Opponent Preview of West Virginia’s Matchup with the Utah Utes
West Virginia returns home Wednesday after rallying from a 14-point deficit to win 74-67 at UCF. Although still considered outside the projected NCAA Tournament field, the victory puts WVU back in bubble contention. Next, the Mountaineers face Utah and aim to end a two-game home skid.
How to Watch WVU Basketball vs Utah
Date: February 18th
Time: 8:30 PM EST
Venue: Hope Coliseum, Morgantown, W.Va.
How to Watch: FS1
Radio: Mountaineer Sports Network/Varsity Network
WVU Record: 16-9 (7-5)
Utah Record: 9-16 (1-11)
Utah Preview
How They Got Here
First-year head coach Alex Jensen and the Utah Utes have endured a difficult year, with now just 6 games remaining in the regular season. Though the Utes did not face a particularly challenging non-conference schedule, they did square off with several power conference opponents. The Utes suffered losses to California, Mississippi State, and Washington, while also falling to Cal Poly and Grand Canyon. In a neutral site game at the Acrisure Classic, the Utes knocked off Ole Miss 75-74.
As their 1-11 Big 12 record indicates, it has been a struggle for the Utes in 2026. Their lone win came at home over TCU in an 82-79 victory. 7 of their 11 losses come by double digits.
Numbers to Know
47.1
Opposing offenses have a field goal percentage of 47.1% against Utah this season, which is the highest in the Big 12 and ranks 326th nationally. This highlights Utah's struggles defending against opposing shooters.
79.5
The Utes are allowing 79.5 points per game, ranking them 14th in the Big 12 in opponent points per game.
21
An interesting point of emphasis over the last few games for the Mountaineers has been the three-point line, both offensively and defensively. While statistically, Utah’s offensive numbers are not as apparently detrimental as their defensive numbers, their offense has struggled in Big 12 play. They shoot only 21 threes per game, ranking them last in the conference in attempts.
In their last 3 games (at Kansas, vs Houston, at Cincinnati), the Utes have made 16 of their 62 attempts from beyond the arc, which is just shy of 26%. This included a 2-for-17 performance against Houston. West Virginia has had their fair share of struggles from beyond the arc; look for this continue to be a factor for Mountaineer games as the season winds down.
Players to Know
The Utes are led by the talented Fairleigh Dickinson transfer guard, Terrence Brown. Brown is averaging 20.4 points (4th in the Big 12), 3.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, leading Utah in all three categories. Brown is 0-for-12 from beyond the arc over the last 5 games. He has only been held to a single-digit scoring output twice this season, with one coming in Big 12 play against Arizona State. He posted a season-high 33 points in a 3-point loss on the road against Kansas State.
Keanu Dawes is a 6’9 junior who is nearly averaging a double-double on the season with 12.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Against Kansas on February 7th, Dawes put up 22 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 10-of-13 from the field.
Don McHenry is a talented transfer scorer from Western Kentucky who averaged 16 points per game over the course of two seasons. As a Ute, McHenry is scoring 17.4 points per game while shooting 38.9% from downtown on 6.5 attempts per game.
West Virginia
With West Virginia squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, a home loss to Utah could certainly be catastrophic to its postseason hopes. With 6 regular-season games remaining and back-to-back road games against two bubble teams in TCU and Oklahoma State looming large on the horizon, the Mountaineers must “take care of business” at home against Utah on Wednesday night.
18 min