As is tradition, we at the Gazette run WVU and Marshall football opponent previews in the run-up to the season. We know fans are champing at the bit, so it's our way to feed the hunger a tad.
Lately, though, I've been getting a feel Mountaineer fans are (more?) fired up about the next hoops season. Bob Huggins took his team to the Sweet 16 last season. Most of that team, save Juwan Staten and Gary Browne, returns. Huggins had his best summer in a while regarding personnel, and news came down Wednesday that prized recruit Esa Ahmad is good to go. The word I get is junior college recruit Teyvon Myers should likewise be set after he completes a summer class.
So what's this WVU hoops team facing in 2015-16? The answer is quite a few obstacles. Mountaineer fans know how tough the Big 12 can be, and this coming season should be no different. Iowa State and Kansas are considered potential top-5 teams and Oklahoma is a top-10 contender. Texas and Baylor are also mentioned as Top 25 teams.
West Virginia is not, probably because of the lopsided loss to Kentucky in that Sweet 16. But pundits could be making a mistake. Ahmad and Myers should be better than Staten and Browne, at least in the long run.
So let's look at that non-conference schedule.
First, understand WVU's toughest test probably won't be Iowa State or Kansas, but Virginia, which the Mountaineers play at Madison Square Garden. (Does Huggins have stones or what?) The Cavaliers have won the Atlantic Coast Conference in back-to-back seasons and are No. 1 in the early preseason rankings produced by Sports Illustrated and the Sporting News.
The reason is, although Justin Anderson is off to the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, All-America candidate Malcolm Brogdon is back for Virginia, along with virtually every other major contributor from last season's 30-4 team. Mark Dec. 8 on your calendar.
Also, that Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational is a bear. (I'll get to that in a moment.) Yet here's WVU's non-conference schedule in order.
n Nov. 13, Northern Kentucky - Former Marshall standout John Brannen takes over for Dave Bezold with the Norse, who are moving to the Horizon League (think Cleveland State, Valparaiso, Wright State). WVU beat NKU 67-42 at Highland Heights, Kentucky, but leading scorer Tayler Persons has transferred and the team finished 13-17 last season in the Atlantic Sun. Shouldn't be a problem for WVU in Morgantown.
n Nov. 16, James Madison (Charleston) - West Virginia should win, but coach Matt Brady will provide a test. The Dukes were 19-14 last season and tied for first in the Colonial Athletic Conference. Leading scorer Ron Curry and Yohanny Dalembert (younger brother of New York Knick veteran Samuel) return.
n Nov. 20 and 23 - WVU will host two first-round games of the Vegas Invitational. The opponents will be Stetson and Bethune-Cookman in an order yet to be determined. Neither should provide problems for the Mountaineers. The Hatters of Stetson were 9-22 last season as members of the Atlantic Sun. Ex-Oklahoma State point guard Corey Williams is the coach there. B-C, a MEAC school, was 11-21 last season. Gravelle Craig is the coach there.
n Nov. 26 and 27 - It's still the Vegas Invitational, but now it gets really difficult. First, the venue moves to the Orleans Hotel. More important, though, is the caliber of opponents. Again in an order and draw to be determined, WVU will play two games against three teams: San Diego State, California and Richmond.
SDSU is the back-to-back Mountain West regular-season champion and has been to six straight NCAA tournaments. Last year it was 27-9 and Steve Fisher's Aztecs return three of the top five scorers. Forward Winston Shepard is a stud and watch Trey Kell and Malik Pope.
The Golden Bears of Cal won 18 games last season and have three starters and four of their five top scorers back. Point guard Ty Wallace, a first-team All-Pac-12 pick, averaging 17.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and four assists, returns. Also, coach Cuonzo Martin landed five-star recruits Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb.
Want Richmond? The Spiders just went 21-14 last season and return four starters from a squad that went to the NIT quarterfinals.
n Dec. 5, Kennesaw State - Unless tryptophan gets to WVU after the Thanksgiving trip, the Mountaineers should defeat the Owls. The news here is Al Skinner coaches the Atlantic Sun team after KSU went 10-22 last season. Skinner is trying to rebuild his career after falling from Boston College/Big East success. He was most recently at Bryant.
n Dec. 8, Virginia - See above.
n Dec. 13, Louisiana Monroe - This could be a trap game for West Virginia if it isn't alert. The Warhawks, led by Rolling Stones guitarist, er, head coach Keith Richard, had one of their greatest seasons in 2014-15, going 24-14. Richard was named the Sun Belt and Louisiana coach of the year. The team didn't allow 75 points to any opponent and rebounder/scorer Majok Deng is back. Standout scorer Tylor Ongwae, however, is gone.
n Dec. 17, Marshall (Charleston) - Whatever the setup, this is always close. Last year, WVU won 69-66 and MU coach Dan D'Antoni's declarations afterward upset Huggins. Maybe those will play a role this coming season; maybe not. D'Antoni's team finished 11-21 and returns a nice forward in Ryan Taylor. Added was Miami (Fla.) transfer James Kelly and JC recruit Terrance Thompson.
n Dec. 21, Eastern Kentucky - EKU of the Ohio Valley Conference had a 21-12 record last year and went to the postseason, but coach Dan McHale will have to go without his team's top two scorers in Corey Walden (18.6) and Eric Stutz (15.6).
n Dec. 30, at Virginia Tech - Coach Buzz Williams is trying to make over the Hokies. Last season's leading scorer, Adam Smith, transferred, and rebounder Joey van Zegeren was kicked off the team. Williams did, however, land a nice recruiting class, including four-star players Chris Clarke, Justin Robinson and Kerry Blackshear. He also signed 7-foot center Johnny Hamilton.
n Jan. 30, at Florida - In the middle of Big 12 play, WVU goes to the Swamp. It will be interesting for a couple reasons. First, ex-Mountaineer Darris Nichols is an assistant to new UF coach Mike White. More interesting is what kind of team Florida has after the departure of Billy Donovan to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Most are predicting an adjustment period after the team's first losing record (16-17) in two decades. UF did, though, land a Top 25 recruiting class.
So while there's legitimate reason for excitement at WVU, Huggins and company have work - both in the non-conference and within league play.
Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, mitchvingle@wvgazette.com or follow him at twitter.com/MitchVingle.