Maryland edges West Virginia in NCAA Tournament’s 1st round
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In a game that began before lunchtime, Maryland sleepwalked through the first 10 minutes of its NCAA Tournament opener. Coach Kevin Willard wasn’t concerned. He knew there was still time for a wake-up call. Julian Reese and Maryland topped West Virginia, 67-65, on Thursday after Kedrian Johnson...
Tim Benz: Tournament expansion is a bad idea — but if the NCAA can’t resist, here’s how to do it
Thursday and Friday mark what many feel to be two of the best days of the sports year: the first two days of the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. Perfectly timed on the sports calendar. Perfectly formatted with its fan-friendly three-week-long bracket system. Perfectly packaged with its survive-and-advance drama, and David...
WVU’s Huggins looks to keep special year going in NCAA Tournament
It has been quite a year for West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. Huggins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September. He became the winningest active Division I coach last week when Jim Boeheim retired at Syracuse. The Mountaineers (19-14) overcame a horrible start to Big...
Jay Wright on Pitt’s turnaround; Penn State’s NCAA tough opener; West Virginia’s showdown with Maryland
This will be the most exciting week of college basketball in Western Pennsylvania in a long time. Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia have all qualified for the NCAA Tournament in the same year for the first time since 2011. The action gets going Tuesday night as Pitt takes on...
West Virginia women draw No. 7 Arizona in NCAA Tournament
West Virginia’s women’s basketball team is going dancing. The Mountaineers (19-11) earned the No. 10 seed for the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 7 Arizona (21-9) on Friday in College Park, Md. Led by first-year coach Dawn Plitzuweit, the Mountaineers finished the regular season 10-8 in conference play and...
West Virginia men’s basketball earns No. 9 seed, will play Maryland in NCAA 1st round
West Virginia was rewarded for playing one of the toughest schedules in men’s college basketball Sunday night as the Mountaineers received a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The ninth-seeded Mountaineers will play No. 8 Maryland (21-12) at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in Birmingham, Ala. The game will be televised on CBS....
Tribune-Review’s NCAA Tournament Bracketology: Pitt among 1st on the dance floor
For the past six seasons, the NCAA Tournament was an event Pitt fans followed because it’s what you do in March. They rooted only for their brackets, hoping to have a reason to brag to their buddies. Now, Pitt fans actually can have a specific rooting interest in the tournament,...
Oklahoma State women top West Virginia on Milton’s winner
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Terryn Milton made a go-ahead shot with 0.1 seconds left and Oklahoma State beat West Virginia 62-61 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament. Milton took an inbounds pass with 13.3 second left. Her teammates cleared the right side of...
West Virginia falls to Kansas in Big 12 quarterfinals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Playing without ailing coach Bill Self on the sideline, third-ranked Kansas turned to big offensive performances from Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris Jr. along with some stingy defense to pull away from West Virginia, 75-61, on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Wilson...
WVU tops Texas Tech in Big 12 Tournament opener, advances to face Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kedrian Johnson had 20 points, Tre Mitchell added 17 points and nine rebounds, and No. 8 seed West Virginia rolled to a 78-62 victory over ninth-seeded Texas Tech in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday night. Erik Stevenson added 18 points, and...
Kansas out to defend Big 12 Tournament title in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The bull’s-eye on the back of third-ranked Kansas these days is about as big as it’s been in coach Bill Self’s tenure. The Jayhawks already have defended their Big 12 regular-season championship, winning the toughest league in the country by almost any measure in outright fashion....
West Virginia beats No. 11 Kansas State to help NCAA hopes
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Erik Stevenson scored 27 points, Kedrian Johnson added 23 and West Virginia gave its NCAA Tournament hopes a big boost with an 89-81 victory over No. 11 Kansas State on Saturday. Emmitt Matthews added 20 points, and Tre Mitchell scored 14 for West Virginia (18-13, 7-11 Big...
Tim Benz: For local college basketball teams, it’s a good year to be good
As Pitt was hanging 99 points on the scoreboard en route to a 17-point win over Syracuse, the Oakland Zoo rooting section was going crazy as former walk-on and one-time team manager Aidan Fisch scored the last basket of the game. The Panthers bench stormed the floor as the final...
