WVU Basketball's Big 12 Opponents Announced for 2026-27 Season

A look the scheduling matrix for the Mountaineers.

Feb 14, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge during the first half against the UCF Knights at Addition Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Year two of the Ross Hodge era is expected to be a fun one. Not only do the Mountaineers have more talent and depth, but there are some exciting matchups on the 2026-27 slate, in addition to the annual clash with the Pitt Panthers in the Backyard Brawl.

On Thursday, the Big 12 Conference announced the league schedule matrix for the 2026-27 season. Here is who and where the Mountaineers will play, followed by my initial thoughts below.

WVU's Big 12 schedule matrix

Home-and-away: UCF, Cincinnati, Iowa State

Home only: Arizona, Arizona State, Houston, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU

Away only: Baylor, Colorado, Kansas, Texas Tech, Utah

Finally, the Big 12 gets it right with the home-and-home setup in basketball. This should be the three opponents West Virginia plays home and away every year, as long as the league is constructed the way it is. Two opponents in the same time zone and the closest opponent who is not in the Eastern Time Zone.

As far as the home-only games are concerned, West Virginia gets a huge break not having to go through the Arizona two-step (Arizona, Arizona State) and gets a chance at two of the best teams in the league, Arizona and Houston, at home.

Going to Baylor and Texas Tech will certainly be a challenge, but the one that will irk Mountaineer fans more than anything is not getting a return game in Morgantown against the Kansas Jayhawks. That's one of the handful of games that generates a ton of buzz and excitement in conference play because of how dominant the Jayhawks have been, but also because of how much success the Mountaineers have had against them over the years inside Hope Coliseum.

Of course, we still don't know the dates for these matchups, so it's difficult to say how well they will navigate the league schedule, but just judging by the matrix, it's a pretty decent draw. As always, the Big 12 is going to be an 18-game gauntlet, so starting out the season hot will be key. WVU already has several challenging opponents on the docket for the non-con part of the schedule as well.

The Non-Conference slate (so far)

Date TBA at Pitt

Nov. 2 vs. Niagara, 7 p.m. ET

Nov. 17 vs. Auburn — Players Era Tournament

Nov. 18 vs. Kansas or UNLV — Players Era Tournament

Nov. 27 vs. North Carolina, TBA (Charlotte, NC) — 2nd annual Dick Vitale Invitational

Dec. 19 vs. Wake Forest, TBA (Greensboro, NC)