Wednesday, February 18
Morgantown, W.Va.
8:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Utah
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU to Face Utah Wednesday Night at Hope Coliseum
February 17, 2026 04:26 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The moment has arrived in the college basketball season when the games down the stretch are either meaningful to you or to the team you are playing.
In the case of 16-9 West Virginia, now 7-5 in the best basketball league in America, its final six regular season games are going to go a long way in determining its postseason fate.
Last year, the Mountaineers were left out of the NCAA Tournament despite having possibly the best resume of any team that has ever failed to make the Big Dance since the current selection process was established.
In order to avoid that outcome this year, the solution is simple – win basketball games, beginning with Wednesday night's 8:30 p.m. clash against Utah.
West Virginia's 14-point comeback victory last Saturday at UCF put it back into the NCAA Tournament conversation.
The most recent ESPN Bracketology put out Tuesday morning has the Mountaineers among the second group of four teams missing the tournament.
Jay Bilas posted his index of the 68 best teams in the country Tuesday afternoon, and he has WVU sitting at No. 54.
"The Mountaineers have held steady in the middle of a packed Big 12, with a win over Kansas but losses to Iowa State, Arizona, Texas Tech and Houston," Bilas wrote. "A top-30 team in defensive efficiency, giving up the second-fewest points per game (63.8), West Virginia will need its defense to carry it to its first tournament since 2023."
Despite not having a marquee nonconference victory this year, WVU is hopeful that the overall strength of the Big 12 can help it get into the Field of 68 this year.
In 2025, that was not the case. The Big 12 was not nearly as good from top to bottom as it has been, and that ultimately was a contributing factor in keeping West Virginia from getting a 32nd NCAA Tournament bid last season.
Of course, what happened last year is still on the minds of Mountaineer fans, but it has no bearing on this year's team.
Mountaineer coach Ross Hodge wants his players to have their feet firmly planted on the ground and take care of the here and now.
He says mapping things out for them is a pointless exercise.
"They live in a social media world, and they don't need me to tell them what's at stake," the coach said earlier today. "I think it's my job to counter that message and get them to focus singularly on 'let's beat Utah on Wednesday night.' If you can do that enough times, then the things that you hope for and want will be there at the end.
"If you start to make it more than, 'how do we get back? How do we slow their guards down?' It just gets confusing, because everybody else is going to want to talk about that. Our families and our friends, everybody wants to talk about everything instead of what's just right in front of you."
What Hodge wants his players to embrace is having the opportunity to play in meaningful games in February and March. That's why they signed up to play at West Virginia and compete in the No. 1 basketball conference in the country.
"To feel pressure is really a privilege, and (they) need to understand that," he explained. "I would say it all the time, even when I was an assistant coach - that anxiety that you feel in your stomach leading up to these games and that nervous energy, that's a feeling a lot of people will never get to feel in their lives.
"It's really hard to explain to people what that feels like, so to be in meaningful moments and meaningful games and to feel the pressure, it really is a privilege, and you've got to be appreciative to be in these situations and not kind of shrink and pull back from it."
Which means playing to win games instead of not losing them.
"The mindset of going into these pressure situations that if you are going into it like you are holding on to something, or you don't want to lose, then you probably have the wrong mindset," he said.
Hodge believes its most important for his team to take an even-keel approach to things. It's cliché, but don't get too high after wins and don't get too low after losses.
The teams that do this over the course of a long season are usually the most successful.
"In the time period we live in now, the roller coaster of emotions from a win to a loss and everything in between, you've got to try to do your best to not go on that roller coaster and understand that you are playing in the best basketball league in the country and there are going to be bumps in the road," he observed. "The teams that can handle those adversities the best - you've got to be able to process it all and (get to the next right thing). You don't try to get too far outside of that."
What is immediately in front of the Mountaineers is a Utah team that features one of the best scorers in the country in guard Terrance Brown, averaging 20.4 points per game. If they lose track of him, he's capable of going off like he did in a three-point win over TCU back on Jan. 17.
Backcourt mate Don McHenry is another big-time scorer, averaging 17.4 points per contest.
The Utes come into Wednesday night's game having lost seven straight, but Hodge sees an improving team that has been competitive in some recent losses, including a four-point defeat at Cincinnati last Sunday.
Previously, when West Virginia faced Baylor on the second leg of its Eastern, Cincinnati-Morgantown swing, the Bears rallied for a 10-point victory at Hope Coliseum.
If West Virginia wants to remain in the postseason discussion, it can't have a repeat on Wednesday night.
"Like all nights in the Big 12, this one will be another big challenge," Hodge explained.
FS1 (Noah Reed and Laphonso Ellis) will televise the game nationally.
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will tip things off at 7:30 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
Tickets remain and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
Hodge is hopeful some extra students will come out and support the team on Wednesday night.
"I know with the 8:30 tip, it's difficult for some of our fans to get here, so we really need our students to come out, and if you are a season ticket holder and for whatever reason you might not be able to get here, get that ticket into somebody's hands so we can get somebody into those seats," he said.
