West Virginia Basketball: 2022-23 season preview and outlook for Mountaineers
By Joey Loose
Schedule Outlook
The first two weeks of the season present three very winnable home games over mid-majors but also feature a really interesting rivalry matchup. The Mountaineers will continue the Backyard Brawl by heading to Pittsburgh to take on a Panthers team that has struggled in recent years in the ACC. A road rivalry game is difficult, but there’s definitely a path to a 4-0 start here.
Things get significantly more difficult as West Virginia will head to Oregon for the Phil Knight Legacy Invitational. Their first-round matchup is against a tough Purdue team before facing either Gonzaga or Portland State in round two. The Mountaineers will play three games out there and it’s almost impossible to imagine this team winning more than two games, especially if they face those Bulldogs in the second round.
A tricky game comes a week later as the Mountaineers will head to Xavier on December 3rd, their matchup for the Big East-Big 12 Battle. The Musketeers will be the favorites to win that game at home, but things get much easier after that. West Virginia’s next four games come at home against mid-major foes, though one of those is against a feisty UAB team in mid-December.
West Virginia certainly faces difficulty when conference play begins, as they’ll play every Big 12 foe both home and on the road. It all starts on New Year’s Eve at Kansas State and finishes against those same Wildcats at home more than two months later. The Mountaineers actually get Baylor, Kansas, Texas, and TCU at home in the first three weeks of conference play, with several opportunities to upset the top-rated teams in this conference. Sandwiches as well in that slate is a home date with Auburn on January 28th, their matchup for the Big 12/SEC Challenge.