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What to watch for when Arizona men’s basketball hosts West Virginia

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What to watch for when Arizona men’s basketball hosts West Virginia


Arizona ended up blowing out Cincinnati on Wednesday night, winning by 26 thanks to a 37-13 run over the final 14 minutes. Before that it was a slugfest, as most of the games have been during Big 12 play and how they all figure to be from here on out.

Throw in the fact the Wildcats are one of three unbeaten teams left in college basketball, not to mention a unanimous No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the first time in school history, and it can all feel a little stressful being at the top.

Tommy Lloyd acknowledged that after the win over the Bearcats, then tapped into his experience being part of unbeaten teams from his time at Gonzaga.

“I’ve been on a few of these runs before and I think it’s important to know that winning is not a burden,” Lloyd said. “The winning shouldn’t feel heavy.”

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Arizona (19-0, 6-0 Big 12) is two wins away from tying the school record for best start in school history. It can get one step closer on Saturday afternoon when it hosts West Virginia (13-6, 4-2).

Here’s what to watch for when the Wildcats and Mountaineers meet at McKale Center:

Further rotation tightening?

Arizona’s starters played 147 of a possible 200 minutes against Cincinnati, most of any game in Big 12 play and only fewer than at UConn (149) and the season opener against Florida (150). Tobe Awaka had his normal 20 minutes, which isn’t going to change with how Lloyd likes to rotate his frontcourt, but Anthony Dell’Orso only played 14 minutes and Dwayne Aristode 11.

Dell’Orso is mired in the worst slump of his UA tenure, if not his career. He’s missed his last 14 shots, his only points in the past three games coming on a pair of free throws against Cincinnati, and in six Big 12 games he’s averaging 4.5 points with 17 of the 27 coming at TCU.

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Aristode is clearly the 8th man in the rotation, out there more to spell players at the 2, 3 and 4 than anything else, but Dell’Orso was a starter a year ago and Lloyd specifically had him come off the bench this season so he could provide offensive spark. That’s happened at times, like 20 against UCLA, 13 against Alabama and the TCU performance, but if he’s not scoring he doesn’t bring much else to the table.

“Hang with it,” Lloyd said when asked about Dell’Orso. “What you do is really hard. I love Delly. I love how he’s handling this and I have a real strong belief that we’re going to get the best from Delly when we need it. Not that you don’t want it or need it every night, but he is going to deliver. So I’m going to hang with him. I’m not going to change anything.”

Arizona is 27 of 87 from 3-point range in Big 12 play, a 31 percent accuracy that ranks 12th out of 16 teams. The Wildcats hit seven apiece at Utah and TCU but are 10 of 37 from outside in the last three games.

Brayden Burries has been the UA’s most prolific perimeter shooter, both in attempts (83) and makes (29), but as a 59 percent shooter on 2s he isn’t one to hunt shots from outside. Nobody on Arizona is, not like with Caleb Love last season or others in the past, which has resulted in the UA ranking third-to-last in the country in 3-point attempt rate.

So far, the lack of 3-point shooting hasn’t hurt Arizona. But it might at some point, so Lloyd is keeping a close eye on if something needs to change.

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“I’m gonna let it play out,” Lloyd said. “It’s a figure it out as it goes deal, and it’s a game by game deal. I would have to see how a team is going to defend us just to force us to shoot a bunch of threes. When our guys are standing in the gym by themselves, they make threes. So are you not going to guard the whole team? I know isolating that single variable is so easy to do and get fixated on. There’s a lot of components to winning a basketball game.”

Arizona is getting almost 58 percent of its points on 2s, another 20 percent at the line. Against Cincinnati it had 48 points in the paint and went 20 of 28 from the line, and this season has outscored every opponent in the paint and had only six games where the other team took more free throws than it made.

Arizona only had 65 possessions against Cincinnati, per KenPom.com, third-fewest of the season behind the 63 each against UConn and San Diego State. West Virginia’s adjusted tempo for the season is 62.9, eighth-slowest in the country, and the fastest game the Mountaineers have had in Big 12 play was against Kansas when there were 67 possessions apiece.

“They try to get you in a possession game,” Lloyd said.

West Virginia is coached by Ross Hodge, its fourth different head coach in as many seasons. Hodge spent the previous two seasons at North Texas, where he had been promoted from assistant following Grant McCasland’s hiring at Texas Tech.

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Hodge’s North Texas teams were even slower than this West Virginia one, but equally strong on defense. His current squad allows 40.3 percent shooting and 62.1 points per game, though in Big 12 play it’s allowing 70.6 per game.

“Ross is one of these guys who’s been around in the game,” Lloyd said. “He knows how to win basketball games, and his teams always have a real identity on the defensive end of the floor, and then offensively they’re a team that usually has a shooter or two that can knock down multiple threes.”