In the case of 16-9 West Virginia, now 7-5 in the best basketball league in America, its final six regular season games are going to go a long way in determining its postseason fate.
Last year, the Mountaineers were left out of the NCAA Tournament despite having possibly the best resume of any team that has ever failed to make the Big Dance since the current selection process was established.
In order to avoid that outcome this year, the solution is simple – win basketball games, beginning with Wednesday night's 8:30 p.m. clash against Utah.
West Virginia's 14-point comeback victory last Saturday at UCF put it back into the NCAA Tournament conversation.
The most recent ESPN Bracketology put out Tuesday morning has the Mountaineers among the second group of four teams missing the tournament.
Jay Bilas posted his index of the 68 best teams in the country Tuesday afternoon, and he has WVU sitting at No. 54.
"The Mountaineers have held steady in the middle of a packed Big 12, with a win over Kansas but losses to Iowa State, Arizona, Texas Tech and Houston," Bilas wrote. "A top-30 team in defensive efficiency, giving up the second-fewest points per game (63.8), West Virginia will need its defense to carry it to its first tournament since 2023."
Despite not having a marquee nonconference victory this year, WVU is hopeful that the overall strength of the Big 12 can help it get into the Field of 68 this year.
In 2025, that was not the case. The Big 12 was not nearly as good from top to bottom as it has been, and that ultimately was a contributing factor in keeping West Virginia from getting a 32nd NCAA Tournament bid last season.
Of course, what happened last year is still on the minds of Mountaineer fans, but it has no bearing on this year's team.
Mountaineer coach Ross Hodge wants his players to have their feet firmly planted on the ground and take care of the here and now.
He says mapping things out for them is a pointless exercise.
"They live in a social media world, and they don't need me to tell them what's at stake," the coach said earlier today. "I think it's my job to counter that message and get them to focus singularly on 'let's beat Utah on Wednesday night.' If you can do that enough times, then the things that you hope for and want will be there at the end.
"If you start to make it more than, 'how do we get back? How do we slow their guards down?' It just gets confusing, because everybody else is going to want to talk about that. Our families and our friends, everybody wants to talk about everything instead of what's just right in front of you."
What Hodge wants his players to embrace is having the opportunity to play in meaningful games in February and March. That's why they signed up to play at West Virginia and compete in the No. 1 basketball conference in the country.
"To feel pressure is really a privilege, and (they) need to understand that," he explained. "I would say it all the time, even when I was an assistant coach - that anxiety that you feel in your stomach leading up to these games and that nervous energy, that's a feeling a lot of people will never get to feel in their lives.
"It's really hard to explain to people what that feels like, so to be in meaningful moments and meaningful games and to feel the pressure, it really is a privilege, and you've got to be appreciative to be in these situations and not kind of shrink and pull back from it."
Which means playing to win games instead of not losing them.
"The mindset of going into these pressure situations that if you are going into it like you are holding on to something, or you don't want to lose, then you probably have the wrong mindset," he said.
Hodge believes its most important for his team to take an even-keel approach to things. It's cliché, but don't get too high after wins and don't get too low after losses.
The teams that do this over the course of a long season are usually the most successful.
"In the time period we live in now, the roller coaster of emotions from a win to a loss and everything in between, you've got to try to do your best to not go on that roller coaster and understand that you are playing in the best basketball league in the country and there are going to be bumps in the road," he observed. "The teams that can handle those adversities the best - you've got to be able to process it all and (get to the next right thing). You don't try to get too far outside of that."
What is immediately in front of the Mountaineers is a Utah team that features one of the best scorers in the country in guard Terrance Brown, averaging 20.4 points per game. If they lose track of him, he's capable of going off like he did in a three-point win over TCU back on Jan. 17.
Backcourt mate Don McHenry is another big-time scorer, averaging 17.4 points per contest.
The Utes come into Wednesday night's game having lost seven straight, but Hodge sees an improving team that has been competitive in some recent losses, including a four-point defeat at Cincinnati last Sunday.
Previously, when West Virginia faced Baylor on the second leg of its Eastern, Cincinnati-Morgantown swing, the Bears rallied for a 10-point victory at Hope Coliseum.
If West Virginia wants to remain in the postseason discussion, it can't have a repeat on Wednesday night.
"Like all nights in the Big 12, this one will be another big challenge," Hodge explained.
FS1 (Noah Reed and Laphonso Ellis) will televise the game nationally.
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will tip things off at 7:30 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
Tickets remain and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
Hodge is hopeful some extra students will come out and support the team on Wednesday night.
"I know with the 8:30 tip, it's difficult for some of our fans to get here, so we really need our students to come out, and if you are a season ticket holder and for whatever reason you might not be able to get here, get that ticket into somebody's hands so we can get somebody into those seats," he said.
Ross Hodge | Utah Preview
Tuesday, February 17
Honor Huff | Utah Preview
Tuesday, February 17
UCF Game Recap
Tuesday, February 17
TV Highlights: WVU 74, UCF 67
Saturday, February 14
