after the woman pulled a handgun during a child custody exchange in Tarentum on Friday night, according to court records.
Tarentum police arrested Alexis Sage Simpkins, 22, of Morgantown, W.Va., and Joseph Erickson, 24, of Fairmont, W.Va., after responding shortly after 9 p.m. to a report that two people with handguns were outside a home in the 300 block of West 11th Avenue and threatening the people there, according to their criminal complaints.
As an officer approached the home, a car with West Virginia plates was backing out of the driveway. The officer used his vehicle to prevent it from leaving, the complaints state.
Numerous people near the porch of the home pointed at the car yelling, “That’s them.”
Simpkins, the driver, and Erickson, the passenger, were both detained. According to the complaints, Simpkins admitted to having two handguns and gave the officer permission to retrieve them from the car.
A Ruger .380 in the center console was not loaded. A 9mm Ruger on the passenger side floor was loaded with a live round in the chamber, the complaints say.
Neither Simpkins or Erickson have a concealed weapons permit in Pennsylvania or any state, police found.
Police said they learned from the people at the house that a child custody exchange was taking place there. They said Erickson became aggressive and a fight took place between him and a man at the house, during which Simpkins retrieved one of the guns from her vehicle, loaded the chamber by moving the slide back, and pointed it at four others, the complaints state.
The Tarentum officer arrived shortly after that moment. The officer reported that the man from the house had a large abrasion and a “goose egg” on his forehead, according to the complaints.
Simpkins and Erickson were each charged with a misdemeanor count of carrying a firearm without a license. Simpkins was also charged with misdemeanor counts of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person; Erickson was charged with disorderly conduct.
They were arraigned Saturday and released on their own recognizance, according to court records. Their preliminary hearings are scheduled for 1:15 p.m. March 4 before District Judge Carolyn S. Bengel.
West Virginia moved to 16-9 (7-5) on the season following a 74-67 win over the UCF Knights on Saturday night. Shortly after, WVU head coach Ross Hodge met with the media to discuss what he saw in this one.
“It was we’re going to have to play with a lot more urgency on the defensive end of the floor. This group’s been in these positions before, and typically, we do a good job of not panicking. It was just hey, we don’t have to panic on offense, but our level of urgency and desperation on the defensive end of the floor is going to have to pick up and pick up right this second. I thought the level of urgency, desperation, and physicality on both ends of the floor…we started making some plays around the rim. Up until that point, I thought we were fairly soft.”
“It’s a resilient group. Unfortunately and fortunately, I guess we’ve found ourself in this situation quite often. I think in our seven league wins, we’ve trailed in the second half of every game that we’ve won. They’re a mature group and don’t have a lot of panic. They are bought in and believe that we can find ways to win the game in different ways.”
“I thought it started when Lorient made some tough, physical plays around the basket. We were able to get some stops and then Honor (Huff) on the four-point play, and then he kind of starts getting going a little bit, and then you’re mirroring it with we’re getting stops and getting baskets and we’re giving them one shot only.”
“We need Honor to play good and if you’re going to come on the road and beat an NCAA Tournament team, your best players got to play well. He puts a lot of pressure on himself, so to see him come through like he’s done so many times for us in a big moment, on the road, it was awesome to see.”
“It was incredible. I am biased because I’m the head coach here, but it really is one of the best fanbases in the country. Tony Caridi is our radio guy, and he always says it. He’s like, ‘Hey man, we show up.’ It’s always nice when you can reward your fanbase for showing up like they do. It was 70/30 probably, 65/35 UCF to West Virginia, but on the road it was awesome.”
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