The West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represents West Virginia University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. WVU has won 13 conference tournament championships, and has 31 appearances in the NCAA tournament, including two Final Fours, most recently in 2010. The Mountaineers have also appeared in 16 National Invitation Tournaments (NIT), and have won the tournament twice, in 1942 and 2007. The 1942 NIT Championship is claimed by West Virginia as a National Championship.
WVU plays their home games at the Hope Coliseum, their home venue since 1970.
History
West Virginia men's basketball has competed in three basketball championship final matches: the 1959 NCAA tournament final, the 1942 NIT final (at that time, the NIT was considered more prestigious than the NCAA), and the 2007 NIT championship. They lost 71–70 to California in the 1959 NCAA finals, while the Mountaineers won the 1942 NIT championship 47–45 over Western Kentucky, and the 2007 National Invitation Tournament contest over Clemson 78–72 in a rebuilding season. In 1949, future Mountaineers head coach Fred Schaus became the first player in NCAA history to record 1,000 points.
The most points scored in a game was 132 points against Alaska-Fairbanks in 1994, while the largest margin of victory was against Salem College, with the Mountaineers winning 113–32 in 1945. The largest margin of defeat in Mountaineer basketball history came in 1978 against Louisville, when the Cardinals beat the Mountaineers 106–60.
1955–1965 era
Rod Hundley
The modern era of West Virginia basketball history began in 1955, with the emergence of sophomore guard Hot Rod Hundley and newly appointed head coach Fred Schaus. The Mountaineers finished with a 19–11 record, and earned the first NCAA tournament appearance in school history under Hundley's lead. The team entered the tournament with a #19 ranking, the first Top 20 ranking in school history. However, they lost to the #3 La Salle Explorers in the first round of the tourney, 95–61.
The following season, 1956, the Mountaineers posted a 21–9 record in Hundley's junior season, which was his best statistically. The team began the season with a #14 ranking, however lost consecutively to #13 George Washington University and #2 North Carolina State, dropping them out of the rankings. They eventually worked their way back to a #19 ranking, before losing to Villanova, La Salle, and Carnegie Tech to drop out of the rankings again. The squad never entered the rankings again on the season until the NCAA tournament, when they reached the #14 ranking. However, they once again lost in the first round to Dartmouth College, 61–59 in overtime.
In Hundley's senior season, 1957, the team opened with eight straight victories, including an 83–82 upset over the Duke Blue Devils. The team also reached the #13 ranking before the Duke victory, and then rose to the #8 ranking in the final two victories. It marked the first time a Mountaineer squad was ranked in the Top 10 nationally. Going into the Dixie Classic, the Mountaineers achieved a #4 ranking (the first Top 5 ranking in school history), but lost three straight games in the tourney. The team posted 11 consecutive wins afterwards, rising from a #19 ranking to a #10 ranking. They dropped to #14 after a loss to Penn State, but won the next six games, including the Southern Conference Championship. The #7 Mountaineers were dropped in the first round of the NCAA tournament again however, to the #20 Canisius team, 64–56.
Jerry West After Hot Rod Hundley's graduation and departure to the NBA, sophomore guard Jerry West emerged for the Mountaineers and Fred Schaus. In his rookie collegiate season, West helped the Mountaineers to a 26–2 record, with a 12–0 conference record. The Mountaineers began the season with a #8 ranking, as they earned defeats over Penn State, #19 Richmond, and a 77–70 victory over #5 Kentucky in the Kentucky Invitational Tournament. The following game, the Mountaineers upset the #1-ranked nationally North Carolina, 75–65, to win the Kentucky Tourney. After the UNC victory, the Mountaineers rose to the first-ever #1 ranking in school history. In the two wins in the tourney, West totaled 29 points and 19 rebounds. Over the next six-game winning streak, the Mountaineers produced wins over Canisius, Villanova, Pittsburgh, and Furman. However, the Mountaineers were finally toppled by the Duke Blue Devils in Durham, 72–68. The squad retained their #1 ranking however, as they produced victories over Florida State, St. John's, VMI, Penn State, and Pittsburgh. In the final regular-season game, against George Washington, the team went into double overtime to pull out a 113–107 victory, with West earning 25 points and 9 rebounds. The squad swept the Southern Conference tournament, with their closest victory an 11-point win over Richmond in the semi-finals. However, the one-loss squad lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive season, this loss coming to Manhattan, 84–89.
