Stock Up, Stock Down: Ross Hodge, Seeding, Confidence + More

Observations from West Virginia's 15-point victory over the UCF Knights.

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Brenen Lorient (0) celebrates with West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) during the second half against the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

The regular season is now in the books as West Virginia pulled off the sweep of UCF, winning 77-62 on Friday night. And with that, we have our final WVU basketball stock update of the regular season.

Stock Up: Team confidence

Losing a game that they should have won on Tuesday could have easily sent this team into a different mindset. It would have been easy to view this as a meaningless game, to kind of just go through the motions, and save your best for the Big 12 Conference tournament. They played as if their tournament hopes depended on it, and those seniors made it a night they'll never forget. I don't know if it was because it was senior night or not, but Honor Huff, Treysen Eaglestaff, Brenen Lorient, and Chance Moore all played at a different speed last night. They had conviction in their decision-making, including their shot. If that spills over into next week, good things can happen.

Stock Up: Ross Hodge stock

Sweeping UCF is impressive. That's a tournament team, and to be able to rally the troops and bounce back after that disappointment is Manhattan is a sign of a good coach. Regardless of what happens today in the league, WVU can't finish lower than 8th in the conference. They were picked 11th in the preseason poll and could end up as the No. 7 seed. Yes, there were some tough moments along the way, but if you ask me, that's a solid job, finishing one win fewer than Darian DeVries had here a year ago.

Stock Up: Big 12 picture

As I just mentioned, WVU will either be the No. 7 or 8 seed. It could have been worse. Had they lost last night, they would have missed out on a first-round bye and could have dropped to as low as the No. 10 seed if BYU beats Texas Tech today. Getting that bye will help and increase the chances of making a run. Do I expect that to happen? No, but you at least put yourself in a better position to.

Stock Down: Paint defense

UCF just carved WVU up inside, scoring 40 points in the paint. Harlan Obioha offers zero rim protection and hardly any physicality. That could be a major problem in the Big 12 tournament if they match up with a team that likes to pound it inside. Very little resistance last night. Ross Hodge has to find a way to help out his big man.