West Virginia Steps Into the AP Top 25 Poll

The Mountaineers enter the top 25 for the first time in two years

West Virginia University guard Javon Small / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

West Virginia jumped into the AP Top 25 on Monday, climbing to No. 21 in the poll. It marks the first time the Mountaineers have been inside the AP poll since the final week of December in 2022.

The Mountaineers have won seven consecutive games which includes wins over then No. 24 Arizona, a Georgetown team on cusp of entering the top 25 and a season statement win at No. 7 Kansas last week.  

West Virginia’s success can be credited to the effort on the defensive end of the floor.  Defensively, the Mountaineers rank second in the Big 12 Conference, seventh nationally, in defensive field goal percentage and third in the league in scoring defense, 19th nationally, and first in the conference in blocks,11th nationally.

The Mountaineers are led by guard Javon Small and he’s making a case for Big 12 Player of the Year. The senior is averaging a league leading 19.5 points per game and is ninth in assists at 4.8 per game and his 2.0 steals per game ranks fifth.

West Virginia forward Tucker DeVries, the teams second leading scorer (14.9 ppg), has missed the last five games with a shoulder injury and forward Amani Hansberry, the leading rebounder (6.3 rpg) and is third on the team in scoring at 10.3 ppg) was sidelined with an injury in the win over Kansas.

Freshman guard Jonathan Powell has steadily improved in the early portion of the schedule and tied a career-high 17 points in the win against Oklahoma State on Saturday, and senior center Eduardo Andre went for a Mountaineer career-best 15 points in the upset win over Kansas.

The Mountaineers (11-2, 2-0) are back in action Tuesday night and welcome the Arizona Wildcats (8-5, 2-0) to the WVU Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. EST and the game will broadcast on ESPN+.

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