WVU Could Either Build a Tournament Resume Early — or Dig a Hole Fast

The Mountaineers will test themselves in non-conference play next season.

Jan 21, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

It's only mid-May, but two things appear to be true about West Virginia basketball's 2026-27 campaign: they have a higher ceiling, and they are going to be tested early.

Yesterday, a report surfaced that the Mountaineers are finalizing a deal to play North Carolina in the Dick Vitale Invitational on November 27th in Charlotte, NC.

This adds to what is already going to be a challenging non-conference slate for WVU, which features matchups against Pitt, Wake Forest, and the Players Era Tournament, where they will play one of the following teams in the opening round: Auburn, Florida, Houston, Kansas, Notre Dame, Rutgers, or UNLV.

In all likelihood, the tournament will try to prevent teams from the conference from playing each other for as long as possible. So one of Auburn, Florida, Notre Dame, Rutgers, or UNLV is who WVU will see to start.

Although they lost this past year's game in Charleston, the neutral court matchup in Greensboro against Wake Forest is certainly winnable. And it may sound crazy, but with so much change happening at North Carolina, perhaps WVU can find a way to steal that one and really make a statement early in the year.

The Mountaineers stubbed their toe in non-conference play this season more than once, which was a big reason why they ended up not making the NCAA Tournament. They blew a double-digit lead to Clemson, took a bad loss to Xavier, blew a 16-point lead to Ohio State, and, as we just mentioned, the bad loss to Wake.

Having success in the non-conference next season isn't going to guarantee that they'll punch their ticket to the dance, but it will certainly give them more wiggle room when they enter the 18-game gauntlet that is the Big 12.

Assuming this game against North Carolina gets finalized, I would be surprised to see another high major added to the schedule. They've done a good job of building a schedule that will challenge them early, creating several opportunities for Quad 1 and 2 victories. Because the Big 12 is going to naturally be full of Q1 and Q2 games, WVU doesn't need to go overboard with its non-conference setup.

If they are able to beat Pitt and Wake Forest, win a couple of games out in Las Vegas in the Players Era, and finish above .500 in conference play, the three-year NCAA Tournament drought will come to an end.