What the ESPN BPI Says About WVU vs Oakland

The West Virginia Mountaineers are set to open the lid on the 2021-22 basketball season on Tuesday night when they tip-off against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. West Virginia lost two big pieces from last year's team in Miles McBride and Derek Culver leaving early for the professional ranks.

The Mountaineers filled those two spots by aggressively attacking the transfer portal. To help replace Culver, WVU secured DePaul transfer Pauly Paulicap and Florida International transfer Dimon Carrigan. Guard Malik Curry transferred in from Old Dominion and will likely serve as the backup to Kedrian Johnson at the point. 

The ESPN BPI gives West Virginia a 93.4% chance to win the season opener while Oakland has just a 6.6% chance. This might seem a little low considering the Golden Grizzlies were 12-18 in 2020-21 but they did take Michigan to overtime in non-conference play and also gave Oklahoma State a tough game in Stillwater. West Virginia will navigate through much of its non-conference slate trying to figure out who will be in the rotation. 

The Mountaineers and Golden Grizzlies are set to tip at 7 p.m. EST on Big 12 NOW/ESPN+.

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