Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Mountaineers Extend Season With Victory Over Stanford
April 03, 2026 10:14 AM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia held Stanford to just one basket over the final 3:21 of regulation and then outscored the Cardinal 14-9 in overtime to advance to the semifinals of the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas and face Creighton on Saturday afternoon.
Creighton defeated Rutgers 82-69 in the nightcap.
West Virginia down Stanford despite freshman guard Ebuka Okorie's game-high 34 points, including scoring 13 straight points during one stretch in the second half to erase the Mountaineers' eight-point lead.
"Ebuka is a great player," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said afterward. "He was everything we thought he was going to be, and we did everything we could to keep the ball out of his hands and he still had 34 points.
"At the end of the day, our group is about as resilient of a group as I've ever been around, whether it's a tough loss or games when we are not playing very well and we look just kind of down and out, they have the ability to stay together and keep playing for each other," Hodge added. "I'm super appreciative that we get to have a few more team meals, team dinners and a few more film sessions (together). That's ultimately what you are fighting for at this time of year."
The game turned during a 24-second stretch in overtime when Honor Huff scored a tough basket and then made a steal that turned into two free throws. Huff finished the game with a team-high 21 points despite going 0 for 6 from 3-point distance.
"When the shots aren't falling like that you have to counter with something, and I think we did a good job of getting the ball into the paint and (Brenen Lorient) did a great job of finishing down there," Huff said. "Treysen (Eaglestaff) had a great little stretch when he was kind of getting going from two, and at the end of the game I had some tough twos, and I don't usually do that. You just have to find ways to win."
"When we put this team together a year and maybe a couple of days ago when I got this job, when we hit the portal we wanted guys who had been part of winning (teams), loved basketball and loved each other and if that's typically kind of your makeup, you'll have the ability to stay together through tough times, and this group has embodied that," Hodge said.
When Stanford took an eight-point lead on Okorie's dunk with 3:21 remaining, Huff said the team was still confident it could win the game.
"When we left the huddle down (eight), all we said was 'believe' and 'we're going to win this game.' We got it to OT, and we didn't want to give them a chance to get up that lead again and we wanted to close it out," he said.
"We have stretches during games when we are certainly not perfect, but their ability to stay together and be at their best when they are counted out is special and I think is something that can be laid at the feet of everybody in West Virginia and the future teams here," Hodge added.
Huff said Okorie is comparable to BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Kansas' Darryn Peterson and some of the other top young pro prospects they've faced in the Big 12 this season.
"We've played against a lot of future NBA players and he's one of them, for sure," Huff observed.
Now, West Virginia (19-14) must turn its attention to 16-17 Creighton, which used a game-high 28 points from Nik Graves to down the Scarlet Knights in the nightcap. Graves, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior guard, made 7-of-13 from the floor and 12-of-13 from the free throw line last night and ranks second to guard Josh Nix on the team in scoring with an 11.1 points-per-game average.
Nix, who averages 13.1 points per game, tallied 14 points and grabbed six rebounds against Rutgers. Guard Austin Swartz (10.9 ppg.) and forward Jason Green (10.4 ppg.) also average double figures for veteran Creighton coach Greg McDermott, who has announced his retiring at the conclusion of this season.
McDermott's 16-year run at Creighton will end as the school's all-time winningest coach with 365 victories and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances heading into Saturday's game against West Virginia.
The West Virginia-Creighton matchup will tip off at 4 p.m. at MGM Grand Arena and will be televised nationally on FOX. Baylor and Oklahoma will meet in the other semifinal game at 1:30 p.m.
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi and Brad Howe on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps will get underway at 3 p.m. EST.
West Virginia and Creighton will be meeting for just the third time ever. The last time these two played against each other was in the 2005 NCAA Tournament in Cleveland when Tyrone Sally's breakaway dunk gave the Mountaineers a 63-61 victory.
Creighton defeated Rutgers 82-69 in the nightcap.
West Virginia down Stanford despite freshman guard Ebuka Okorie's game-high 34 points, including scoring 13 straight points during one stretch in the second half to erase the Mountaineers' eight-point lead.
"Ebuka is a great player," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said afterward. "He was everything we thought he was going to be, and we did everything we could to keep the ball out of his hands and he still had 34 points.
"At the end of the day, our group is about as resilient of a group as I've ever been around, whether it's a tough loss or games when we are not playing very well and we look just kind of down and out, they have the ability to stay together and keep playing for each other," Hodge added. "I'm super appreciative that we get to have a few more team meals, team dinners and a few more film sessions (together). That's ultimately what you are fighting for at this time of year."
The game turned during a 24-second stretch in overtime when Honor Huff scored a tough basket and then made a steal that turned into two free throws. Huff finished the game with a team-high 21 points despite going 0 for 6 from 3-point distance.
"When the shots aren't falling like that you have to counter with something, and I think we did a good job of getting the ball into the paint and (Brenen Lorient) did a great job of finishing down there," Huff said. "Treysen (Eaglestaff) had a great little stretch when he was kind of getting going from two, and at the end of the game I had some tough twos, and I don't usually do that. You just have to find ways to win."
"When we put this team together a year and maybe a couple of days ago when I got this job, when we hit the portal we wanted guys who had been part of winning (teams), loved basketball and loved each other and if that's typically kind of your makeup, you'll have the ability to stay together through tough times, and this group has embodied that," Hodge said.
When Stanford took an eight-point lead on Okorie's dunk with 3:21 remaining, Huff said the team was still confident it could win the game.
"When we left the huddle down (eight), all we said was 'believe' and 'we're going to win this game.' We got it to OT, and we didn't want to give them a chance to get up that lead again and we wanted to close it out," he said.
"We have stretches during games when we are certainly not perfect, but their ability to stay together and be at their best when they are counted out is special and I think is something that can be laid at the feet of everybody in West Virginia and the future teams here," Hodge added.
Huff said Okorie is comparable to BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Kansas' Darryn Peterson and some of the other top young pro prospects they've faced in the Big 12 this season.
"We've played against a lot of future NBA players and he's one of them, for sure," Huff observed.
Now, West Virginia (19-14) must turn its attention to 16-17 Creighton, which used a game-high 28 points from Nik Graves to down the Scarlet Knights in the nightcap. Graves, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior guard, made 7-of-13 from the floor and 12-of-13 from the free throw line last night and ranks second to guard Josh Nix on the team in scoring with an 11.1 points-per-game average.
Nix, who averages 13.1 points per game, tallied 14 points and grabbed six rebounds against Rutgers. Guard Austin Swartz (10.9 ppg.) and forward Jason Green (10.4 ppg.) also average double figures for veteran Creighton coach Greg McDermott, who has announced his retiring at the conclusion of this season.
McDermott's 16-year run at Creighton will end as the school's all-time winningest coach with 365 victories and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances heading into Saturday's game against West Virginia.
The West Virginia-Creighton matchup will tip off at 4 p.m. at MGM Grand Arena and will be televised nationally on FOX. Baylor and Oklahoma will meet in the other semifinal game at 1:30 p.m.
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi and Brad Howe on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps will get underway at 3 p.m. EST.
West Virginia and Creighton will be meeting for just the third time ever. The last time these two played against each other was in the 2005 NCAA Tournament in Cleveland when Tyrone Sally's breakaway dunk gave the Mountaineers a 63-61 victory.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballRoss Hodge & Honor Huff | Stanford Postgame
Thursday, April 02
Ross Hodge | College Basketball Crown Preview
Monday, March 30
Honor Huff | College Basketball Crown Preview
Monday, March 30
Ross Hodge | BYU Postgame
Wednesday, March 11
