MORGANTOWN — A restructured WVU men’s hoops team is about to embark on a historical journey, one that basically became official Thursday, with the announcement of the pairings for the 2023 SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
The Mountaineers will host Auburn on Jan. 28 in the challenge series.
The Tigers won the SEC regular-season title last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Auburn returns two players from that team who scored in double figures, as well as a top-30 recruit in forward Yohan Traore and a top transfer in forward Johni Broome, who gave the Mountaineers fits in the 2021 NCAA tournament while at Morehead State.
The Tigers are projected to be an AP Top 25 team in next season’s national rankings, which looks to be a common theme for WVU’s 2022-23 schedule.
While the AP preseason Top 25 won’t be released until October, early-season projections could see the Mountaineers play up to 14 ranked teams in the regular season.
That would be a school record, surpassing the mark of 11 set by the 2020-21 and 2014-15 teams.
And that could be quite a task placed in front of a WVU roster that welcomes eight new additions, with only one returning starter in guard Kedrian Johnson.
“My challenge to our guys is if you want to be the best, then you’ve got to beat the best,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said in an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer last week. “So let’s go beat the best, and then we’ll worry about all that other stuff later.”
As for the opponents, WVU’s trip to Portland, Ore. in November to play in the Phil Knight Legacy series could see the Mountaineers match up against Duke or Gonzaga, or even both.
Both are projected to be in the top 10, according to ESPN.
Auburn and Xavier — WVU’s opponent in the Big East/Big 12 Battle on Dec. 3 — are also projected in the top 25.
Then there’s the gauntlet known as the Big 12 schedule, which has yet to be released.
What is known is WVU will face Kansas, Baylor, TCU, Texas and Texas Tech twice, with all five teams projected in the top 25.
Including postseason games, the most AP Top 25 teams WVU has faced in a season is 14, which was set by the 2014-15 and 2004-05 teams.
It’s possible WVU could tie that mark in the regular season, setting up maybe the most challenging schedule the Mountaineers have ever faced.
The other match-ups in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge:
• Kansas at Kentucky
• Iowa State at Missouri
• TCU at Mississippi State
• Texas at Tennessee
• Texas Tech at LSU
• Arkansas at Baylor
• Florida at Kansas State
• Alabama at Oklahoma
• Ole Miss at Oklahoma State.
The SEC has won the last two challenges, and West Virginia lost at Arkansas last season. The Mountaineers are 2-7 all-time in the challenge series.
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