West Virginia
Scouting report: 3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball to win on road at West Virginia
UC’s Wes Miller,Thomas, Iowa State’s Jones, Otzelberger on Cyclones W
UC’s Wes Miller, Day Day Thomas, Iowa State’s Curtis Jones, TJ Otzelberger on Cyclones win
Trying to recover from their most uneven loss of the season, the Cincinnati Bearcats basketball team is headed to Morgantown for a rematch with West Virginia Wednesday night.
Both teams were on the road Saturday, with UC taking on No. 10 Iowa State. West Virginia was in Waco against Baylor. Both played spirited games but home-court advantage ruled with the Bearcats fading in the second half to the Cyclones in Ames 81-70 and the Mountaineers falling in overtime to the Bears, 74-71.
“We’ve just got to go back, look at film and see what we’ve got to do better,” UC guard Day Day Thomas said. “We got outrebounded, so that’s something we’ve got to focus on in practice.”
The Bearcats were outclassed 37-19 on the boards against the bulkier Cyclones of Iowa State.
“I wasn’t pleased from where I was sitting with some of our awareness to go clear out weak side,” UC coach Wes Miller said. “Shoot, we work on that every day in practice.”
UC must go against grain to gain key Big 12 road win
Welcome to the Big 12 where the home floor is a considerable advantage. Both teams are now 15-10 and fighting for relevancy with West Virginia’s Big 12 record (6-8) slightly better than UC’s (5-9).
On Feb. 2, UC spotted the Mountaineers a 15-point halftime lead, then fell woefully short against West Virginia at Fifth Third Arena 63-50. UC had only one player in double figures as Day Day Thomas had 10 points. Jizzle James was held scoreless in 19 minutes and Aziz Bandaogo had just one basket in 18 minutes.
Since then UC has gone 3-1, with the Mountaineers just 1-3.
At WVU Coliseum last season, UC blew a 10-point lead with 6:22 remaining and was outscored 19-5 from there as the Mountaineers won 69-65. The Bearcats then beat West Virginia back-to-back on March 9 and March 12 scoring 182 points overall in those contests.
UC winning Wednesdays
UC is 3-0 this season with wins vs. Alabama State, at Colorado and at UCF. During Wes Miller’s four years with the Bearcats, they have enjoyed an 18-6 mark on Wednesday.
3 keys for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball at West Virginia Mountaineers
1. UC’s mantra should be ‘Let’s get Small’
Javon Small led West Virginia with 19 points and nine assists Feb. 2 at Fifth Third Arena and last year helped Oklahoma State knock off the Bearcats at home. The senior has battled UCF’s Keyshawn Hall for the Big 12 scoring lead this season and averages 18.6 points per game. At Baylor, Small had 22 points and played 40 minutes.
Small has been held below double-digits just twice, with both coming in home losses vs. Houston and BYU. Obviously, that would be a goal for the Bearcats in Morgantown Wednesday.
2. Holding teams below 70 helps UC Bearcats chances
West Virginia has had just four losses at WVU Coliseum, all in the Big 12. Arizona beat them Jan. 7, 75-56 after beating UC by five. Arizona State beat them 65-57 Jan. 21 after losing to UC by seven. The Mountaineers lost to Houston at home, 63-49 Jan. 29 and to BYU Feb. 11 73-69 after the Bearcats beat the Cougars three days earlier by 18 points.
The common denominator is West Virginia was held below 70 points in all four losses.
3. Winning boards should lead to winning games
UC beat West Virginia on the boards 33-31 Feb. 2, but dug themselves a 15-point hole at halftime and shot just 31%. In all of the West Virginia home losses, they were decisively outrebounded. UC will have to hold down 6-foot-8, 240-pound Amani Hansberry who pulled down 11 to lead both teams in their last game.
For motivation, the Bearcats are coming off a game on the glass at Iowa State where they were dominated 37-19.
“There’s always going to be some plays where they get you with size or positioning but I think we’re going to look at those possessions on tape and see an inability to clear out the weak side and go body-to-body,” Miller said.
