# 2019–20 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team

The 2019–20 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represented West Virginia University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mountaineers were coached by Bob Huggins, in his 13th season as WVU's head coach, and played their home games at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia as members of the Big 12 Conference. Preseason Big 12 polls picked the Mountaineers to finish 5th in the conference standings and Oscar Tshiebwe was picked as Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year. The Mountaineers season officially started on November 8, 2019.

## Previous season

The Mountaineers finished the 2018–19 season 15–21, 4–14 in Big 12 play to finish in last place in the conference. They defeated Oklahoma and Texas Tech to advance to the semifinal game of the Big 12 tournament where they lost to Kansas. They received an invitation to the 2019 College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Grand Canyon and advanced to the second round where they were defeated by Coastal Carolina.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Trey Doomes | 0 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Freshman | Acworth, GA | Transferred to Chattanooga |
| James Bolden | 3 | G | 6'0" | 188 | RS Junior | Covington, KY | Graduate transferred to Alabama |
| Andrew Gordon | 12 | F | 6'9" | 255 | RS Sophomore | Clearwater, FL | Transferred to Louisiana Tech |
| Lamont West | 15 | F | 6'8" | 222 | RS Junior | Cincinnati, OH | Graduate transferred to Missouri State |
| Taevon Horton | 20 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Freshman | Fairmont, WV | Walk-on; transferred to Missouri State–West Plains |
| Wesley Harris | 21 | F | 6'8" | 200 | Junior | Jackson, MS | Dismissed from team (mid-season); graduate transferred to Tennessee State |
| Esa Ahmad | 23 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Senior | Cleveland, OH | Dismissed from team (mid-season) |
| Sagaba Konate | 50 | F | 6'8" | 250 | Junior | Bamako, Mali | Play professionally |

## Recruits
### Recruiting class of 2019

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Miles McBride PG | Cincinnati, OH | Moeller High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Feb 5, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| Oscar Tshiebwe C | Lubumbashi, DR Congo | Kennedy Catholic High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Oct 20, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jalen Bridges SF | Fairmont, WV | Fairmont Senior High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 2, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Gabe Osabuohien | 3 | F | 6'7" | 235 | Junior | Toronto, Ontario | Transferred from Arkansas. His waiver for immediate eligibility was approved as of November 20, 2019. |
| Taz Sherman | 12 | G | 6'4" | 185 | Junior | Missouri City, TX | Junior college transferred from Collin College. |
| Sean McNeil | 22 | G | 6'3" | 207 | Sophomore | Union, KY | Junior college transferred from Sinclair CC. |

