MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — A season maybe like no other for the WVU men’s basketball team finally has an opening opponent.
The sponsors of the first-ever Crossover Class in Sioux Falls, S.D. announced Wednesday the Mountaineers will play Texas A&M in the first round at 2 p.m. on Nov. 25 in a game that will be televised by ESPN.
WVU would then play the winner or loser of the Ohio State-Memphis game at either noon or 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 26.
The third and final game would be played on Nov. 27.
The tournament will be played at the Sanford Pentagon, which holds 3,200 spectators. It will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two schools.
The news comes as the Mountaineers begin the first of 30 practices today leading into the tournament.
Due to regulations handed down by the Division I Council for this season, the Mountaineers will have no closed-door scrimmages or exhibition games before traveling to South Dakota.
In meeting with media members last week, WVU head coach Bob Huggins said playing three quality opponents over three days without the benefit of a scrimmage would be a concern.
Still, what Huggins has seen over a number of summer workout sessions makes him believe WVU will play with great team chemistry.
“Their attitudes are great,” Huggins said. “This group gets along better, roots for, pulls for each other as well as any group we have had here in a long time, maybe since 2010.”
It will be a game-experienced WVU roster, one that returns four starters In Jordan McCabe, Derek Culver, Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Oscar Tshiebwe who have combined to play in 124 Big 12 regular-season games and none of the four are seniors.
The team also returns key reserves Miles McBride, Taz Sherman, Sean McNeil and Gabe Osabuohien.
After redshirting last season, 6-foot-7 freshman Jalen Bridges — a former Fairmont Sr. standout — will look to add some depth on the wing behind Matthews, while 6-10 freshman forward Isaiah Cottrell is another big who has a unique set of skills compared to Culver and Teshiebwe.
“Isaiah Cottrell is, skill-wise, the best big we have had skill-wise,” WVU assistant Larry Harrison said during a radio interview. “He is still adjusting to the speed and physicality of the game. He is still making that adjustment. Skill-wise, he is a 6-10 guy that can pick and pop and put the ball on the floor. We never really had a big that could do some of the things that he is doing.”
Both Cottrell and Bridges were 4-star recruits ranked nationally in the top 100 in the nation coming out of high school.
“This might be the deepest team that we have had in quite a while,” Harrison continued. “You would have to go back to the 2010 team that went to the Final Four, and the Press Virginia team with Jevon [Carter], Tarik [Philip], Gary Browne, Juwan Staten, and those guys. We pretty much got two of everything.”
As for the Crossover Classic, a limited number of tickets will go on sale November 1. Masks are required for all spectators and will be available for free at the door.
Players and coaches will be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival to Sioux Falls and the event’s organizers said all traveling members will remain in a controlled environment during their entire stay.
Buzz Williams is in his second season at Texas A&M, which finished 16-14 last season.
The Aggies return two starters in Savion Flagg (10.4 ppg) and Emanuel Miller (6.4 ppg), as well as key reserve Quenton Jackson (8.8 ppg).
Texas A&M also signed 4-star guards Hassan Diarra and Jaxon Robinson for this season, as well as Kevin Marfo, a 6-8, 245-pound graduate transfer from Quinnipiac.
Diarra was ranked No. 70 in the nation in the 2020 recruiting class, according to ESPN, while Marfo averaged 10.2 points and 13.3 rebounds last season with the Bobcats.
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