With a reloaded roster featuring the top-rated freshman prospect in school history and a stacked portal class, the West Virginia Mountaineers were named one of the top winners of the college basketball offseason, and the buzz around the team is palpable in Morgantown ahead of the season. But will WVU basketball be a legitimate Big 12 contender? Well, some people seem to think so.
When talking about the upcoming college basketball season, CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein pegged the Mountaineers as his 'sleeper team' in the Big 12, predicting that West Virginia has the talent to make a run at the Big 12 Championship and get back to the NCAA Tournament.
"Who is the sleeper team in this conference?" posited Rothstein. "I'm going to Morgantown, and I'm going to West Virginia. I think West Virginia ended last season on a real, real high note, won 21 games in year one under Ross Hodge, an excellent coach."
West Virginia is the sleeper team in the Big 12.https://t.co/37P3IN8oeo (Apple) https://t.co/sNq3sf2nZc (Spotify) https://t.co/NB69v8KJKu (YouTube) pic.twitter.com/4gTsasml7I
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 19, 2026
"The Mountaineers will return to the NCAA Tournament in 2027 under Ross Hodge. I talked about it a little bit earlier. Miles Sadler, a really talented freshman. Veteran guard with [Martin] Somerville, [Joson] Sanon, and [Finley] Bizjack. [Mouhamed] Sylla and [Amadou] Seini up front. West Virginia also waiting on Brenen Lorient – will he be eligible? But there's a lot to be excited about if you're West Virginia."
Is Jon Rothstein correct about West Virginia as a Big 12 'sleeper' team?
Well, we saw in the opening exhibition against Maryland that a lot of the pieces that Rothstein thinks could make significant noise for the Mountaineers are looking good early. Bizjack led the team with 25 points and drained five three-pointers. Miles Sadler finished with 16 points in his collegiate debut. Somerville also added 13 points along the wing.
Sylla was quiet, with just two points and three rebounds. But he did affect things with his defense, recording three blocks. Seini looked increible for a freshman, scoring six points and adding 11 rebounds and three blocks. Lorient is (currently) eligible to play, and started for West Virginia, adding six points and three rebounds.
The question is whether all of this will be enough to win consistently in the Big 12. It wasn't enough to defeat Maryland in the exhibition, though they did lead by 15 points at the break and force overtime – it's also just an exhibition, and the first real action the team has seen together. Rebounding was lackluster, but the first half offensive performance and defensive effort was encouraging.
But if Rothstein is correct about the pieces he thinks will make a major impact and help this team make a run at the conference championship and the NCAA Tournament, then the season-opening exhibition left plenty for fans to be encouraged about moving forward.
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