NCAA Basketball: 7 biggest takeaways on opening day of 2023-24 season
By Joey Loose
6. An emergence in Morgantown
Clearly, West Virginia is coming off a turbulent offseason. Longtime head coach Bob Huggins stepped aside and interim coach Josh Eilert is tasked with keeping things afloat in Morgantown. While Huggins was involved in building the current roster, the Mountaineers also had quite the task in the offseason, rebuilding through significant transfers. Jose Perez is gone and Kerr Kriisa is suspended, but the Mountaineers’ goose isn’t cooked yet.
Down six at the half at home to Missouri State, West Virginia clawed back into their opening game thanks to the contributions of Quinn Slazinski. One of those offseason additions, he had 18 points and 7 rebounds and looks to be the frontcourt piece that’s going to pick up the slack for the Mountaineers. In what was a pretty rough shooting night for West Virginia, the team did just enough to survive against the Bears.
That strong second half performance allowed the Mountaineers to move forward, getting that first win of the season. There will be plenty of challenges, especially when Big 12 play starts in a few months, but Eilert has passed the first test. More importantly, Slazinski looks like a steal for the Mountaineers if the can continue to elevate his game after showing potential at Iona the last two seasons.