WVU Needs to Shuffle Its Starting Five — Who Moves to the Bench?

There may be just five games left in the regular season for West Virginia, but it's never too late to shake things up in the starting lineup.

Head coach Ross Hodge even said after the loss to Utah that it's something that is on the table.

“Yeah, I mean, we’ve considered it. We’ve considered it all, in particular at home. I’ve never been a guy that’s went and stayed in hotels at home games, but a lot of people do that just to kind of keep the feel and the routine consistent. Starting lineups, you evaluate it. We’ve evaluated where we go with the ball early. Who gets the ball early? What type of shots are you getting early? All of it. Sub a little faster, and there’s been some stretches where we’ve let them (the starters) go a little longer. We’ve evaluated it all, and we’ll continue to evaluate it all.”

Seven times, WVU has had what I would qualify as a slow start — Houston, Arizona State, Arizona, Kansas State, Baylor, Cincinnati, and Utah. The average score (and deficit) of those games at each media timeout in the first half is jarring.

Under 16 TO: Opposing Team 10.4, West Virginia 2.7 (-7.7)
Under 12 TO: Opposing Team 15.4, West Virginia 6.4 (-9)
Under 8 TO: Opposing Team 20.4, West Virginia 11.6 (-8.8)
Under 4 TO: Opposing Team 27.9, West Virginia 19 (-8.9)
Halftime: Opposing Team 33.4, West Virginia 25 (-8.4)

Continuously throwing out the same starting five is the definition of insanity. They, for whatever reason, are constantly digging themselves a major hole right out of the gate, thanks to their play on both ends of the floor. The offense is putrid, but the defense to start games hasn't been very good either.

Who can be swapped out?

Feb 18, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Treysen Eaglestaff (52) drives against Utah Utes guard Terrence Brown (2) during the second half at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

You and I would probably agree that Harlan Obioha hasn't been great on the offensive end of the floor, but the reality is, you're not going to take him off the court and give up even more size in the frontcourt. He's the one true big man on the roster, and defensively, he's shown more than enough to stay out there.

Brenen Lorient is an athletic freak and, recently, has been West Virginia's most consistent scorer, posting double figures in six straight while shooting an extremely efficient ball, going 37/64 (57%) during that stretch.

And as poor as Honor Huff has shot the ball in Big 12 play — 30% from the field and 29% from range — you're not taking him off the floor either to begin the game.

So, that brings us to Jasper Floyd and Treysen Eaglestaff.

I've made the case before for Amir Jenkins to get the starting nod, primarily because his energy and ability to push the tempo would naturally create a stronger sense of urgency out of the gate. I still stand strong in that belief, but if I'm being honest, I don't see that happening. Hodge loves what Floyd brings to the table, particularly on the defensive end, and to ask a true freshman to take on that role, even if for a handful of minutes, is something he will probably shy away from.

So why not swap out Eaglestaff for Chance Moore? When the Mountaineers made their run against Utah in the second half on Wednesday night, Moore played a big part in it. The second-chance opportunities were created by his effort, and sometimes West Virginia's best offense was getting him the ball and wasting no time piddling around in the halfcourt.

Honor Huff stands virtually no chance if some other aspect of the offense doesn't come to life, be it another three-point shooter or someone who can put pressure on the rim. Eaglestaff hasn't been aggressive enough for Hodge to rely on his three-point shot to open up things for Honor, but Moore consistently gets to the cup.

It's time to make the change. I mean, at this point, it can't possibly be worse than what we've seen lately, right?