The West Virginia Mountaineers opened up their 2026 campaign with a resounding 91-46 victory over the Niagara Purple Eagles.

Ross Hodge’s second season as the head man of the Mountaineers basketball program is off to as good a start as you can ask for, as the team aims to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2023.

Let’s take a look at what looked good, and what didn’t, with some stock up and stock down.

Stock Up:

Efficiency

The Mountaineers shot 52.5% from the floor in their season-opening win. In their 45-point victory, the Mountaineers did whatever they wanted offensively. Ball movement was not an issue for the Mountaineers, and the shots kept falling on their way to a huge win.

Miles Sadler

The true freshman looked like a seasoned veteran in his collegiate regular-season debut. The guard led the team in scoring with 16 points. Sadler also played the role of distributor as he posted nine assists. The freshman also recorded three steals. This is about as perfect a collegiate debut as you can have. Sadler will be the Mountaineers' most important player as a true freshman, and tonight was a perfect start to that.

Rebounding

The most shocking stat of the night to me was that the Mountaineers did not allow the Purple Eagles to get a single offensive rebound. It was a dominant performance on the glass for the Mountaineers, particularly in the second half.

Defensive Effort

The stats may not do it justice, but it was a high-effort performance from the Mountaineers' defense. West Virginia recorded 13 steals, but could have had plenty more. There were plenty of tips and batted passes from the defense that give you a positive outlook for the rest of the season. If the Mountaineers' defense can continue to grow over the course of the season, especially in Big 12 play, we could be in for a special season of West Virginia basketball.

Stock Down:

Starting Fast

In a game where WVU cruised to a 40-point victory, there isn’t a whole lot to complain about. That being said, the Mountaineers found themselves down 16-6 early in this contest. That being said, they responded by heading into the halftime break with a 13-point lead. It’s entirely too early in the year to be concerned about the slow starts, especially considering the way the Mountaineers responded to a bit of a slow start.

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