Rapid Takeaways as West Virginia Handles Business in Final Non-Con Game of the Season

Initial thoughts from the Mountaineers' final non-conference game of the season.

Dec 22, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Treysen Eaglestaff (52) celebrates with West Virginia Mountaineers guard Amir Jenkins (2) during the first half against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

As expected, the West Virginia Mountaineers took the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils to the woodshed, winning by a score of 86-51.

My two cents from this one.

Your typical end of semester game

Bob Huggins always warned his teams about this game every year because of the long break ahead, and it's usually against an inferior opponent. It's easy for players to start getting into that mindset of already being on break before the game is over. That's the way this one started out, with some sloppiness on the offensive end, giving up second-chance opportunities, and losing out on a couple of 50/50 balls. That only lasted about ten minutes or so, which is likely due to how bad Mississippi Valley State is. If this were against a more respectable low-mid major, it could have been interesting for a bit longer.

Alright, Treysen, does this one get you going?

We've broken down how poorly Eaglestaff has shot it this season, particularly against high majors. After a confidence boost type of game against Little Rock, there was some hope that he'd carry that into the neutral court matchup vs. Ohio State. He didn't. It was another dud and took a seat on the bench in some important moments, opening up more minutes for Chance Moore. Is this the game that snaps him out of the funk? Maybe. The problem? The next one isn't until January 2nd, so having a long layover like that doesn't help carry over any momentum.

Zone defenses could pose some issues

Part of West Virginia's struggles out of the gate were due to trying to figure out Mississippi Valley State's zone defense. Once they got accustomed to it, it was easy peasy. If Kansas, Iowa State, or some other team in the Big 12, which has much better players, throws a zone at WVU as a curveball, it could be problematic. Yes, a 2-3 zone does leave you vulnerable to giving up open looks from three, but if there's only one guy (Honor Huff) who you're truly worried about, it can be effective. It slows the ball down, slows actions, and makes it challenging to get the ball inside. As I've mentioned a time or two this season, WVU's three-point shooting percentage is significantly higher when they get at least one paint touch.

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