photo by: Benjamin Powell

WVU head coach Ross Hodge, pictured, leads the Mountaineers to face No. 7 Houston at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

MORGANTOWN — It is life in the Big 12 men’s basketball conference, where the highest of joys are quickly met with future obstacles being jammed right in your face.

Celebrations are short-lived, just ask WVU men’s basketball coach Ross Hodge. He had just been a part of the Mountaineers’ 86-75 victory against Kansas, but on the near horizon stood today’s 8:30 p.m. trip to No. 7 Houston.

“You wouldn’t let me enjoy this for five minutes before you asked,” Hodge joked.

Midnight strikes all too early. Reality is always lurking. In Hodge’s own estimation, he lists the NBA and the EuroLeague as the top two basketball leagues in the world. No. 3 on his list is the Big 12, no kidding.

“It’s the truth,” Hodge said.

It’s where one of the nation’s most historical college basketball programs in Kansas comes and goes like cars on the freeway and stands barely as a blip on the radar. Why? Because Arizona and Iowa State are No. 1 and No. 3 in the country.

Houston (15-1, 3-0 Big 12) is the defending Big 12 champ and the national runner-up from last season.

No. 14 Texas Tech is pouring money into its basketball program. No. 9 BYU, quite possibly, has the nation’s most explosive player in freshman A.J. Dybantsa. UCF is a program on the rise. This is the American League East on steroids maybe more than it is a basketball gauntlet.

Who signs up for this?

“It’s something you want to be a part of,” Hodge quickly fires back. “We’ve got four teams ranked in the top 10 at the moment and a couple more on the cusp. Our players understand that and they’re excited about it. That’s what you kind of sign up for when you’re playing in the best collegiate basketball league in the country.”

The flavor in a stick of chewing gum may last longer than momentum in the Big 12 does, which is what the Mountaineers (11-5, 2-1) must realize when they set foot in the Fertitta Center today in facing the Cougars.

The matchup, at least on paper, appears set to be a defensive showdown. Since coming to the Big 12 in 2023, there has only been one men’s basketball team in the conference to finish an entire season giving up less than 60 points per game.

It’s Houston. The Cougars have done it twice and are leading the Big 12 this season in points allowed at 60 points per game. West Virginia is second this season, allowing 62.3.

But, the Cougars have already proven to be a defensive stopper against the Mountaineers. Three times WVU has been the next team on Houston’s schedule and Kelvin Sampson’s bunch has always come out on top. WVU has yet to score more than 55 points in a game against the Cougars. Houston’s 89-55 win back in 2024 is tied for the largest margin of defeat WVU has had in Big 12 play.

What’s in store for WVU’s defense? The Mountaineers will be facing the most Big 12-experienced guard in Emanuel Sharp, who leads Houston in scoring at 16.1 points per game. Kingston Flemings takes second billing to Dybantsa and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, but is certainly one of the most talented freshmen in the Big 12.

Milos Uzan is struggling with his shot this season – he’s shooting 26.4% from 3-point range – but he was a sniper last season in shooting nearly 43% from behind the arc.

The most telling stat of the game will likely be turnovers. Houston is third in the country in turnover margin. Only Northwestern has turned it over fewer times than the Cougars.

“Just proud of our leadership tonight, our toughness,” Sampson said following Houston’s 77-55 victory at Baylor on Saturday. “Defense, rebounding and taking care of the ball, that’s our Holy Trinity. Some nights you shoot better than others.”