Rapid Takeaways Following West Virginia's First Win in Big 12 Play

Initial thoughts following West Virginia's win over Cincinnati.

Jan 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge talks with Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Wes Miller before the game at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

It wasn't pretty by any means, but West Virginia found a way to get to the finish line tonight to pick up their first win of Big 12 play, taking down Cincinnati, 62-60.

My thoughts on this one...

Defensive rebounding? Anyone?

You would have thought that this would have been cleaned up after allowing 12 offensive boards against Iowa State last Friday. Clearly, there's a lapse of focus and maybe even questionable effort on some occasions when it comes to shutting an opponent's possession down. When you give teams extra chances to score by giving offensive rebounds AND turning the ball over, you're making things much more difficult than they need to be. No offense to Honor Huff, but the fact that he was West Virginia's leading rebounder tonight should tell you all you need to know. This team doesn't value basketball like they should. Fortunately, they were able to come up with two at the end of the game when they absolutely needed them.

The big, BIG problem

One of the major issues the Mountaineers have this season is not having a reliable big man. And by big man, I mean the center position. Harlan Obioha is the only true center on the roster, and in games against high majors, he just disappears. Offensively, he's missed way too many bunnies and is constantly looking to get rid of the ball rather than taking a peek at the basket to see if he's got a shot. On the other end, teams are able to put pressure on the rim at will with no concern for a shot being blocked or altered. Obioha has to step it up. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Help for Huff

Treysen Eaglestaff still can't get fully uncorked, so how does West Virginia make up for his lack of scoring? Chance Moore has done his part by getting downhill consistently, but he's not much of a shooter. For the Mountaineers to become a more well-oiled machine on offense, they've got to be able to space the floor better, and that happens when you either have a true back-to-the-basket option underneath or another shooter on the perimeter. Where does that come from? Unless Brenen Lorient really takes it up a notch, or Eaglestaff finally gets it to click, I'm not sure I have the answer.

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