Leading scorer Honor Huff is shooting 39.5 percent from 3, while North Dakota transfer Treysen Eaglestaff was 6 of 9 from 3 in Wednesday’s win at ASU.



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Nitro completes utility deal with West Virginia American Water – WV MetroNews

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Nitro completes utility deal with West Virginia American Water – WV MetroNews


NITRO, W.Va. — It’s a done deal.

Nitro Mayor Dave Casebolt signed an agreement Tuesday with West Virginia American Water Company President Scott Wyman completing the sale of the Nitro Regional Wastewater Utility including the sewer plant for $20 million.

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The water utility will now own and operate the city’s water and wastewater systems. The state Public Service Commission recently approved the deal.

Casebolt said it’s good to get the long-talked-about agreement signed. He said the city can’t afford to make the improvements required at the sewer plant.

“We’re looking at needing between 40 and 50 million dollars of upgrades to our system and expecting our four-thousand customer base to try to offset those costs is not even practical,” Casebolt said.

Casebolt said sewer bills are going to go up but he said they were going to go up regardless. He said the city was facing increasing rates by as much as 50 percent.

West Virgina American is planning $42 million in upgrades to the sewer system over the next five years, Casebolt said.

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“It’s a much-need investment and actually allow the system to handle rainwater much better where it’s not backing up into people’s homes,” Casebolt said.



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West Virginia Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Lotto America on March 2, 2026

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The results are in for the West Virginia Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 3 numbers from March 2 drawing

7-4-8

Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 4 numbers from March 2 drawing

1-1-9-6

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Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 25 numbers from March 2 drawing

02-03-05-07-19-22

Check Cash 25 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the West Virginia Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 11 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 10:59 p.m. ET Tuesday and Friday.
  • Lotto America: 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Daily 3, 4: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday.
  • Cash 25: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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West Virginia Scoots Up in Top 25 Rankings After Taking Series From Kennesaw State

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West Virginia Scoots Up in Top 25 Rankings After Taking Series From Kennesaw State


Another successful weekend for the West Virginia Mountaineers results in another slight bump up in the top 25 rankings. WVU took two of three from Kennesaw State on the road, allowing them to slide up to No. 23 in D1Baseball’s new batch of rankings.

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D1Baseball’s Top 25 for Week 3

1. UCLA
2. LSU
3. Texas
4. Mississippi State
5. Georgia Tech
6. Arkansas
7. Auburn
8. North Carolina
9. Florida
10. Southern Miss
11. Georgia
12. Oklahoma
13. NC State
14. Clemson
15. Wake Forest
16. Coastal Carolina
17. TCU
18. Oregon State
19. Tennessee
20. Florida State
21. Kentucky
22. Texas A&M
23. West Virginia
24. Miami
25. UTSA

Missed opportunity

West Virginia had a 6-0 lead in game three of its series against Kennesaw State, looking well on their way to a clean three-game sweep of the Owls.

Unfortunately for Steve Sabins, the bullpen imploded following another strong five-inning outing from the big lefty Maxx Yehl. Bryson Thacker, Carson Estridge, and David Perez combined to give up four runs on five hits over the final three innings, allowing the Owls to steal Sunday’s game.

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The loss frustrated West Virginia fans and rightfully so, but there’s no need to panic. The name of the game is to continue winning the series. You do that, you’ll find yourself in a position to make the NCAA Tournament and earn a high seed. Obviously, you don’t want to blow the opportunity of a sweep, especially when you’re up 6-0, but it’s not a loss that is going to ruin their resume. Losing the series, on the other hand, would have.

What’s next for the Mountaineers?

No single mid-week game this week for West Virginia. Instead, they’ll play a quick two-game series against Radford at home beginning Tuesday. They’ll get one day of rest before opening up a three-game series at home against Columbia, which will be the final series of non-conference play. WVU will have a single mid-week game against Maryland on Tuesday, March 10th, before beginning Big 12 action on the road against Baylor.

The full remaining schedule

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Mar. 2-4 Radford

Mar. 6-8 Columbia

Mar 10 Maryland

Mar 13-15 at Baylor

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Mar. 17 Penn State

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Mar. 29-21 BYU

Mar. 24 at Marshall

Mar. 27-29 at Arizona State

Mar. 31 at Arizona

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Apr. 3-5 UCF

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Apr. 7 Marshall

Apr. 10-12 at Texas Tech

Apr. 15 at Penn State

Apr. 17-19 Houston

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Apr. 21 Pitt

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Apr. 24-26 at Cincinnati

Apr. 29 at Penn State

May 1-3 Kansas State

May 5 Marshall (Charleston, WV)

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May 8-10 at Kansas

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May 14-16 TCU

May 20-23 Big 12 Championship (Surprise, AZ)



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