Among UC’s rebounding deficiencies this season, Dan Skillings Jr. is more than two rebounds below his 6.4 average last season at 3.7 per game. Aziz Bandaogo, held to three rebounds at Iowa State, is also nearly two rebounds behind last year at 5.8 per game compared to 7.4 rebounds. Dillon Mitchell tops UC at 6.4 per game, but that’s more than a full rebound below his figures at Texas last year of 7.5 per game.
Cincinnati Bearcats at West Virginia Mountaineers
Tip: 7 p.m. Wednesday (WVU Coliseum (14,000)
TV/Radio: ESPN2/700WLW
Series: Even 12-12 (West Virginia won 63-50 at Fifth Third Arena Feb. 2)
West Virginia Mountaineers scouting report
Record: 15-10 (6-8 Big 12)
Coach: Darrian DeVries (second year, 15-10)
Offense: 69.4 ppg
Defense: 64.4 ppg
Projected starting lineup
(Position, Height, Stats)
Toby Okani (G, 6’8″, 8.9 ppg)
Jonathan Powell (G, 6’6″, 8.4 ppg)
Javon Small (G, 6’3″, 18.6 ppg)
Amani Hansberry (F, 6’8″, 9.4 ppg)
Sencire Harris (G, 6’4″, 5.8 ppg)
Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report
Record: 15-10 (5-9 Big 12)
Coach: Wes Miller (fourth season, 78-53, overall 263-188)
Offense: 72.1 ppg
Defense: 65.1 ppg
Projected starters
(Position, Height, Stats)
Simas Lukošius (G-F, 6’8″, 11.4 ppg)
Jizzle James (G, 6’3″, 12.2 ppg)
Dillon Mitchell (F, 6’8″, 10 ppg)
Day Day Thomas (G, 6’1″, 8.4 ppg)
Aziz Bandaogo (C, 7′, 8.1 ppg)
Players to watch
Javon Small has had an impact at every school he’s played from East Carolina to Oklahoma State last season to the West Virginia Mountaineers. Small averages just over 18 points a game and has had a high game this season 31 against Gonzaga. Small leads the Mountaineers in points, assists and steals.
UC’s James was held scoreless vs the Mountaineers in their last matchup, only the second time in his career that he didn’t score. Since then, his game has picked up and he seems to be playing with much more confidence. His games at Fifth Third Arena vs. BYU and Utah were his first back-to-back 20-plus-point games since the last two games of the NIT last March. He made it three when he scored 25 at No. 10 Iowa State, despite fouling out with nearly three minutes left.
Rankings
KenPom.com: West Virginia is No 46, Cincinnati is No. 54
NCAA.NET: West Virginia is No. 44, Cincinnati is No. 45
West Virginia
Community Catalyst Grant applications are open through West Virginia First Foundation through June 30 – WV MetroNews
The West Virginia First Foundation, which was established to use drug lawsuit settlement money to try to alleviate problems related to addiction, reported having access to $378.5 million in financial resources and noted that more than $34 million in grants have been awarded since the organization’s start.
The West Virginia First Foundation met for a few minutes Thursday at Ascend West Virginia in Charleston. The meeting was also available for view through streaming.
Executive Director Jonathan Board highlighted the launch of the Community Catalyst Grant application and a statewide needs assessment intended to identify service gaps.
Designed as a three-year, outcomes-driven investment, the program will support projects focused on public safety response, day report centers and generational prevention efforts. The program opened for applications on June 1 and remains open through June 30.
“We’re very encouraged by the interest and engagement so far,” Board said.
The board also approved a $4 million funding request for the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. The project is focused on expanding access to innovative addiction treatment and recovery support tools while building the technology and infrastructure needed to support implementation across West Virginia.
Additional details about the project and funding agreement are to be released in the coming weeks following the completion of final documentation. West Virginia First Foundation and Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute plan to issue a joint announcement once the agreement process is complete.
“They’ve gone through a very rigorous process for the correct funding,” Board said. “Their team has presented an opportunity to fund a project that will build technology, training and support systems of care needed to expand access to an innovative addiction treatment approach throughout the state of West Virginia, and really beyond.”
The West Virginia First Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2023 to manage and distribute 72.5% of the state’s opioid settlement funds, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. The organization is aimed at combatting the addiction crisis through grants and regional projects.
The next regular meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Directors is scheduled for Sept. 17 although it’s subject to change.
