On a snowy night in Morgantown, the newly ranked #21 Mountaineers fell to the Arizona Wildcats 75-56. West Virginia was determined to start 3-0 in Big 12 conference play on a night that included their “gold rush” uniforms, however it was the Wildcats that ended the night with a 19 point victory. The Mountaineers have not been ranked since December of 2022, and the #21 spot is the highest they have climbed since the end-of-season poll in 2021.
West Virginia Falls Prey to Revenge Game
West Virginia entered the game on upset alert against the Wildcats, who they beat earlier this year 83-76 in an overtime nail-biter at the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. Arizona was ranked #24 in the nation at the time, and the victory would give the Mountaineers third place in the early season tournament.
Poor Shooting Night
A performance that saw the Mountaineers shoot 36.2% from the floor to include 27.6% from 3 hindered them early on against the Wildcats. Arizona managed to score on 50.8% of their field goals, with a slightly better 35% from deep. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 3 point lead early, however the Wildcats quickly surged ahead and were able to score easily in the paint, leading by 19 at one point. Javon Small led all scorers for the Mountaineers with 17 points on 6-17 shooting, and was the only player to record double digits for West Virginia, while Arizona had three of their own.
Missing Pieces
The Mountaineers are still without star guard Tucker DeVries, who remains sidelined with an unspecified upper body injury. The senior has been an integral part of the Mountaineers success this season, averaging 14.9 points in the 8 games he has played thus far. DeVries scored a game high 26 points against Arizona in their first matchup, draining 8 3’s and recording an additional 2 points at the free throw line. West Virginia has also been without fifth-year senior guard Jayden Stone, who suffered an injury before playing this season. Stone went through warmups against Kansas, indicating that he may be ready to return to full time action soon. He recorded 20.8 PPG last season for Detroit Mercy.
Road Test and Ranked Opponents
The #21 Mountaineers (11-3, 2-1) will look to bounce back at Colorado (9-4, 0-2), before traveling to Houston to take on the #12 Cougars (11-3, 3-0).
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