WVU Basketball: Mount Saint Mary's Game Preview

WVU Basketball: The Stage is Set for West Virginia’s Season Opener vs Mount Saint Mary’sRoss Hodge’s official debut as head coach of the Mountaineers is set for 7pm ET on November 4th from the Hope Coliseum. West Virginia will be facing the Mount Saint Mary’s Mountaineers in a game that will air on ESPN+. Mount Saint Mary’s MountaineersMuch like the other Mountaineers, Mount Saint Mary’s had some significant roster turnover to deal with as they head into the 2025-26 season. They lost their top 5 scorers from the previous season, all of whom either transferred or ran out of eligibility. They finished 4th in the MAAC last season with a 23-13 (12-8) record. They won their conference tournament and a “first four” game as a 16-seed against American before falling to Duke 93-49 in the Round of 64. This season, Mount St. Mary’s was picked to finish 9th out of 13 teams in the MAAC preseason coaches poll.Players to Know:Senior Xavier Lipscomb, who started in all 36 games for the Mountaineers, was voted to the 3rd-team all-conference in the preseason. In 2024-25, he averaged 6.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Also returning to The Mount is senior guard Arlandus Keyes, who averaged 6.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Keyes led the team with 15 points in the loss to Duke in the NCAA Tournament. Western Illinois transfer Trey Deveaux will be another name to keep an eye on. Deveaux averaged 9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He closed the season averaging 19 points and 7 rebounds over the team’s final 8 games. Florida State transfer Anastasios Rozakeas knocked down 7 threes in an exhibition matchup for the Mountaineers a few days ago. Rozakeas is a sophomore who played just 32 minutes all season with the Seminoles. Santa Clara transfer, 6’10 junior, Luke McEldon, a Santa Clara transfer, added 18 points in the scrimmage. West Virginia NotesWest Virginia will be without Saint Bonaventure transfer Chance Moore for the team’s first five games due to the settlement with the NCAA regarding his eligibility. Moore appeared in five games with Arkansas during the 2021-22 season. Troy transfer, Jackson Fields will miss the first few weeks of the season after undergoing surgery in the off-season on his non-shooting hand. With these two seniors out of the lineup to begin the season, keep an eye on what freshmen Jayden Forysthe and DJ Thomas do with the opportunity to earn more minutes.