photo by: Ron Rittenhouse

WVU Harlan Obioha come down with the rebound as Lehigh defenders is blocked out.

MORGANTOWN — It is a melody either filled with great anticipation or it is nails across a chalkboard, depending on which side of the Mason-Dixon Line one resides.

Hands … Touching hands.

It is a chorus modified by WVU fans to put an exclamation point on a lifetime’s worth of hatred toward anything associated with Pitt.

Reaching out … Touching me, touching youuuuu.

And, apparently, after Ross Hodge was hired as the WVU men’s basketball coach last March, the song became a sort of research project for his daughter Emery.

Sweeeet Caroline …

“Once we knew as a family that this is what we were going to do, my daughter started sending me clips of some of the football games,” with WVU’s fans chanting, Hodge said. “Everybody is aware of it.”

When Hodge’s family first arrived in Morgantown, they attended a WVU baseball game. The song was played. The chant was loud and Hodge got his first introduction to the WVU-Pitt rivalry.

“It’s catchy,” Hodge said with a smile. “It has a nice ring to it.”

Which brings the first-year Mountaineers’ coach to his own version of the Backyard Brawl, taking place at 6 p.m. today inside the Hope Coliseum.

Pitt is on the docket, an undefeated 3-0 Panthers team at that. WVU (3-0) is also unbeaten. Both teams will be playing their first opponent from a Power Five Conference this season. Both teams have a roster dominated by players who likely don’t know anything about the rivalry outside of how important it is to the school’s fans.

“I really don’t know too much about it,” admitted WVU point guard Jasper Floyd, who grew up in Tampa, Fla. and played last season at North Texas with Hodge. “I know it’s a big thing around here. I’m just excited to go out and compete and to get my teammates ready to compete. I think we have a really good game plan to have our best shot at winning the game.”

The arena of rivalry games is not exactly new to Hodge, who grew up in Dallas and spent two years coaching at Midland (Texas) College, which is home to a hot enough high-school rivalry in Midland and Odessa that the movie “Friday Night Lights” was created.

“I was in Midland for two years, and the saying among the people who live there is the people who own the oil fields live in Midland. The people who work on the oil fields and the oil rigs live in Odessa,” Hodge explained. “There was literally some friction there.”

There will likely be some friction found in and around the Hope Coliseum tonight, too. There are also plenty of storylines centered around the rivalry game.

WVU expects to see Cummings

Pitt guard Brandin Cummings sat out his team’s last game with an injured ankle. He is the Panthers’ leading scorer, averaging 18.5 points and is shooting 50% from the field.

It is being reported Cummings will be a game-time decision, but Hodge is fully expecting the Pitt guard to be in action.

“Until you hear otherwise, you have to assume he’s going to play,” Hodge said. “Unless it’s a season-ending injury, you have to kind of go into it preparing as if he’s going to play.”

Battle of the bigs

For the first time this season, WVU’s 7-foot center Harlan Obioha won’t exactly be looking down at the player guarding him.

Pitt will counter with 6-foot-10, 235-pound center Cameron Corhen, who is averaging 15 points, 10.7 rebounds, but also four fouls committed per game.

Corhen grew up in Allen, Texas, and Hodge said he was familiar with Pitt’s forward. There will certainly be less room to maneuver in the paint when the two bigs are on the floor together.

“Two big players and two experienced guys,” Hodge said. “Cameron is playing at a high level. He’s rebounding the ball well. He has the ability to step out and shoot some threes, which can spread you out a little. He’s a tough cover.

“Our team defense has got to be good. One guy is never going to shut one guy down.”

Rebounding

On paper, the Panthers seem to have a clear edge in cleaning up the glass. Pitt averages about 10 more rebounds per game than WVU. The Panthers are also plus-37 on the season in rebounding the ball, while WVU is dead even with its opponents.

“It’s going to be huge,” Hodge said. “A lot of that comes from their ability to drive the ball and be really aggressive. If you’re constantly in rotations, you’re opening yourself up to some offensive rebounds on the back side.”

New addition

It’s possible WVU forward Jackson Fields will be on the bench in uniform tonight, but don’t expect the 6-foot-8 forward to play just yet. Fields has been rehabbing from wrist surgery prior to the start of the season.

“He’s been a full participant in our practices,” Hodge said. “There’s nothing from a medical standpoint that says we don’t want him out there. You just want to make sure he’s getting the proper build-up, not just for the wrist and his hand, but for the rest of his body.”

Fields averaged 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game at Troy last season.