MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Buoyed by a 74-67 win at UCF on Saturday, the WVU men’s basketball team enters the final third of their Big 12 slate Wednesday night when the Utah Utes come to Hope Coliseum.
For the second consecutive road game, the Mountaineers erased a double-digit second-half deficit against the Knights, evening their road record at 3-3 on the season.
Feb 14, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights guard Themus Fulks (1) shoots against West Virginia Mountaineers center Harlan Obioha (55) during the second half at Addition Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images
“It is a 40-minute game. There’s going to be ebbs and flows. You would hope they wouldn’t be as dramatic as some of those have been,” said WVU head coach Ross Hodge. “I think our guys do a really good job of staying together in those moments. There’s certainly not any panic amongst the group. There is some level of confidence knowing that we can get the stops we need to get back in games and make the plays when necessary.
“We only had one turnover in the last 15 minutes of the second half. We have talked about that. It is not football so it all flows together. If you are taking care of the football and you get good shots and you are able to be efficient on offense and you are able to set your defense, that’s where we are at our best.”
At UCF, Honor Huff scored 21 points, his most in a game since WVU’s upset win over Kansas on January 10 (23 points). Jasper Floyd added 17 points, his best scoring effort since the season opener vs. Mount St. Mary’s (25).
“He is our leader and he is our captain,” Huff said of Floyd. “To see him step up the way that he did in this last game, sometimes it is like, where was that in some games where we needed it? I am proud of him. He is so selfless. Sometimes, we need him to be more selfish, like he was Saturday at UCF.”
“He made big shots and he has done that throughout his career in certain moments,” Hodge said of Floyd. “He gives you another punch. We’ve talked about those opportunities being there for him. He’s got to step into those with confidence and he did.”
Despite going scoreless against the Knights, center Harlan Obioha led the Mountaineers with a plus-16 rating.
Feb 14, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge during the first half against the UCF Knights at Addition Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images
“He has really become very good, borderline elite in his ball screen defensive coverages,” Hodge said. “He was able to play, I think, the final 12 minutes of that game. His ability to communicate the coverage, be level, play both and get a couple deflections, there were a couple high-level defensive possessions that he had his hands all over it.”
Utah (9-16, 1-11 Big 12) has lost seven consecutive games and their lone league victory came over TCU (82-79) on January 17. The Utes are 0-8 in true road games this season. Despite their struggles under first-year head coach Alex Jensen, the Utes feature two of the top twelve scorers in the Big 12. Terrence Brown (20.4) ranks fourth in the league in scoring and Don McHenry (17.4) is 12th.
“We’ve got a very talented Utah team coming in playing some of their best basketball of the year. Obviously they have two dynamic scorers in Brown and McHenry. [Keanu] Dawes, who we actually played against when he was younger at Rice, he is playing really well and is probably playing as good as any forward in the league over the last five games. Like all nights in the Big 12, it is going to be a big challenge,” Hodge said.
Feb 15, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Utah Utes guard Don McHenry (3) drives to the basket against Cincinnati Bearcats guard Day Day Thomas (1) in the second at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
“They score the ball. That’s what they do,” Huff said. “They don’t have any problems scoring the basketball. I can tell you that much. We just can’t help them and give them easy looks.
“We were the favorite for the Baylor game and they came in here and cooked us, cooked me specifically. I don’t even know when we are the favorite or when we are not, if I am being completely honest with you. I don’t even know. Just having the same mindset every game of just battling. We know it is going to be a dog fight no matter who we play in this conference.”
Former WVU forward James Okonkwo has started 15 of 22 games in his first year with the Utes. He is averaging 2.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest.
With an entire roster of players going through the Big 12 Conference gauntlet for the first time, Hodge says his players are embracing the challenge of consistent competition throughout the ten weeks of league play.
“I think our guys are still excited to be around each other, which is important this time of year. They enjoy coming to practices. They enjoy coming to film sessions. Ultimately, they enjoy trying to get better. That’s really the same focus in our minds, how we can get better through these processes and through these games.”
WVU (16-9) enters Tuesday’s play tied with BYU for sixth place in the Big 12 standings (7-5). The Mountaineers stand 54th in the NCAA NET ratings with a 4-6 record in Quad 1 games and a 2-3 mark in Quad 2 games. In the latest Bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the Mountaineers have entered the “Next Four Out” group. While the Mountaineers have a great deal of work to do to get on the good side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, half of their remaining six regular season games are against Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Utah, teams that have combined for just six league wins.
“You certainly want to be playing meaningful basketball games in February and March. I think that’s what every coach hopes for and every player hopes for. As a competitor, that’s what you hope for. We’ve discussed it with our group and it is true, to feel pressure is really a privilege,” Hodge said.
“That anxiety you feel in your stomach leading up to these games and that nervous energy, that’s a feeling that a lot of people will never get to feel in their lives. It is really hard to explain to people what that feels like.
“They live in a social media world. They don’t need me to tell them what is at stake. I think it is my job to counter that messaging and get the focused singularly on let’s beat Utah on Wednesday night. If you can do that enough times, the things that you hope for and want will be there at the end.”
“It definitely adds value to each game that we play this season because we want to be able to cement our names before the conference tournament so we don’t have to rely on winning in the conference tournament to go to the [NCAA] Tournament,” Huff said.
