# 2022–23 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team

The 2022–23 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represented West Virginia University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mountaineers were coached by Bob Huggins, in his 16th and final season as WVU's head coach, and they played their home games at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia as members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 19–15, 7–11 in Big 12 Play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament to Kansas. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the South region, where they were defeated by Maryland in the First Round.

## Previous season

The Mountaineers finished the 2021–22 season 16–17, 4–14 in Big 12 play to finish in last place. They defeated Kansas State in the first round of the Big 12 tournament before losing to Kansas in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Namewshue | Pos. | Number | Height | Weight | Previous School | Hometown | Reason for Leaving |
| Pauly Paulicap | 1 | F | 6'8" | 235 | GS Senior | Elmont, NY | Graduated |
| Gabe Osabuohien | 3 | F | 6'7" | 240 | GS Senior | Toronto, ON | Graduated |
| Dimon Carrigan | 5 | F | 6'9" | 230 | GS Senior | Boston, MA | Graduated |
| Malik Curry | 10 | G | 6'1" | 190 | GS Senior | Wilmington, DE | Graduated |
| Jalen Bridges | 11 | F | 6'7" | 225 | RS Sophomore | Fairmont, WV | Transferred to Baylor |
| Taz Sherman | 12 | G | 6'4" | 190 | GS Senior | Missouri City, TX | Graduated |
| Isaiah Cottrell | 13 | F | 6'10" | 245 | RS Freshman | Las Vegas, NV | Transferred to UNLV |
| Sean McNeil | 22 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Senior | Union, KY | Graduate transferred to Ohio State |
| Seny N'diaye | 23 | F | 6'10" | 245 | Sophomore | Dakar, Senegal | Transferred to USC Upstate |
| Taj Thweatt | 24 | F | 6'7" | 210 | Sophomore | Wildwood, NJ | Transferred to Temple |
| Spencer Macke | 30 | G | 5'11" | 175 | Junior | Fort Thomas, KY | Walk-on; transferred |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Emmitt Matthews Jr. | 1 | F | 6'7" | 215 | GS Senior | Tacoma, WA | Washington |
| Tre Mitchell | 3 | F | 6'9" | 220 | Senior | Pittsburgh, PA | Texas |
| Joe Toussaint | 5 | G | 6'0" | 190 | Senior | Bronx, NY | Iowa |
| Erik Stevenson | 10 | G | 6'4" | 209 | GS Senior | Lacey, WA | South Carolina |
| Mohamed Wague | 11 | C | 6'9" | 225 | Sophomore | Bronx, NY | Harcum College |
| Jimmy Bell | 15 | F | 6'10" | 270 | Senior | Saginaw, MI | Moberly Area CC |
| Patrick Suemnick | 24 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Sophomore | Green Bay, WI | Triton College |
| Jose Perez | 55 | G | 6'5" | 220 | Senior | Bronx, NY | Manhattan |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Josiah Harris #19 PF | Cleveland, OH | Richmond Heights High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Mar 31, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| Josiah Davis #34 PG | Kitchener, ON | Teays Valley Christian School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Feb 22, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| 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: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 28, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bowling Green Charity Exhibition | W 73–57 | | 18 – Stevenson | 10 – Stevenson | 4 – Toussaint | WVU Coliseum (9,840) Morgantown, WV |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mount St. Mary's | W 76–58 | 1–0 | 15 – Matthews | 9 – Wague | 5 – Matthews | WVU Coliseum (9,960) Morgantown, WV |
| November 11, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | at Pittsburgh Backyard Brawl | W 81–56 | 2–0 | 18 – Toussaint | 6 – Mitchell | 5 – Toussaint | Petersen Events Center (10,827) Pittsburgh, PA |
| November 15, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Morehead State | W 75–57 | 3–0 | 21 – Mitchell | 8 – Bell | 3 – Stevenson | WVU Coliseum (9,417) Morgantown, WV |
| November 18, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Penn | W 92–58 | 4–0 | 21 – Stevenson | 5 – Okonkwo | 5 – Toussaint | WVU Coliseum (9,875) Morgantown, WV |
| November 24, 2022* 10:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. No. 24 Purdue Phil Knight Legacy Quarterfinals | L 68–80 | 4–1 | 17 – Stevenson | 5 – Tied | 4 – Toussaint | Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, OR |
| November 25, 2022* 9:00 p.m., ESPNews | | vs. Portland State Phil Knight Legacy Consolation Round | W 89–71 | 5–1 | 16 – Mitchell | 5 – Ke. Johnson | 4 – Matthews | Moda Center Portland, OR |
| November 27, 2022* 8:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Florida Phil Knight Legacy 5th Place Game | W 84–55 | 6–1 | 17 – Mitchell | 9 – Wague | 3 – Toussaint | Chiles Center (1,016) Portland, OR |
| December 3, 2022* 6:30 p.m., FS1 | | at Xavier Big East–Big 12 Battle | L 74–84 | 6–2 | 16 – Stevenson | 6 – Bell | 4 – Tied | Cintas Center (10,460) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Navy | W 85–64 | 7–2 | 19 – Mitchell | 7 – Stevenson | 7 – Toussaint | WVU Coliseum (10,277) Morgantown, WV |
