MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — The West Virginia Mountaineers faced an absolute must-win game at home tonight against the Cincinnati Bearcats. In a back and forth game, the Mountaineers were down by 8 points with under ten minutes left in the game but went on a 9-0 run to take the lead for good, beating Cincinnati 62-53 to move to 16-10 overall and 7-8 in the Big 12 Conference.
With the win, West Virginia´s hopes of appearing in the NCAA Tournament in head coach Darian DeVries´ first season with the Mountaineers and likely puts the team on the right side of the bubble. With only five games remaining, West Virginia likely needs at least two more victories in the regular season and one or two games in the Big 12 Tournament to be selected to play during March Madness.
The Mountaineers were led by sophomore forward Amani Hansberry, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds in perhaps his best performance at WVU. Javon Small had 16 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, and freshman Jonathan Powell added 10 points and 7 rebounds.
PLAY OF THE GAME
POWELL HIT ANOTHER ONE 👌👌
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/H5FM3jsUz1
— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) February 20, 2025
The Mountaineers are back in action on Saturday, February 22nd in Lubbock, Texas against the #9 ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders. Texas Tech is currently 20-6 overall and 11-4 in Big 12 Conference play.
