February 24, 2026; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Brennen Lorient (0) drives around Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Farsa Pala (22) during the second half at Gallagher-Iva Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Image It may be too late to change West Virginia’s postseason fortunes, but a win over a ranked team on Saturday was exactly what the program needed.
The Mountaineers hope to channel their frustrations at the time. 19 BYU finished the season strong, starting Tuesday against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas.
West Virginia (17-12, 8-8 Big 12) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 79-71 home win over the Cougars on Saturday. Honor Huff had 19 points and six assists and Brenen Lorient added 18 points. Lorient’s nine rebounds helped the team secure a 39-29 edge on the boards.
“I felt for the guys in the locker room (Saturday) was a byproduct of the last 72 hours,” West Virginia coach Ross Hodge told reporters. “And their only ability, he said, is to stay together, to deal with disappointment in the same way you deal with success, to be the same person, to do the same thing, to learn from it, to not run away, not to point fingers, not to blame, and to put 72 hours on the floor.”
The Mountaineers don’t appear in Bracket Scholar’s latest mock tournament field, but a trip to the NIT or College Basketball Crown is not out of the question. They are also playing for better seeding in the Big 12 Tournament. Running the tables here could result in an incredible NCAA Tournament bid.
None of this is true for Kansas State (11-18, 2-14). Kansas State (11-18, 2-14) can’t finish higher than 15th in the 16-team Big 12 and needs a miraculous fifth win in five days there.
The Wildcats are already two weeks removed from the firing of coach Jerome Tang and posted a 90-74 win over Baylor in interim coach Matthew Driscoll’s first game, but have lost three straight since then, most recently a 77-68 loss against TCU on Saturday.
PJ Haggerty continues to carry the load for K-State with 23.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
Driscoll pointed out that Abdi Bashir Jr., the team’s second-leading scorer with 13.2 points on 44.4% 3-point shooting, is no closer to returning from a stress fracture in his foot that has sidelined him since mid-January. Driscoll described the nature of the injury as delicate.
“Until that’s not the case, it’s going to come down to game time,” Driscoll said.
–Field level media
