Saturday, January 24
Tucson, Ariz.
2 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Arizona
Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Mountaineers to Meet No. 1 for 17th Time in School History on Saturday
January 23, 2026 03:46 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – West Virginia's Saturday afternoon meeting at top-ranked Arizona will represent the 17th time the Mountaineers will be facing college basketball's No. 1-ranked team.
The last instance when WVU met No. 1 was against Gonzaga on Dec. 2, 2020, in the Jimmy V Classic in Indianapolis.
The Zags topped the Mountaineers 87-82 in an entertaining game.
West Virginia has won five times against No. 1, most recently on Jan. 10, 2017, when it knocked off Baylor 89-68 in Morgantown. At the time, that was the largest margin of defeat ever for college basketball's top team.
Saturday's foe Arizona assumed the top spot in the polls in week six and has remained there ever since. The Wildcats own impressive victories over Florida, UCLA, Connecticut, Auburn and Alabama outside of Big 12 play, and has deposited Utah, Kansas State, TCU, Arizona State, UCF and Cincinnati so far in league action.
Arizona State (89-82 victory) and UCF (84-77) are the only two games so far that have been in single digits in Big 12 play for the Wildcats.
"Welcome to the Big 12," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said on this week's United Bank Playbook segment posted on YouTube. "We've already played at Iowa State and at Houston, and now we get to play against the No. 1 team in the country, but that's what you love about this league. It's going to challenge you in a lot of different ways and with that you get presented some incredible opportunities."
One of those challenges will be trying to slow down impressive 6-foot-8, 235-pound freshman forward Koa Peat. He's one of five double-digit scorers averaging a team-best 14.6 points per game.
"He's so physical and he has such a great combination of balance, speed and physicality where he can control his body to where he's not just bowling into you and falling down and charging," Hodge observed. "He can really carve out space and he's so good in that foul line area. He puts a lot of stress on the interior of your defense."
Hodge said the key for his team is to stick together in what is going to be another raucous atmosphere at the McCale Center.
"You've got to weather their storms the best you can and try and minimize their runs – make the 6-0 or 7-0 runs and not 22-2 or 15-5 type of runs," he said. "You just don't want to help them. You don't want to spit the ball out and turn it over and now they're in transition and now they're getting their size and athleticism into the game.
"You've got to do your absolute best to give them one shot, and one shot only, because the last thing you want to do is to give a very efficient offensive team more than one shot," he added.
He said the Wildcats are the biggest, most physical and most skillful team the Mountaineers will face this season.
"It's the combination of these things that has put them in the position they are in right now – it's not like they are big and can't play basketball," he said. "They're big and can play basketball, and then when things get tight for them, (guard) Jaden Bradley has the ability to make late-clock shots and big plays in big moments."
West Virginia (13-6, 4-2) is coming off its first road victory of the season on Wednesday night at Arizona State. Treysen Eaglestaff matched his season-high with 23 points, while making eight of his 14 field goal attempts.
The senior is shooting 48.6% from 3 in league games and has reached double figures in all but two Big 12 contests. He is now averaging 10.6 points per game and has boosted his shooting to 42% overall after spending the early part of the year in the mid-30s.
Senior guard Honor Huff continues to lead the team in scoring with an average of 16.6 points per game. He is now 70th in NCAA history with 362 career 3-point field goals and needs just 17 more to crack the top 50.
Senior forward Brenen Lorient is contributing 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Saturday's game will tip off at 2 p.m. and will be televised nationally on CBS (Spero Dedes and Clark Kellogg). Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and David Kahn will tip things off at 1 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
The last instance when WVU met No. 1 was against Gonzaga on Dec. 2, 2020, in the Jimmy V Classic in Indianapolis.
The Zags topped the Mountaineers 87-82 in an entertaining game.
West Virginia has won five times against No. 1, most recently on Jan. 10, 2017, when it knocked off Baylor 89-68 in Morgantown. At the time, that was the largest margin of defeat ever for college basketball's top team.
Saturday's foe Arizona assumed the top spot in the polls in week six and has remained there ever since. The Wildcats own impressive victories over Florida, UCLA, Connecticut, Auburn and Alabama outside of Big 12 play, and has deposited Utah, Kansas State, TCU, Arizona State, UCF and Cincinnati so far in league action.
Arizona State (89-82 victory) and UCF (84-77) are the only two games so far that have been in single digits in Big 12 play for the Wildcats.
"Welcome to the Big 12," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said on this week's United Bank Playbook segment posted on YouTube. "We've already played at Iowa State and at Houston, and now we get to play against the No. 1 team in the country, but that's what you love about this league. It's going to challenge you in a lot of different ways and with that you get presented some incredible opportunities."
One of those challenges will be trying to slow down impressive 6-foot-8, 235-pound freshman forward Koa Peat. He's one of five double-digit scorers averaging a team-best 14.6 points per game.
"He's so physical and he has such a great combination of balance, speed and physicality where he can control his body to where he's not just bowling into you and falling down and charging," Hodge observed. "He can really carve out space and he's so good in that foul line area. He puts a lot of stress on the interior of your defense."
Hodge said the key for his team is to stick together in what is going to be another raucous atmosphere at the McCale Center.
"You've got to weather their storms the best you can and try and minimize their runs – make the 6-0 or 7-0 runs and not 22-2 or 15-5 type of runs," he said. "You just don't want to help them. You don't want to spit the ball out and turn it over and now they're in transition and now they're getting their size and athleticism into the game.
"You've got to do your absolute best to give them one shot, and one shot only, because the last thing you want to do is to give a very efficient offensive team more than one shot," he added.
He said the Wildcats are the biggest, most physical and most skillful team the Mountaineers will face this season.
"It's the combination of these things that has put them in the position they are in right now – it's not like they are big and can't play basketball," he said. "They're big and can play basketball, and then when things get tight for them, (guard) Jaden Bradley has the ability to make late-clock shots and big plays in big moments."
West Virginia (13-6, 4-2) is coming off its first road victory of the season on Wednesday night at Arizona State. Treysen Eaglestaff matched his season-high with 23 points, while making eight of his 14 field goal attempts.
The senior is shooting 48.6% from 3 in league games and has reached double figures in all but two Big 12 contests. He is now averaging 10.6 points per game and has boosted his shooting to 42% overall after spending the early part of the year in the mid-30s.
Senior guard Honor Huff continues to lead the team in scoring with an average of 16.6 points per game. He is now 70th in NCAA history with 362 career 3-point field goals and needs just 17 more to crack the top 50.
Senior forward Brenen Lorient is contributing 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Saturday's game will tip off at 2 p.m. and will be televised nationally on CBS (Spero Dedes and Clark Kellogg). Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and David Kahn will tip things off at 1 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
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/ Men's BasketballUnited Bank Playbook: Arizona Preview
Friday, January 23
Arizona State Game Recap
Friday, January 23
TV Highlights: WVU 75, Arizona State 63
Thursday, January 22
Ross Hodge | Arizona State Postgame
Thursday, January 22
