In their first public exhibition under head coach Ross Hodge, the West Virginia men's basketball team utilized a significant size advantage to defeat Division II Wheeling 80-54 at Hope Coliseum. The Mountaineers exploited the matchup discrepancy, feeding 7-footer Harlan Obioha, who led all players with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. WVU never trailed, jumping out to a 9-0 lead and building a 41-21 halftime advantage. Despite a sluggish start to the second half, which saw Wheeling go on a 10-2 run, WVU's defense clamped down, holding the Cardinals scoreless for over seven minutes to pull away permanently. While WVU struggled from long range (6-of-20), Hodge praised his team's "togetherness," and Brenen Lorient added 14 points for the Mountaineers in the comfortable victory.