Way-Too-Early Predictions of WVU Basketball's Non-Conference Schedule

An early look at how the Mountaineers could do in the early portion of their 2024-25 slate.

Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

It's never too early to make predictions, is it? If you really had a problem with it, you wouldn't have landed here on this very article. In all seriousness, I wanted to give my way-too-early take on the WVU men's basketball team before we are knee deep in football coverage.

The best way to do that, in my opinion, is to predict how the non-conference portion of the schedule will go.

Nov. 4th vs. Robert Morris - Win

West Virginia will tip-off the Darian DeVries era with a convincing win over Robert Morris. The Colonials have won only 38 games over the past four seasons combined. No sweat for the Mountaineers here.

Nov. 8th vs. UMass - Win

Going up against a Frank Martin coached team is never easy. They're going to play tough, physical, and pester you on the defensive end. West Virginia has to be careful here to not get too lackadaisical. The Minutemen won last year's meeting in Springfield and will have confidence coming into this one although it's a completely different WVU team.

Nov. 15th at Pitt - Loss

Don't roast me too much for this. I'm just not one of those people that is going to pick West Virginia every single time against their bitter rival. I'm going to make my prediction as I see it, so you know what I'm actually thinking. Pitt is coming off a really good year and returns the Diaz Graham twins along with Zach Austin in the frontcourt. WVU is going to have to take exceptional care of the ball and really shoot it to overcome the size advantage Pitt has. If this one was in Morgantown, I would rethink this pick. Pitt better enjoy it now though because once DeVries gets this thing rolling, it'll be a rivalry that swings back in WVU's favor.

Nov. 20th vs. Iona - Win

Iona is traditionally a really strong program. They struggled in their first year post-Rick Patino, as expected. I'm not exactly sure they'll take the necessary steps to be a tournament team this year, so I'm going to rock with West Virginia here, bouncing back from the loss in the Backyard Brawl.

Nov. 27th vs. Gonzaga - Loss

The Zags are going to be a top-10, possibly top-five ream when they meet up with West Virginia. The fact of the matter is they're just more talented and have a deeper roster than the Mountaineers. It's possible WVU comes out and plays with their hair on fire, but even then they will need a few things to break their way.

Nov. 28th vs. Indiana or Louisville
Nov. 30th vs. Oklahoma, Providence, Davidson, Arizona

For the second and third games in the Battle 4 Atlantis, I'm going to hold off on making any predictions. It seems silly to predict who they'll play and then how that game will go. We'll just wait until those games are determined.

Dec. 6th vs. Georgetown - Win

The Hoyas have really gone downhill over the past decade. The once proud program has recorded just one winning season since 2015. In the last three years combined, Georgetown has compiled a record of 22-73. West Virginia should start the month of December with a big smile on their face.

Dec. 10th vs. NC Central - Win
Dec. 14th vs. Bethune-Cookman - Win
Dec. 22nd vs. Mercyhurst - Win

I'm lumping these three together because I don't think there's a chance in you know what that West Virginia drops any of these games. NC Central and Bethune-Cookman are average in their respective conferences while Mercyhurst will be playing its first season in Division I. Three relatively easy wins prior to the start of Big 12 Conference play.

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