The following season, West's junior season at West Virginia, the squad posted a 29–5 record with another undefeated conference record, 11–0. The squad's highest ranking of the season was at a #4 ranking after a Penn State victory in the third game of the season. However, they lost shortly afterwards to Virginia to drop to #7. The Mountaineers posted two more wins, but lost in the Kentucky Invitational Tournament to #2 Kentucky, 91–97. They rose to #5 after the loss, but then lost the following game to #12 Northwestern in double overtime, 109–118. The Mountaineers bounced back however, with a victory over the #11-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. The team dropped to #11 in the rankings, but posted ten straight victories afterwards. The streak included an overtime victory over Penn State and a Backyard Brawl victory over Pittsburgh as the Mountaineers were ranked #10. As soon as the team rose to #9, they lost in overtime to NYU, but posted two straight wins following. The team ended the season with wins over Pittsburgh and George Washington. They swept the Southern Conference tournament for a third straight season. For the first time in Fred Schaus' coaching career at WVU, the Mountaineers advanced further than the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The team eventually won the East Region with victories over #14 St. Joseph's in the semi-finals and Boston University in the finals. In the two games, West scored 69 points in leading the Mountaineers into the Final Four, the furthest ventured in school history. The Mountaineers won their semifinal matchup against the Louisville Cardinals, 94–79; with West scoring 38 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. However, in the championship game, the Mountaineers were bested by California, 70–71. Jerry West was named the tournament MVP, having scored 28 points and gathering 11 rebounds in the championship loss.
In the 1960 season following their NCAA tournament championship loss, West led the Mountaineers to a 26–5 record as a senior. The team posted eight straight wins before being ranked, including victories over Tennessee, Richmond, and Kentucky to win the Kentucky Invitational Tournament. Upon being ranked #2 in the nation, the Mountaineers won over the Stanford Cardinal and UCLA Bruins in the Los Angeles Classic, before losing to #3 California in the Championship game. The squad dropped to #3, but posted six straight victories afterwards. The victories included Penn State, Virginia, and Pittsburgh. They lost to William & Mary, but continued with three more victories before their loss to St. John's as they were ranked #5. They finished the season with a victory over Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl, before sweeping the Southern Conference tournament for the fourth straight season, ranking #7 in the nation during the tourney. The squad made it to the semi-finals of the East Region of the 1960 NCAA tournament, but lost to #12 New York University, 81–82. They did finish out their tourney resume with a 106–100 victory over St. Joseph's in the Regional Third Place matchup
Rod Thorn
After the departure of Jerry West to the NBA draft, sophomore guard Rod Thorn stepped in to fill his place for new head coach George King, much like West did when star guard Hot Rod Hundley graduated for former head coach Fred Schaus in 1958. Thorn helped the Mountaineers to a 23–4 record, 11–1 in conference. Their highest ranking of the season came in the Southern Conference tournament, where they finished it out with a #8 ranking as they lost the Championship for the first time in four years. The Mountaineers season resume included wins over Wake Forest, #19 Memphis State to win the Sugar Bowl, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, NC State, and four more victories to end the season over Penn State, Pitt, Penn State again, and George Washington, respectively. The Mountaineers lost in the second round of the Southern Conference tournament to William & Mary, 76–88, which kept them out of the NCAA tournament.
The following season, Rod Thorn guided the Mountaineers to a 24–6 record, 11–1 in conference. The Mountaineers won the first six games of the season, but lost the seventh game of the season against #7 Duke, 65–69. They lost the following two games as they earned a #7 ranking, but finished out the three-game Los Angeles Classic with a victory over Army. They once again posted a seven-game win streak after the Classic, including a key win over #5 Villanova. But the squad lost to Virginia Tech, 82–85, before starting another win streak: of four games. The team lost to New York University, but won three games to finish the season. The squad swept the Southern Conference tournament with a Championship win over Virginia Tech, but lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to the same Villanova team they had defeated earlier in the season.
In Thorn's final season as a Mountaineer, effectively ending the era of WVU basketball, the team posted a 23–8 record with an 11–2 conference record. The team began the season ranked #5, but would end the season with unranked with a loss in the NCAA tournament semi-finals and a victory in the Regional Third Place matchup over #9 New York University. The #3 Mountaineers began the season with a loss to Ohio State in the third game of the season, 69–76. They followed three games later with a loss to #9 Kentucky, as they were ranked #7. The team went unranked before they posted two wins over Boston College in overtime and St. Bonaventure, before losing to #4 Illinois. The team went on a six-game run, where they reached a #9 ranking, but lost as the #6 team nationally to the #4 Duke Blue Devils, 71–111, and then the following loss to Furman. The squad posted three more wins, but then lost again to William & Mary and Pittsburgh. The team won five straight games to finish the season, including sweeping the Southern Conference tournament for the consecutive season. The squad opened up the NCAA tournament with a victory over Connecticut, but then lost in the east region semi-finals to St. Joseph's.
2001–2005 senior class