Rapid Takeaways From West Virginia's 14-Point Comeback Win Over Cincinnati

The Mountaineers move to 6-4 in Big 12 Conference play.

Feb 5, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) attempts a 3-point shot against Cincinnati Bearcats guard Day Day Thomas (1) in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Winning ugly is better than losing pretty. West Virginia has played an ugly brand of offensive basketball lately, but for the second time in the last three games, it still walked away victorious. Tonight, they earned the two-game season sweep over Cincinnati, winning by a final score of 59-54.

A few of my thoughts from this one...

Stuck in mud

See that video playing at the top of this page? Yeah? Well, you could just watch the first 15 or so minutes of that, and it would be a continuation of what we have seen in recent games from West Virginia. The slow starts, as I've mentioned multiple times this week, are a serious problem. In the first half, WVU had all of the following happen:

0/9 from three as a team
4/7 from the free throw line
9 turnovers
3 offensive fouls

That's way too many possessions where the Mountaineers couldn't even manage to get a shot off. Factor in the defense not playing up to par, and you create yet another double-digit hole.

Have to change something to open games

I'm well aware that Ross Hodge said that the slow starts haven't been because of one player or one particular thing, and that changing the starting lineup wouldn't guarantee a fix. I get that, but what does it hurt? I mean, clearly, this group is in a funk offensively, and I'd place much of the blame on the lack of ball and player movement.

Way too often, you'll see four guys standing in the same spot for nearly a dozen seconds while the ballhandler repeatedly pounds the ball into the floor. Why? I don't think it's a coincidence that when WVU gets right into an action the moment they get set, they seem to put the ball in the hoop more often.

Signs of a mature group

Ross Hodge has told us all year that this group stays composed and doesn't panic when things aren't going well. After two poor offensive showings last week, they could have easily hung their head and thrown in the towel after another poor start, trailing by as many as 14. They kept chipping away defensively while Honor Huff heated up on the other end.

More Honor on-ball, please

When he was on the floor tonight, Honor Huff was more ball-dominant and running the offense more than we're accustomed to seeing. He's done it here and there, but tonight it felt intentional and a way to open the floor. The start was ugly; the finish was not. Once he settled in and saw that first shot go down, he was in a rhythm as a playmaker, not just as a shooter.

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