We knew the men’s basketball would lose sooner or later, and it finally happened. And frankly, it was a game that WVU should have won.
The first half was back and forth, but the Mountaineers had a late mini-run to take a 32-25 lead at halftime, which was the largest lead at that point.
They held that lead throughout the second half—building it up to as much as 11—before watching the lead crumble in the late stages.
It was eight points with six minutes left, five with four minutes to go, and Clemson took the lead with 2:13 remaining and held it the rest of the way, and WVU ended up with a 70-67 loss. Basically, Clemson’s Carter Welling took over at the end. He scored 11 of his 13 points in the last 3:11 of the game, and six of those were on a pair of wide open three pointers.
WVU also had an ill-times offensive drought, scoring just two points from the 6:10 mark to 0:58 – a span of over five minutes.
Texas Tech made headlines by spending a lot of money on the transfer portal, and that investment has paid off. The Red Raiders defense boast the best front seven in the Big 12 (and one of the better ones nationally).
They lead the conference in rushing defense by far, as well as scoring defense and total defense. Their pass defense is also in the upper tier of the conference. Linebacker David Bailey (Stanford) leads the nation in sacks with 12.5. But he has plenty of company who rack up defensive stats. Linebackers Jacob Rodriguez, Ben Robers, and DE/OLB Romello Height (Georgia Tech) are active and productive.
The defensive line is anchored by a pair of 300 pounders, Lee Hunter (UCF) and AJ Holmes (Houston). Bailey is considered a sure first round pick in the 2026 draft, but you can expect to hear most of those names called during the draft in the next couple of years.
The offense has had some issues with quarterback injuries, but Behren Morton is back healthy, and he has the highest QB rating in the Big 12. Cameron Dickey is the #2 rusher in the Big 12 as well, so they can throw or run the ball quite well.
In short, this is an extremely tough test for WVU. The Texas Tech defensive front is the strongest part of their team, while WVU’s offensive line is arguably its weak point. That’s a matchup nightmare that could make it difficult for WVU to generate any kind of offense. WVU has fought hard throughout the season, and I expect plenty of effort to close out the season. But the level of success may not match the effort.
The women’s basketball team followed up their incredible win over Duke with a solid win over Appalachian State.
That game was the annual “Education Day” event when school children from throughout the region were able to attend. With a 10:15am start, it took WVU a bit to get going (it was tied 7-7 with five minutes to go in the first quarter), which isn’t unusual for those morning tipoff games.
Once they got going, though, the Mountaineers rolled to an easy 80-51 win.
That win over Duke also propelled WVU into the Top 25 of the major polls: they checked in at 23 in the AP poll, and 22 in the coaches’ poll.
The women’s soccer team headed to DC to play a familiar foe in Georgetown, one of the 2-seeds in the NCAA tournament.
On paper, it seemed like an even matchup, and the game played out that way. WVU scored first with an early goal, but the Hoyas tied it up near the midpoint of the first half. After that, neither team could find the net, and the game went into overtime, 1-1.
A pair of 10 minute overtime periods saw each team with a good chance to score, but neither could connect, so it went to penalty kicks. And unfortunately, WVU ended up losing on its last penalty kick. It was a heartbreaking end to the season, but this was a good season – WVU had been down the last couple of years.
This season marked a return to the Top 25 rankings for the first time since 2022, so it looks like they have turned things around, and should be a national figure in the women’s NCAA soccer scene once again.
The men’s team likely played their last home game of the season in their NCAA opener against St John’s, and it was a memorable one.
After a scorless first half, WVU fell behind 2-0 in the first few minutes of the second half. But the Mountaineers managed to tie it up on a pair of goals in the 68 th and 78 th minutes. But after that tying goal, St John’s quickly retook the lead, 3-2.
Things looked tough for WVU, but then Marcus Caldeira managed to tie the game again with about 3 minutes left, and the game went into overtime.
And once again, Caldeira was the hero, scoring the game winner, which was his third goal of the game.
It was an incredible home farewell for Caldeira, who has been one of the greatest players to don a WVU soccer uniform (or kit, in soccer-speak). WVU hasn’t retired a number in soccer yet, but if they do, you’d have to think that Caldeira’s #7 might be the first.
The Mountaineers advanced to face High Point, the overall #10 seed. That game was played Sunday night. The winner of that game will play the winner of #7 seed Georgetown vs UCF in the round of 16. Those games will be played either December 5 or 6.
Congratulations to the Cross Country team, which had a good showing at the NCAA Championships. They finished ninth overall, which makes back-to-back Top 10 finishes for the first time since 2009.
They were led by Joy Naukut, whose 12 th place finish earned her All-America honors. She was followed by Mercy Kinyanjui (45), Naomi Kemboi (56), Lexi Lamb (95), and Emily Bryce (126).
WVU’s top four finishers are all eligible to return next year, so another Top 10 finish is definitely a realistic goal. They ended up as the second Big 12 team, and first in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Notes: The Texas Tech game will kick off at Noon, and it will be televised by ESPN…The men’s basketball team has a pair of upcoming home games that should be easy wins: Mercyhurst on Sunday, November 30 (3:00, ESPN Plus), and Coppin State on Wednesday, December 3 (7:00pm, ESPN Plus)…The team made some big recruiting news when they signed Miles Sadler, who is rated as one of the top high school point guards in the country.
He is rated 5-stars by some services, and could be the highest rated basketball recruit in several years.
He was joined by two other well regarded high school recruits: Aliou Dioum, a 6-10 forward who is considered a Top 100 player in the class of 2026, and Kingston Whitty, a 6-2 guard who is rated 4-stars by ESPN, and 3-stars by Rivals and 24/7…The football team made recruiting news by getting a verbal commitment from offensive tackle Kevin Brown. He is a 4-star recruit who flipped from Penn State after James Franklin’s firing there…The undefeated wrestling team is up to #18 in the national rankings, and Ty Watters is now the #1 ranked wrestler at 157 pounds…Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
