West Virginia

Game Preview: UCF vs. West Virginia men's basketball

Published

10 months ago

March 8, 2025

Press Room

Game Preview: UCF vs. West Virginia men’s basketball

West Virginia has their regular season finale as they host UCF on Saturday from the WVU Coliseum.

WVSports.com offers a look at some key elements of the match-up to get you ready for tip-off.

SERIES: West Virginia leads 2-1

LAST MEETING: Feb. 20, 2024 in Morgantown — WVU 77, UCF 67

TELEVISION: ESPN+ (Pete Sousa / Sean Harrington)

TIP-OFF: 5:00 p.m. ET

COACHES

Darian DeVries, West Virginia

18-12 (1st season at WVU), 168-67 (7th season overall)

Johnny Dawkins, UCF

164-118 (9th season at UCF), 320-232 (17th season overall)

LAST TIME OUT

UCF enters the game off an 83-70 victory over Oklahoma State this week. The Knights had their largest margin of victory in a game since Jan. 25. Darius Johnson scored 36 points while Keyshawn Hall scored 18 points. UCF shot 41 percent from the field and knocked down 10 3-pointers.

West Virginia enters Saturday off a 71-69 win over Utah on the road this week. Javon Small scored 18 points and had seven assists as well as the Mountaineers forced 16 turnovers leading to 13 points. WVU held Utah to shoot 38 percent from the field while the Mountaineers shot 45.6 percent from the field.

By The Numbers — UCF (16-14, 7-12 Big 12)

UCF comes into the contest ranked fifth in the Big 12 in scoring offense, averaging 79.0 points per game on the season. Over their last 10 games, the Knights have reached that mark five times and they are 2-3 in those games. UCF has won their last three games and averaged 79.7 points per game. The Knights are 10th in the league in 3-point field goal percentage, and they are last in team field goal percentage, making 42.1 percent of their shots on the season.

Defensively, the Knights are giving up 80.1 points per game, which is last in the Big 12. UCF’s opponents have scored at least 90 points eight times this season. UCF is holding opponents to shoot 45.4 percent from the field, and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

UCF is 13th in the Big 12 in rebounding margin, and ninth in turnover margin.

Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Darius Johnson, Mikey Williams, Tyler Henricks, Keyshawn Hall, and Moustapha Thiam. This lineup has been used 11.4 percent of the time this season.

Hall leads the Big 12 in scoring with 18.9 points per game, and he’s also leading the Knights in rebounding, averaging 7.1 rebounds per game. Hall has 178 free throws this season, which is most in the Big 12.

UCF comes into the game ranked 78th in the NET and 77th in KenPom. This is a Quad 1 game for the Knights and they are 3-10 in such games.

By The Numbers — West Virginia (18-12, 9-10 Big 12)

West Virginia is currently averaging 68.3 points per game this season, which is 15th in the Big 12, but they are only allowing 64.7 points per game this season, which is second in the Big 12. The Mountaineers are shooting 42.6 percent from the floor, but their opponents are only shooting 40.8 percent from the field this season.

From beyond the arc, West Virginia is shooting 32.7 percent, which is 11th in the league, but they have the fifth-most 3-point field goals made at 8.6 per game. During Big 12 play though, WVU ranks 11th in 3-point field goal percentage, but they drop to 6th in threes made per game. WVU’s opponents are shooting 29.5 percent from beyond the arc on the season, which is best in the Big 12.

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 21.5 percent of the time over WVU’s last five games.

Small is second in the Big 12 in scoring, at 18.2 points per game. He’s 13th in field goal percentage, third in free throw percentage, and is fourth in the league in assists per game.

West Virginia is ranked 49th in the NET, and 52nd by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 3 game for WVU as the Mountaineers are 3-0 in such games this year.

Standings Implications

West Virginia has a chance to get into the top eight of the Big 12 standings with a win. They are in a three-way tie for eighth place in the league, which would earn them a bye in the Big 12 Tournament next week. WVU is tied with TCU and Kansas State. TCU faces Colorado on the road this weekend, while Kansas State faces Iowa State.

UCF is tied with Cincinnati at 7-12 in the Big 12 standings, tied for 12th in the league standings. The Bearcats face Oklahoma State this weekend.

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West Virginia

Man dies in southern W.Va. mining incident

Published

4 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Man dies in southern W.Va. mining incident

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A miner died Thursday after an incident at a coal mine in Wyoming County, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said.

The governor said it happened at the Lower War Eagle mine.

Morrisey released the following statement on Thursday evening:

“Denise and I were deeply saddened by the tragic loss of a coal miner today at the Lower War Eagle mine in Wyoming County. Our hearts go out to his family, loved ones, and coworkers during this sorrowful time.

“The West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety, and Training responded immediately and is conducting a full investigation.

“Each day, West Virginia miners perform difficult and demanding tasks. They do this to provide for their families, to build the communities, and to forge a better future for the next generation of West Virginians. It is that work, their strength, and their dedication that defines our state and our nation.

“I ask that all West Virginians lift this miner’s family, friends, and community up in your prayers and keep them in your thoughts through the difficult days ahead.”

The victim’s name has not been released.

