West Virginia
What the ESPN BPI Says About West Virginia’s Chances of Sweeping Cincinnati
Wednesday evening, the West Virginia Mountaineers and Cincinnati Bearcats will meet for the second time this season, each looking to make its case for the NCAA Tournament.
According to the ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI) matchup predictor, West Virginia has a 58.5% chance to snap its two-game skid while Cincinnati has a 41.6% chance to split the season series with the Mountaineers.
Although WVU won the first matchup comfortably and is now the host for the second go-around, I agree with the BPI giving the Bearcats a chance on the road here. For some unknown reason, WVU has struggled in mid-week games all year long, and Wes Miller’s squad has played much better of late.
Last week was a double-whammy for West Virginia, which lost a pair of games by a combined seven points to BYU and Baylor. The Mountaineers led the Cougars for over 30 minutes and maintained a five—or six-point lead for much of the night. BYU tried some different things offensively in the second half, and they paid off, leading to several open looks.
The overtime loss to Baylor could have been prevented by playing more disciplined defensively. Baylor got to the line a bunch and made WVU pay, connecting on 27 of 32 attempts from the charity stripe. And yes, while there were several questionable whistles, the Mountaineers had several bad fouls on reach-ins.
Since falling to West Virginia at home, Cincinnati has won three of its last four, with its only loss coming on the road to No. 8 Iowa State over the weekend. West Virginia held Cincy to just 50 points a couple of weeks ago, but the Bearcats have been terrific offensively ever since, posting 93, 84, 85, and 70 points. In that stretch, sophomore guard Jizzle James has caught fire, averaging 22.2 points per game.
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A body found in a burning vehicle in West Virginia has prompted a homicide investigation.
In a press conference on Monday, Sean Snuffer, the chief deputy of the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, said first responders were called to a rural section of Cabin Creek Road on Sunday around 9:50 a.m. for reports of a “suspicious vehicle.” A 911 caller said the vehicle’s doors were open and items were scattered around the vehicle, Snuffer said.
About 13 minutes later, a 911 caller said the vehicle was on fire, officials said. After crews arrived and extinguished the vehicle fire, a body was found. The remains were taken to the medical examiner’s office, and an autopsy on Monday determined the death was a homicide, Snuffer said. Officials are not releasing the manner of death at this time.
The victim’s identity has not been released as of Monday night, though Snuffer said the body appears to be an adult male. Snuffer said the investigation is “active and ongoing.” It was not immediately known if there were any suspects.
“We can’t answer a whole lot of questions,” he added. “I know people are going to want to know exactly what happened, but we can’t release that information.”
The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the vehicle blaze. Anyone with information on the case can contact detectives with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office at 304-357-0556 or leave a tip on the sheriff’s website.
KENOVA, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A man is facing multiple felony charges after a two-day investigation, according to West Virginia State Police.
On Friday, troopers say they responded to a brandishing complaint in Kenova.
During the investigation, troopers located the suspect, Skylar M. Larcart, 27, of Kenova, and found a firearm.
Troopers say they were then granted permission to search Larcart’s residence and vehicle. Their search resulted in the finding of a rifle, approximately 25 grams of marijuana and digital scales.
On Saturday, troopers say they also obtained a search warrant at Larcart’s residence.
During this search, investigators found multiple firearms, controlled substances and U.S. currency.
As a result of the investigation, Larcart was charged with 17 counts of persons prohibited from possessing firearms and three counts of possession of a controlled substance.
Troopers say over the course of the two-day investigation, Larcart accumulated a total of 21 felony charges and three misdemeanor charges.
Larcart is currently being held in the Western Regional Jail on a $20,000 bond.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (46-16) fell to the North Carolina Tarheels (53-12-1) Sunday night 5-2 in the second game of the College World Series.
With a little luck, North Carolina scratched a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Junior Jake Schaffner hit a leadoff single back up the middle before junior Owen Hall rolled a single through the left side. Then, on the first pitch delivered junior Macon Winslow was awarded first base after it was ruled the ball hit his foot. Despite no evidence on replay, he remained at first.
West Virginia starting pitcher Maxx Yehl walked in the first run and junior Erik Paulsen brought in a run with a slow high chopper towards first for a 2-0 lead.
The Mountaineers pulled within a run in the third after senior Ben Lumsden singled to right field and advanced to second on a ground ball from junior Tyrus Hall. Then, junior Armani Guzman drove an RBI single to centerfield.
West Virginia evened the game in the fourth when senior Sean Smith received a leadoff walk and senior Matt Graveline singled to right centerfield, placing runners at the corners before sophomore Matt Ineich hit into a double play, but brought in the tying run.
In the seventh, the Tarheels took advantage of the West Virginia miscues to take the lead. An error from Hall at third put the leadoff hitter aboard. Then, with one out, a bobble ball from senior second baseman Brodie Kresser on a potential inning ending double play, put two aboard before junior Gavin Gallaher drove a two-RBI triple to right centerfield. Hull followed with a chopper over the mound for an RBI single before Yehl could get out of the frame as UNC held a 5-2 advantage.
Yehl took the mound in the eight and after giving up the eighth hit of the night, WVU head coach Steve Sabins turned to senior Reese Bassinger. The redshirt junior finished the night with seven strikeouts and was credited with two earned runs.
After North Carolina sophomore starting pitcher Ryan Lynch was removed in the fifth, sophomore Walker McDuffie tossed 4.2 scoreless innings before Ineich was issued a one-out walk and Kresser followed with a single to bring the tying run to the plate. UNC head coach Scott Forbes handed the ball to freshman right-hander Caden Glauber
Glauber closed the door with a pair of strikeouts as the Tarheels held on for the 5-2 decision.
West Virginia will face Troy on Tuesday in an elimination game. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the action will be televised on ESPN.
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