West Virginia may have come up empty-handed in two tries against North Carolina in the College World Series, but they earned the respect of their head coach, Scott Forbes, who was incredibly complimentary of the Mountaineers following Wednesday’s game.
“I want to congratulate West Virginia. A heck of a team, a heck of a run,” he opened his postgame press conference with. “They are very well coached. They just play the game the right way. It’s a credit to their coaching staff. They come at you a lot of ways. A lot of speed, deep pitching staff, so we really had to work in those two games to beat them. I’ve been in their shoes, and I know what that feels like, and it’s a stinker. But man, they got a lot to be proud of, and they should be extremely proud of how they represented their university.”
The culture at WVU is as strong as it gets
Multiple times this season, West Virginia looked like they were well on their way to a loss and were rewarded with a win because they never stopped playing hard. Everyone thinks of the two games against Kentucky in the Morgantown Regional, and rightfully so, but they also came back to win after trailing by eight against UCF and after trailing by five to BYU.
For a moment, there was a belief that the magical moment was going to come again during Wednesday’s game against Forbes’ Tar Heels. With two outs in the 7th and trailing 12-1, Armani Guzman busted his tail down the first base line to beat out a grounder to short. It ultimately led to a five-run inning for the Mountaineers, all of a sudden turning a laugher into a semi-interesting game. Gavin Kelly hit a solo home run in the 8th to make it a five-run deficit, and in the ninth, Ben Lumsden just missed a three-run shot that would have really put pressure on North Carolina, even with two outs.
To have your team still playing hard when trailing by 11 with their season likely about to come to an end, it says a lot about the character of this group, but also how deeply ingrained the culture is at WVU. There’s a reason this program has turned the corner over the last 14 or so years and is continuing to trend up. They’ve had the right people in place leading it.
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West Virginia
Proposed 107.5-mile transmission line could leave W.Va. ratepayers on hook for $440M-$900M
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — A 107.5-mile transmission line project has been proposed, the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link, which would cut through parts of West Virginia to ultimately help power Virginia’s data center hub since there is not enough generation locally to serve them.
“Virginia gets the power and West Virginia gets the towers,” Del Chris Anders said. “What they did is they look west and said, hey, we’ll just use West Virginia but we’ll get this power and we’ll run this big extension cord. I’m all for exporting power from West Virginia. We are a power production state, but I’m not going to do so out of the wallets of West Virginians and allowing their property to be taken.”
During the 2026 legislative session, lawmakers put a bill on the table which was aimed at giving the state access to utilize these lines, but nothing made it to the finish line.
“We said, ‘Okay, if you’re going to run them through, you have to drop substations in West Virginia and by the way, West Virginia ratepayers will only pay for the amount of energy that stays within our state,’” Anders said.
A second line is also up for discussion. Valley Link Transmission hasn’t finalized any routes yet, but it would consist of 260 miles of transmission line and would add two substations between Frederick County, Maryland, and Putnam County.
With both of these lines, the main concern surrounding the proposals is who exactly is expected to foot the bill and whether or not it will ultimately fall back on West Virginia ratepayers.
“We’re going to be on the hook for anywhere between $440 million to over $900 million on both lines,” Anders said.
Lawmakers said those price tags continue to increase.
“At least for the MARL line, they went back to the grid operator, PJM, and said, ‘It’s going to cost significantly more money than it originally thought. Those estimates of the cost to West Virginia ratepayers are only going to go up,’” Del. Evan Hansen said.
These projects have gained bipartisan opposition. This is all beginning when representatives for these energy companies brought these proposals to lawmakers in January, noting that these lines would strengthen the entire grid.
But many lawmakers were not convinced, asking why they should support it if West Virginia has no direct benefit.
“It would increase our electric rates and private property owners might be faced with giving up their land or having their property values decline,” Hansen said.
It’s not only state officials voicing opposition. Public hearings have been held in the northern counties where community members shared their concerns with these projects that could go right through their backyards.
“We did hear from construction workers and electrical workers about the jobs, but otherwise it was uniformly against the construction of the project,” Hansen said.
An evidentiary hearing for MARL’s permit application will be held by the Public Service Commission on Oct. 26.
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