West Virginia’s Season Opening Opponent Changed AGAIN

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MARCH 15: Head coach Bob Huggins of the West Virginia Mountaineers coaches from the bench during the semifinal game of the Big 12 Basketball Tournament against the Kansas Jayhawks at Sprint Center on March 15, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Morgantown, West Virginia – West Virginia is once again faced with the change of their season opening opponent as Jon Rothstein reports that Mountaineers will open the season against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits next week in the Crossover Classic.

West Virginia was initially scheduled to play Texas A&M in the opening round before they pulled out of the tournament and then were scheduled to play Northern Iowa before today’s change.

Now, the Mountaineers will face a substantially easier opponent in South Dakota State.  Last year, South Dakota State finished 22-10 and 13-3 in the Summit League.  However, this leaves even less time for Huggins and his staff to prepare for the team’s season opener.

Huggins recently expressed frustration with the tournament changing the Mountaineers’ opening opponent and for West Virginia’s path to the tournament championship being far more difficult than any other team in the draw.

Regardless of who the Mountaineers play in the Crossover Classic, they should be heavy favorites to win.