Sunday Morning Thoughts: The Horses Just Aren't There for West Virginia

Final analysis on the Mountaineers' Big 12 opening loss to Iowa State.

Jan 2, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge watches his team play the Iowa State Cyclones during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

As expected, West Virginia got blown out in its Big 12 opener against Iowa State, 80-59, dropping the Mountaineers to 9-5 on the season. It's becoming more and more clear that this year is going to be a constant uphill battle, and one that WVU may not be able to fix until the offseason.

My biggest concern with this group entering the season was their level of physicality. They have one true center on the roster who actually plays in Harlan Obioha, and it's not been a pleasant sight when he's matched up against other high majors. That is, of course, unless Pitt is on the floor.

If you remove his 14-point, five-rebound anomaly against the Panthers, Obioha is averaging 2.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game against high majors. If that's the type of production you're getting from your starting center, well, you're in trouble.

It's not just Obioha, though. Everyone who touches the floor should be held accountable for getting bullied on the interior defensively and the inability to finish through contact on the other end.

The three things I look at every game are points in the paint, rebounding, and second half point differential. Those typically tell you how a game went. If you're getting it inside, you're likely loosening things up on the perimeter while finishing close or drawing fouls. Rebounding shows effort, and point differential shows both how your coach can make adjustments and how deep your roster truly is.

So far, WVU has held its own in just one of those categories — rebounding. Here's a look at the game-by-game results vs. high majors.

Points in the paint

vs. Pitt: 32-20, WVU
vs. Clemson: 32-22, Clemson
vs. Xavier: 32-14, WVU
vs. Wake Forest: 36-30, Wake Forest
vs. Ohio State: 52-20, Ohio State
vs. Iowa State: 32-26, Iowa State

Rebounding

vs. Pitt: 34-31, WVU
vs. Clemson: 36-33, Clemson
vs. Xavier: 33-31, WVU
vs. Wake Forest: 36-28, WVU
vs. Ohio State: 42-42
vs. Iowa State: 35-23, Iowa State

Second half outcomes

vs. Pitt: +13
vs. Clemson: -10
vs. Xavier: -2
vs. Wake Forest: -9
vs. Ohio State: -10
vs. Iowa State: -8

Offensively, Chance Moore is the only player on the entire roster who can finish through contact at the rim consistently. Others either don't have the size, confidence, or a mixture of the two to do it. Having just one player who can get downhill isn't going to cut it.

Defensively, the on-ball guarding has been good for the most part, but the physicality clearly lacks. When the ball is put on the deck, WVU's guards have allowed the opposition to get too deep in the paint and don't knock the ballhandler off course.

Ross Hodge just doesn't have the horses right now to be able to compete against legit competition. Six games are a large enough sample size, too. There's not going to be this crazy improvement at some point this season where they just all of a sudden compete on the interior and have more Big 12 capable bodies. It's going to take another offseason for that to happen — both with internal development and the transfer portal.

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