Midnight Madness? WVU Non-Conference Game Set for Super Late Tip Time

As if late-night tips in the Big 12 Conference weren't already a pain to deal with, what's one more? Ready or not, West Virginia fans will be challenged to stay awake just to see the opening tip of the Mountaineers' game against Auburn on November 17th in the Players Era event in Las Vegas.

Monday afternoon, it was announced that the game will begin at 9 p.m. local time, which is midnight on the East Coast. I know Midnight Madness used to be a thing and all, but they weren't playing an actual 40-minute game and one that counted toward your record. But here we are.

We’ve got a tip-off time in Vegas 🏀

🆚 Auburn
📆 Tuesday, Nov. 17
🕗 12:00 AM ET / 9:00 PM PST
🔗 https://t.co/ziIY7y0eGK pic.twitter.com/7hatpjEhwo
— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) July 13, 2026

In my 10 years covering WVU athletics, I don't recall a game starting at midnight, even in one of these MTE-type events. End at midnight? Yeah, maybe. The latest I can remember staying up for the conclusion of a game was the BYU game last year, which was a 10:30 p.m. ET kick. By the time the game ended, I transcribed the postgame press conference, did our postgame show, published an article, and got in bed; it was pushing 4 a.m.

Fortunately, basketball games aren't nearly as long and typically only two-ish hours long, but still, this is a brutal start time, especially for the older generation of fans. Unfortunately, WVU has no control over it since it's an event that they are participating in, so it's not changing.

The rest of the event isn't as bad. They will face either Kansas or UNLV the next day — talk about a quick turnaround — at either 7:30 p.m. or 10 p.m., and will round things out against Houston, Rutgers, Florida, or Notre Dame on November 19th at 2:30/5:00/8:30 or 11:00 p.m.

West Virginia, as well as the other participants, will receive $1 million in NIL, at a minimum. Teams that place in the top four will receive extra money, with the amounts increasing based on your finish. Thanks to the Big 12 striking a deal with Players Era, the league will send the top eight teams from the league two years later to the event. So this bid was secured by the Darian DeVries squad, and in 2027-28, WVU will head back to Vegas thanks to their top-eight finish in the league this past season.

The only other game that is officially on the schedule before they head to Las Vegas is the season opener against Niagara. Other games have been agreed to, but have not been publicly announced.

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