Opening Victory Lifts WVU Basketball in KenPom Rankings

A big win on opening night gave WVU basketball a decent jump in the KenPom rankings this week, up to 73rd. The Mountaineers were ranked No. 87 in the preseason rankings.

WVU started the 2024-25 season off on the right foot Monday night, with a convincing 87-59 win over visiting Robert Morris inside the WVU Coliseum.

The Mountaineers rank 13th out of the 16 teams in the Big 12, ahead of Colorado, Arizona State and Oklahoma State. The conference as a whole continues to receive high rankings, with Houston, Kansas, Iowa State all in the top 10 and Texas Tech just outside at No. 11.

Big 12 KenPom Rankings

1. Houston
7. Kansas
8. Iowa State
9. Arizona
11. Texas Tech
15. Cincinnati
19. BYU
26. Baylor
51. Kansas State
55. TCU
60. UCF
67. Utah
73. West Virginia
75. Colorado
78. Arizona State
91. Oklahoma State

The Mountaineers got off to an exceptional start against RMU, opening the game on a 21-0 run and leading 30-2 after eight minutes. Top transfer Tucker DeVries impressed in his WVU debut with 18 points, including the first eight of the game. Oklahoma State transfer Javon Small added 15 points as five Mountaineers ended in double figures.

West Virginia’s next opponent is the UMass Minutemen, who will travel to Morgantown for a 7 p.m. tipoff on Friday night. KenPom has UMass (1-0) ranked at No. 109 following a 103-74 win over New Hampshire on Monday. Senior guard Rashool Diggins led the team with 26 points.

The Minutemen got the best of West Virginia in a meeting last season, beating the Mountaineers 87-79 in the Hall of Fame Classic, contributing to the team’s losing record in nonconference play.

For a related story: WVU basketball true freshman KJ Tenner showed a calm confidence while scoring 10 points in his college debut.