## Schedule and results

Source
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 1, 2019* 7:00 pm, ATTSNPT | | Duquesne Charity Exhibition | W 78–70 | – | 17 – Tshiebwe | 14 – Tshiebwe | 4 – McCabe | WVU Coliseum (9,705) Morgantown, WV |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 8, 2019* 7:00 pm, ATTSNPT | | Akron | W 94–84 | 1–0 | 16 – Culver | 7 – Culver | 4 – McBride | WVU Coliseum (12,513) Morgantown, WV |
| November 15, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Pittsburgh Backyard Brawl | W 68–53 | 2–0 | 20 – Tshiebwe | 17 – Tshiebwe | 4 – McCabe | Petersen Events Center (11,725) Pittsburgh, PA |
| November 18, 2019* 7:00 pm, ATTSNPT | | Northern Colorado Cancún Challenge campus-site game | W 69–61 | 3–0 | 18 – Haley | 12 – Haley | 4 – McCabe | WVU Coliseum (9,740) Morgantown, WV |
| November 22, 2019* 7:00 pm, Nexstar | | Boston University Cancún Challenge campus-site game | W 69–44 | 4–0 | 21 – Tshiebwe | 10 – Tshiebwe | 4 – McCabe | WVU Coliseum (10,743) Morgantown, WV |
| November 26, 2019* 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Northern Iowa Cancún Challenge semifinals | W 60–55 | 5–0 | 18 – McBride | 15 – Culver | 5 – McBride | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (1,478) Riviera Maya, Mexico |
| November 27, 2019* 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Wichita State Cancún Challenge championship | W 75–63 | 6–0 | 19 – Tshiebwe | 18 – Tshiebwe | 4 – McBride | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (1,729) Riviera Maya, Mexico |
| December 1, 2019* 2:00 pm, ATTSNPT | | Rhode Island | W 86–81 | 7–0 | 25 – Culver | 11 – Culver | 4 – McBride | WVU Coliseum (10,973) Morgantown, WV |
| December 7, 2019* 12:00 pm, FS1 | | at St. John's MSG Holiday Festival; Big East/Big 12 Battle | L 68–70 | 7–1 | 13 – McNeil | 18 – Culver | 4 – Tied | Madison Square Garden (7,281) New York, NY |
| December 12, 2019* 7:00 pm, Nexstar | | Austin Peay | W 84–53 | 8–1 | 16 – Matthews | 10 – Matthews | 5 – Osabuohien | WVU Coliseum (9,987) Morgantown, WV |
| December 14, 2019* 2:00 pm, ATTSNPT | | Nicholls | W 83–57 | 9–1 | 16 – Culver | 16 – Culver | 5 – Osabuohien | WVU Coliseum (10,991) Morgantown, WV |
| December 21, 2019* 1:00 pm | No. 25 | at Youngstown State | W 75–64 | 10–1 | 19 – Tshiebwe | 7 – Culver | 7 – Culver | Covelli Centre (3,614) Youngstown, OH |
| December 29, 2019* 12:00 pm, FS1 | No. 22 | vs. No. 2 Ohio State Cleveland Classic | W 67–59 | 11–1 | 21 – McBride | 10 – Culver | 3 – Haley/Osabuohien | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (16,781) Cleveland, OH |
| January 4, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 16 | at No. 3 Kansas | L 53–60 | 11–2 (0–1) | 17 – Tshiebwe | 17 – Tshiebwe | 2 – Culver | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| January 6, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 17 | at Oklahoma State | W 55–41 | 12–2 (1–1) | 12 – Tshiebwe | 12 – Culver | 2 – Tied | Gallagher-Iba Arena (6,764) Stillwater, OK |
| January 11, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 17 | No. 22 Texas Tech | W 66–54 | 13–2 (2–1) | 22 – McBride | 17 – Tshiebwe | 2 – 4 Tied | WVU Coliseum (14,111) Morgantown, WV |
| January 14, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 12 | TCU | W 81–49 | 14–2 (3–1) | 17 – Culver | 11 – Culver | 5 – Osabuohien | WVU Coliseum (11,445) Morgantown, WV |
| January 18, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 12 | at Kansas State | L 68–84 | 14–3 (3–2) | 11 – Tied | 7 – Tshiebwe | 2 – Tied | Bramlage Coliseum (8,549) Manhattan, KS |
| January 20, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 14 | Texas | W 97–59 | 15–3 (4–2) | 13 – Tied | 11 – Tshiebwe | 4 – Sherman | WVU Coliseum (12,592) Morgantown, WV |
| January 25, 2020* 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 14 | Missouri Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 74–51 | 16–3 | 15 – Tied | 12 – Osabuohien | 3 – McCabe | WVU Coliseum (14,031) Morgantown, WV |
| January 29, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 12 | at Texas Tech | L 81–89 | 16–4 (4–3) | 16 – Culver | 4 – Osabuohien | 2 – Harler | United Supermarkets Arena (13,586) Lubbock, TX |
| February 1, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 12 | Kansas State | W 66–57 | 17–4 (5–3) | 19 – Culver | 14 – Culver | 3 – McBride | WVU Coliseum (14,224) Morgantown, WV |
| February 5, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 13 | Iowa State | W 76–61 | 18–4 (6–3) | 16 – Tshiebwe | 10 – Tshiebwe | 5 – Haley | WVU Coliseum (11,103) Morgantown, WV |
| February 8, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 13 | at Oklahoma | L 59–69 | 18–5 (6–4) | 15 – Haley | 9 – Tied | 3 – Haleu | Lloyd Noble Center (8,484) Norman, OK |
| February 12, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 14 | No. 3 Kansas | L 49–58 | 18–6 (6–5) | 14 – Tshiebwe | 9 – Tshiebwe | 4 – Culver | WVU Coliseum (14,212) Morgantown, WV |
| February 15, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 14 | at No. 1 Baylor | L 59–70 | 18–7 (6–6) | 20 – Sherman | 12 – Tshiebwe | 2 – Sherman | Ferrell Center (10,305) Waco, TX |
| February 18, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 17 | Oklahoma State | W 65–47 | 19–7 (7–6) | 11 – Tied | 15 – Tshiebwe | 2 – 4 tied | WVU Coliseum (12,053) Morgantown, WV |
| February 22, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 17 | at TCU | L 60–67 $^{OT}$ | 19–8 (7–7) | 18 – Culver | 12 – Culver | 4 – Tied | Schollmaier Arena (6,290) Fort Worth, TX |
| February 24, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 20 | at Texas | L 57–67 | 19–9 (7–8) | 14 – Tshiebwe | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Erwin Center (8,333) Austin, TX |
| February 29, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | Oklahoma | L 62–73 | 19–10 (7–9) | 13 – McBride | 10 – Tshiebwe | 2 – Tied | WVU Coliseum (14,044) Morgantown, WV |
| March 3, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Iowa State | W 77–71 | 20–10 (8–9) | 17 – Tied | 9 – Tied | 3 – 3 tied | Hilton Coliseum (13,870) Ames, IA |
| March 7, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | No. 4 Baylor | W 76–64 | 21–10 (9–9) | 18 – Matthews Jr. | 12 – Tshiebwe | 3 – McNeil | WVU Coliseum (14,014) Morgantown, WV |
| Big 12 tournament |||||||||
| Mar 12, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | (6) No. 22 | vs. (3) Oklahoma Quarterfinals | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Sprint Center Kansas City, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | — | — | RV | — | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 16 | 17 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 20 | RV | 22-T | 24 |
| Coaches | — | — | — | RV | RV | — | RV | 23 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 19 | RV | 23 | 24 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.