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West Virginia

Biggest Surprises and Disappointments from West Virginia’s 2025 Portal Class

Published

16 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

The transfer portal officially opens here in a couple of weeks, so before the madness begins, we’re going to take a look back at last year’s West Virginia portal class, highlighting some of the biggest surprises and disappointments.

Biggest surprises

West Virginia University offensive lineman Donovan Haslam | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

For this group, we’re keeping it all positive. These are players who rose above expectations and turned out to be pretty solid players.

OL Donovan Haslam (Austin Peay) – He’s far from a finished product, but he helped West Virginia get through some of its issues toward the end of the season when he replaced Walter Young Bear in the starting lineup. WVU will bring in competition for him, but he’s at least a capable option, just needs more development. That play he had dragging Diore Hubbard for a first down may have been a penalty, but it may have been the most determination we saw from a lineman all year.

BAN Devin Grant (Incarnate Word) – The stats may not show his impact, and sometimes that happens with a role player. His playmaking was very timely. Every time the Mountaineers desperately needed a sack, tackle for loss, or turnover, Grant delivered. He’s someone the staff would love to have for another year.

LB Ben Bogle (Southern Illinois) – Although he didn’t start, Bogle was the Mountaineers’ best run defender in the second level, and it really wasn’t close. As a matter of fact, he graded out as the best run stopper on the entire team. He’ll be in contention to start at the MIKE spot in 2026.

Biggest disappointments

West Virginia University Bandit Jimmori Robinson | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

Before I get started here, I’m not including offensive linemen Walter Young Bear and Kimo Makane’ole, simply because they did not come to WVU with big expectations. Yes, they played poorly, but this category is for players who didn’t live up to expectations, in one way or another.

RB Tye Edwards (Northern Iowa) – Obviously, this isn’t a performance-based performance as Edwards injured his hip in the Backyard Brawl and was eventually lost for the season. Not having his physicality really hurt WVU’s offense and its ability to run the football. Had he been healthy, perhaps they could have won another game or two.

RB Jaylan Knighton (SMU) – Who? Yeah, Jaylan Knighton, the guy who never played a down for the Mountaineers. The SMU transfer was expected to be the No. 2 to Jahiem White, which would have formed a pretty strong duo, albeit behind a bad offensive line. He had some academic issues that led to his dismissal in fall camp.

BAN Jimmori Robinson (UTSA) – Without question, the biggest disappointment of all. Robinson was expected to be an elite pass rusher for WVU and an all-league caliber player. I wouldn’t throw all of the blame at his feet, though. Some of it can be attributed to the late start with the NCAA, taking forever with his eligibility, which ended up going to court. Some of it could be the fit in the defense as well. Regardless, Robinson fell well short of expectations, finishing with just 0.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss one year after recording 17 TFLs and 10.5 sacks at UTSA.

West Virginia

WV Lottery excited about Powerball drawing, sixth largest jackpot ever – WV MetroNews

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

WV Lottery excited about Powerball drawing, sixth largest jackpot ever – WV MetroNews

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Lottery is one of the millions around the nation that will have their eye on tonight’s Powerball drawing.

The Powerball jackpot sits at $1.25 billion, an estimated cash value of $572.1 million. That marks the sixth largest jackpot in the game’s history, and it is just the second time where the game has seen back-to-back jackpots over a billion dollars.

The drawing will be at 10:59 p.m.

“It’s exciting for the lottery and it’s exciting for our players,” said West Virginia Lottery acting director David Bradley. “As excited as we are for our players and for the state and the revenue it generates, we always encourage our players to play responsible.”

Bradley says even if that billion-dollar ticket get hit elsewhere, there will be other big tickets to look out for tonight.

“We’re excited too about the other levels that win. People are excited when they win $5, $20, and $100, and we’re grateful for our players and our retailers and the people that support the lottery,” he said.

Bradley announced Tuesday morning during a lottery commission meeting that two other large tickets had been hit in the state in recent weeks.

A $500,000 ticket was purchased at Martinsburg Wal-Mart, and a $50,000 ticket was sold at the GoMart in Sophia.

In 2025 alone, four different million-dollar tickets were sold in the state. The most recent came a month ago from rural Hardy County at the Misty Valley Grocery in Mathias. Bradley said today that the ticket has not yet been claimed.

Earlier in the year, million-dollar tickets were sold at the Par Mar #17 in Hurricane and the Mardi Gras Casino in Nitro. Neither ticket was claimed.

“When you buy a ticket, make sure you sign the back of it. We encourage all of our players to be sure to check those tickets because you never know. We tell them to look in their car seats, under the car seats, in their book bags, in their purses, gym bags, and jackets.”

WV Lottery financial successes:

The lottery is coming off a strong month of November, where revenues totaled $109,626,000, which is about $14 million ahead of projections.

Total traditional sales for the fiscal year are up six percent — an increase of $31 million from fiscal year 2025. As of the end of November, the Lottery is nearly 13 percent ahead of revenue projections for the year.

So far this year, the Lottery has transferred nearly $300 million to the state for proceeds helping veterans and seniors, the state’s tourism department, the state School Building Authority, and the Promise Scholarship.

“At the Lottery, we do an awful lot of good and we’re important to the state budget. To do good for those programs out there, that’s what makes us happy. I want to make sure people know that when they play, it goes for a good cause.”

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