| December 10, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UAB | W 81–70 | 8–2 | 17 – Ke. Johnson | 9 – Matthews | 5 – Mitchell | WVU Coliseum (12,182) Morgantown, WV |
| December 18, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Buffalo | W 96–78 | 9–2 | 22 – Stevenson | 10 – Bell | 7 – Ke. Johnson | WVU Coliseum (10,689) Morgantown, WV |
| December 22, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Stony Brook | W 75–64 | 10–2 | 18 – Ke. Johnson | 6 – Bell | 4 – Stevenson | WVU Coliseum (10,535) Morgantown, WV |
| December 31, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 24 | at Kansas State | L 76–82 $^{OT}$ | 10–3 (0–1) | 16 – Mitchell | 13 – Mitchell | 7 – Ke. Johnson | Bramlage Coliseum (8,199) Manhattan, KS |
| January 2, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Oklahoma State | L 60–67 | 10–4 (0–2) | 17 – Stevenson | 9 – Bell | 2 – Tied | Gallagher-Iba Arena (6,134) Stillwater, OK |
| January 7, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 3 Kansas | L 62–76 | 10–5 (0–3) | 15 – Mitchell | 6 – Okonkwo | 5 – Toussaint | WVU Coliseum (14,135) Morgantown, WV |
| January 11, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Baylor | L 78–83 | 10–6 (0–4) | 20 – Toussaint | 15 – Mitchell | 6 – Ke. Johnson | WVU Coliseum (11,815) Morgantown, WV |
| January 14, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Oklahoma | L 76–77 | 10–7 (0–5) | 16 – Mitchell | 6 – Bell | 3 – Tied | Lloyd Noble Center (7,756) Norman, OK |
| January 18, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 14 TCU | W 74–65 | 11–7 (1–5) | 20 – Ke. Johnson | 12 – Bell | 4 – Stevenson | WVU Coliseum (11,402) Morgantown, WV |
| January 21, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 7 Texas | L 61–69 | 11–8 (1–6) | 22 – Ke. Johnson | 8 – Mitchell | 2 – Tied | WVU Coliseum (14,141) Morgantown, WV |
| January 25, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Texas Tech | W 76–61 | 12–8 (2–6) | 22 – Toussaint | 10 – Tied | 4 – Stevenson | United Supermarkets Arena (11,802) Lubbock, TX |
| January 28, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 15 Auburn Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 80–77 | 13–8 | 31 – Stevenson | 7 – Bell | 6 – Ke. Johnson | WVU Coliseum (14,116) Morgantown, WV |
| January 31, 2023 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at No. 15 TCU | L 72–76 | 13–9 (2–7) | 17 – Stevenson | 6 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Schollmaier Arena (7,444) Fort Worth, TX |
| February 4, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Oklahoma | W 93–61 | 14–9 (3–7) | 34 – Stevenson | 10 – Okonkwo | 3 – Stevenson | WVU Coliseum (14,022) Morgantown, WV |
| February 8, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 11 Iowa State | W 76–71 | 15–9 (4–7) | 22 – Ke. Johnson | 9 – Okonkwo | 6 – Ke. Johnson | WVU Coliseum (11,573) Morgantown, WV |
| February 11, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 5 Texas | L 60–94 | 15–10 (4–8) | 13 – Matthews Jr | 6 – Stevenson | 3 – Johnson | Moody Center (10,763) Austin, TX |
| February 13, 2023 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 9 Baylor | L 67–79 | 15–11 (4–9) | 17 – Matthews Jr. | 5 – Tied | 6 – Johnson | Ferrell Center (9,811) Waco, TX |
| February 18, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Texas Tech | L 62–68 | 15–12 (4–10) | 27 – Stevenson | 9 – Mitchell | 4 – Tied | WVU Coliseum (13,940) Morgantown, WV |
| February 20, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Oklahoma State | W 85–67 | 16–12 (5–10) | 23 – Stevenson | 5 – Tied | 4 – Toussaint | WVU Coliseum (11,874) Morgantown, WV |
| February 25, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN | | at No. 3 Kansas | L 74–76 | 16–13 (5–11) | 23 – Stevenson | 7 – Mitchell | 4 – Stevenson | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| February 27, 2023 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Iowa State | W 72–69 | 17–13 (6–11) | 23 – Stevenson | 7 – Toussaint | 5 – Ke. Johnson | Hilton Coliseum (13,575) Ames, IA |
| March 4, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 11 Kansas State | W 89–81 | 18–13 (7–11) | 27 – Stevenson | 6 – Tied | 6 – Ke. Johnson | WVU Coliseum (14,111) Morgantown, WV |
| Big 12 tournament |||||||||
| March 8, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | (8) | vs. (9) Texas Tech First round | W 78–62 | 19–13 | 20 – Ke. Johnson | 9 – Mitchell | 6 – Stevenson | T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO |
| March 9, 2023 3:00 p.m., ESPN | (8) | vs. (1) No. 3 Kansas Quarterfinals | L 61–78 | 19–14 | 13 – Stevenson | 7 – Mitchell | 4 – Toussaint | T-Mobile Center (18,034) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 16, 2023* 12:15 pm, CBS | (9 S) | vs. (8 S) Maryland First Round | L 65–67 | 19–15 | 27 – Johnson | 6 – Tied | 2 – Okonkwo | Legacy Arena (15,126) Birmingham, AL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | 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 | RV | RV | 24 | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | | | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | RV | — | — | — | — | RV | | | | | | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.