Ranking WVU basketball's 2019-20 non-conference opponents (12-7)
West Virginia's non-conference basketball schedule for the 2019-20 season was released in late April and it contains first-time matchups, familiar opponents and some teams the Mountaineers have never played.
Today, WVSports.com breaks down and ranks these matchups starting with No.'s 12-7.
12. Nicholls State - Saturday, Dec. 14 in Morgantown, W.Va.
2018-19 Record: 14-17
All-Time Series: N/A
Last matchup: N/A (Will be first meeting)
Nicholls State took a step back last season under first-year head coach, Austin Claunch.
After a 21-11 season in 2017-18, the Colonels went just 14-17, finishing below .500 for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. The team will be missing two of its top two scorers from last season entering the 2019-20 campaign as well as its leading shot blocker.
This matchup will also see West Virginia take on a familiar face in D’Angelo Hunter, who spent the 2017-18 season with the Mountaineers.
The December matchup will be the first between these two teams, but for now, this one won’t have a lot of buildup for it which puts it at the 12th spot on this list.
11. Boston University - Friday, Nov. 22 in Morgantown, W.Va.
2018-19 Record: 15-18
All-Time Series: WVU leads 2-0
Last matchup: Jan. 4, 1975 - WVU won 99-83
After finishing below .500 in each of the past two seasons, the Terriers are looking to improve after suffering 11 losses in the Patriot League last season--the most since the program joined the league in 2013.
The good news for Boston is that team only had one senior last season which means they’ll return the bulk of its team which includes three of its top scorers in Max Mahoney, Tyler Scanlon and Javante McCoy.
West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins was a sophomore and scored 13 points against the Terriers when the two teams last met in 1975, but other than that, there’s not much else that makes this contest intriguing at first glance, but as any game goes, the Mountaineers must not take any opponent lightly, especially after struggling with some non-power five schools last season.
10: Austin Peay - Thursday, Dec. 12 in Morgantown, W.Va.
2018-19 Record: 22-11
All-Time Series: N/A
Last matchup: N/A (Will be first meeting)
Since winning 20 games during the 2010-11 season, Austin Peay endured a rough stretch that included 12 wins or fewer in five of the next six seasons.
Head coach Matt Figger ended his first season with the team with an 11-19 record during the 2016-17 season, but since then, the Governors have gone 41-20. This included a 22-10 record this past season--the most wins the team has had in season since winning 24 during 2007-08.
Like some of the other non-conference teams West Virginia will face this upcoming season, Austin Peay will have some big shoes to fill. The team loses five of its seniors/fifth-year players, including four of its five scoring leaders from last season.
However, the team will retain its leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker in rising junior Terry Taylor.
The program has been trending in the right direction, but the team has simply lost too much from last season to give this matchup any sort of hype.
West Virginia also owns a 14-2 all-time record against Ohio Valley Conference teams and most recently squeaked by Jacksonville State for a two-point victory last season.
9. Youngstown State - Saturday, Dec. 21 in Youngstown, Ohio
2018-19 Record: 12-20
All-Time Series: WVU leads 5-0
Last matchup: Dec. 1, 2018 - WVU won 106-72
Under second-year head coach and former West Virginia assistant, Jerrod Calhoun, the Penguins made a four-win improvement last season and won eight games in the Horizon League, the second-most since they joined the league in 2001-02.
Youngstown State will return most of its squad next season since there was only one senior on the roster last season.
Among those returning are rising sophomore and last-season’s leading scorer Darius Quisenberry, who averaged 13.8 points per game, and rising junior Garrett Covington, who was second on the team in scoring averaging 10.7 points per game.
Although West Virginia has dominated this series, the connections behind this matchup make things interesting such as Calhoun’s ties to West Virginia and West Virginia University President Gordon Gee serving as the President at Ohio State the same time current Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel was the program’s head football coach.
This will also be the first time since 2009 that a Horizon League team will host West Virginia. West Virginia played on the road at Cleveland State that year and edged the Vikings, 80-78.
8. Northern Colorado - Monday, Nov. 18 in Morgantown, W.Va.
2018-19 Record: 21-11
All-Time Series: N/A
Last matchup: N/A (Will be first meeting)
Northern Colorado is a program that has made significant strides under head coach Jeff Linder.
Linder, who will be entering his fourth season as head coach of Northern Colorado, has taken the from an 11-win team during his first season to a team that has won at least 20 games in back-to-back seasons. The program also won the Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) in 2018.
The Bears will face the difficult task of having to replace the program’s all-time leading scorer in Jordan Davis, who averaged 23.5 points per game this past season on his way to earning Big Sky Conference Player of the Year honors.
Northern Colorado will also have some key players returning such as two-time Big Sky Conference defensive player of the year Jonah Radebaugh and this past season’s conference freshman of the year in Bodie Hume, but replacing Davis is a tall order.
Linder was also named this past season’s Big Sky Coach of the Year, but the program hasn’t any good luck against power five teams, suffering blowout losses to Texas Tech last season and Oklahoma two seasons ago.
Still, the Bears have had a lot of success recently and a team West Virginia shouldn’t overlook.
7: Northern Iowa - Tuesday, Nov. 26 in Riviera Maya, Mexico (Cancun Classic)
2018-19 Record: 16-18
All-Time Series: N/A
Last matchup: N/A (Will be first meeting)
Since winning the Missouri Valley Conference Title and making back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, Northern Iowa has gone three years without making the big dance and have finished at or below .500 in each of those three seasons (46-50 combined record in last three seasons).
However, the Panthers did reach their conference title game and narrowly lost to Bradley, 57-54, falling short of an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Only two players averaged double-digit points per game for the Panthers last season, but only one of those players is returning in rising sophomore A.J. Green, who led the team by averaging 15.7 points per game last season.
Still, Northern Iowa brings back the majority of its team for next season that will be led by Green and other key pieces such as Isaiah Brown, who was named to the Missouri Valley All-Defensive team after this past season.
To get back to the NCAA Tournament, Northern Iowa will have to improve in all phases after finishing last in its conference in scoring, steals and blocks, but the team’s potential for next season presents an intriguing matchup for the Mountaineers to kick-off the Cancun Challenge.
West Virginia's non-conference schedule:
Friday, Nov. 8 - Akron in Morgantown, W.Va.
Friday, Nov. 15 - at Pitt in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Monday, Nov. 18- Northern Colorado in Morgantown, W.Va. (Cancun Challenge)
Friday, Nov. 22 - Boston University in Morgantown, W.Va. (Cancun Challenge)
Tuesday, Nov. 26 - Northern Iowa in Riviera Maya, Mexico (Cancun Challenge)
Wednesday, Nov. 27 - South Carolina or Wichita State in Riviera Maya, Mexico (Cancun Challenge)
Sunday, Dec. 1 - Rhode Island in Morgantown, W.Va.
Sat./Sun. Dec. 7 or 8 at St. John’s in New York, N.Y. or Queens, N.Y. (Big 12-Big East Challenge)
Thursday, Dec. 12 Austin Peay in Morgantown, W.Va.
Saturday, Dec. 14 - Nicholls State in Morgantown, W.Va.
Saturday, Dec. 21 - at Youngstown State in Youngstown, Ohio
Sunday, Dec. 29 - Ohio State in Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland Classic)
Saturday, Jan. 25 - Big 12/SEC Challenge in Morgantown, W.Va.
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