WVU Basketball Tips Off Its Season Monday Night Against Niagara

The wait is over, Mountaineer Nation. West Virginia men's basketball tips off its 2026-27 regular season Monday night, Nov. 2, when Niagara comes to Hope Coliseum in Morgantown. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will stream on ESPN+.

This one carries a little extra meaning. For the first time since the 2022-23 season, WVU opens a year without a brand-new head coach on the sideline. Ross Hodge is back for his second season, and that kind of stability has been a long time coming for a fan base that has ridden more than its share of coaching changes in recent years.

Don't expect the same faces, though. The Mountaineers are breaking in 12 new players, and as many as four starters could be different from last season. Fifth-year forward Brenen Lorient is the lone rotation regular with significant experience in a WVU uniform and under Hodge, so a lot of fans will be learning names on the fly Monday night.

What the preseason showed

West Virginia played the three exhibition games allowed. The Mountaineers dropped an overtime battle at Maryland two weeks ago, then bounced back with convincing wins over a pair of Mountain East Conference programs, Glenville State and Wheeling.

Six different players started across those three tune-ups: freshman guard Miles Sadler, Butler transfer Finley Bizjack, Joson Sanon, Lorient, Seydou Traore and Mouhamed Sylla. Guard Martin Somerville, forward Javan Buchanan and freshman center Amadou Seini also saw big minutes off the bench, and that group of nine looks like the core of the early-season rotation.

Keep an eye on Sadler. He arrived as one of the more decorated recruits in program history, and he led everybody with 15 points and six assists in Wednesday's exhibition win over Wheeling. Hodge has said starting lineups matter less to him than which combinations of players are on the floor together, so expect plenty of mixing and matching while this young group finds its footing.

Scouting Niagara

The Purple Eagles are coached by Greg Paulus, the former Duke point guard and Syracuse quarterback, who is entering his eighth season in charge. Niagara went 8-22 last season and was picked 12th out of 13 teams in its league's preseason poll.

On paper, it's a chance for the Mountaineers to start fast in front of the home crowd. But Hodge has been clear that this team is still a work in progress, and the season is a long road. The good news is fans won't wait long for a second look: WVU is back in action again on Friday.

So get your gold and blue ready, Mountaineer fans. A new season, a new-look roster and a coach who's sticking around. Monday night in Morgantown, it all starts. Let's go!