West Virginia rallies past Iowa State
AMES, Iowa — Erik Stevenson scored 23 points, Joe Toussaint added 19 off the bench and West Virginia rallied late to beat Iowa State, 72-69, on Monday night. Stevenson made 8 of 17 shots from the floor with four 3-pointers for the Mountaineers (17-13, 6-11 Big 12 Conference). Toussaint hit...
WVU’s upset bid falls just short against No. 3 Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Dajuan Harris was one point shy of a career high as he scored 17 points to help lift No. 3 Kansas over West Virginia, 76-74, on Saturday. The stifling Jayhawk defense kept West Virginia from attempting a shot in the final 20 seconds. The Mountaineers’ Joe Toussaint...
West Virginia beats Oklahoma State 85-67 to end 3-game skid
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Erik Stevenson scored 23 points, Tre Mitchell added a season-high 22 and West Virginia rolled to an 85-67 victory over Oklahoma State on Monday night. Stevenson made 5 of 6 shots from 3-point range and grabbed five rebounds for the Mountaineers (16-10, 5-10 Big 12), who snapped...
West Virginia can’t stop streaking Texas Tech men’s team
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jaylon Tyson had a career-high 27 points, and Fardaws Aimaq scored Texas Tech’s last eight points in leading the Red Raiders to a 78-72 win over West Virginia on Saturday. Tyson and Aimaq combined for 25 second-half points for Tech (15-12, 4-10), which started the day tied...
LJ Cryer leads No. 9 Baylor to win over West Virginia
WACO, Texas — Baylor coach Scott Drew couldn’t even wait to get to the podium for his postgame session with reporters Monday night before expressing his excitement. “It’s a good night for the Baylor Bears,” Drew said. LJ Cryer helped make sure of that, scoring 26 points to lead ninth-ranked...
West Virginia sloppy in loss at 1st-place Texas
AUSTIN, Texas — Sir’Jabri Rice scored 24 points in just 17 minutes, and No. 5 Texas defeated West Virginia, 94-60, on Saturday. Texas (20-5) remained in first place in the Big 12 at 9-3, while West Virginia (15-10, 4-8) lost for the sixth time in its last seven games against...
West Virginia’s Gold-Blue spring game set for April 22
West Virginia’s annual Gold-Blue spring football game will be played at 1 p.m. April 22, at Milan Puskar Stadium, the university announced Thursday. The Mountaineers will start spring drills March 21 and hold 15 spring practices, concluding with the Gold-Blue game. Tickets are available for $10 each at wvugame.com or...
Kedrian Johnson, Emmitt Matthews lead West Virginia over No. 11 Iowa State
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Kedrian Johnson tied a career high with 22 points, and West Virginia held off No. 11 Iowa State, 76-71, on Wednesday night. Emmitt Mathews added a season-high 20 points for the Mountaineers (15-9, 4-7 Big 12), who have won five of seven to get their season moving...
Calijah Kancey, Joey Porter Jr. among 15 Pitt, PSU, WVU players invited to NFL Combine
The spoils of the 2022 college football season showed up for 15 Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia players in the form of invitations to the NFL Combine. The one-stop scouting mission, one of the biggest events on the NFL calendar, will be held Feb. 28 through March 6 at...
Erik Stevenson scores 34, West Virginia routs Oklahoma
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Erik Stevenson topped his week-old career high by putting up 34 points as West Virginia routed Oklahoma, 93-61, on Saturday night. The Mountaineers snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Sooners, taking control early and pulling away late. West Virginia held a 26-point lead at halftime. Oklahoma...
West Virginia adds 3-star defensive lineman on signing day
West Virginia football added one recruit to its 2023 class Wednesday. Treasure Coast (Florida) defensive lineman Corey McIntyre signed with the Mountaineers. The 6-foot-3, 290 pounder had 37 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack as a senior. The three-star prospect ranked No. 65 among defensive lineman nationally and...
Without Mike Miles Jr., No. 15 TCU takes down West Virginia
FORT WORTH, Texas — Damion Baugh had 16 points and 10 assists, big man Eddie Lampkin Jr. made an unexpected return from injury and 15th-ranked TCU overcame the absence of top scorer Mike Miles Jr. to beat West Virginia 76-72 on Tuesday night. “We’re fighters, no matter what,” Baugh said....