Stock Up, Stock Down: Who’s Rising & Falling After WVU’s Gritty Win Against Cincy?

Taking a closer look at the Mountaineers' win over the Bearcats.

Feb 5, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Amir Jenkins (2) and forward Brenen Lorient (0) celebrate after their team’s win against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Sometimes you just have to win ugly. West Virginia has done that more than once this season, including last night in Cincinnati, downing the Bearcats 59-54.

Per usual, it's time to look at the WVU basketball stock report.

Stock Up: The true freshmen

I thought both DJ Thomas and Amir Jenkins played extremely well last night. Jenkins didn't light up the stat sheet, finishing the game with just two points, three rebounds, and two assists, and yet, he still had a big impact on the game. The job he did defensively in the second half really helped engineer the comeback for WVU. Ross Hodge even went as far as to say he "took the torch from Jasper Floyd there for a little bit." As for DJ Thomas, he had 10 second half points, six of which came from three-point land. These guys continue to play well beyond their years.

Stock Down: Urgency

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here. West Virginia's approach to the start of games has to change. Something has to. It doesn't matter if it's swapping someone out of the starting lineup, playing with more pace, or something else. You can't continue to dig yourself into these double-digit deficits before the game even gets five minutes in. Maybe Amir Jenkins' play will get Ross to think about it.

Stock Up: Honor Huff

I had my eyes on Huff coming into this one, simply because his most efficient game in Big 12 play came against these very Bearcats. After being held scoreless in the second half, he caught fire and finished the night with 16 points. Having him on the ball more seemed to create more opportunities for both him and his teammates. Would have to think that's something Hodge is going to implement more of.

Stock Down: Free throw shooting

If the Mountaineers just knocked down their freebies, they could have won this game more comfortably. The most maddening thing about last night was that WVU's best free-throw shooters were missing shots. Brenen Lorient went 1/3, Honor Huff went 3/6, and Treysen Eaglestaff went 0/2.

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