Top Five Games for Mountaineer Athletics in December

Dec 1, 2022 - 2:15 PM

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West Virginia fans are anticipating big moves for the WVU athletic department and football program this month, but December will be dominated by basketball and wrestling. Let’s take a look at the top games this month.

Honorable Mention: Women’s Basketball vs Georgia (December 20th)

The West Virginia women’s basketball team is 5-1, with their only loss being to a very good NC State team. The Mountaineers will be facing Georgia in their first game at the West Palm Beach Invitational. They will follow that up with a matchup against Miami (Ohio).

5. Wrestling at Midlands Championships (December 29th-30th)

A 3-0 start at the Mountaineer Quad has the West Virginia wrestling team just outside of the top 25 in the national rankings. WVU will travel to Evanston, Illinois, later this month for the Midlands Tournament, which is hosted by #14 Northwestern. The Mountaineers will look to be competitive individually and at the team level at this two-day event.

4. Women’s Basketball vs #23 Oklahoma (December 31st)

The WVU women’s basketball team’s toughest game of the month will be on New Year’s Eve versus #23 Oklahoma. This Big 12 opener will give the Mountaineers a look at how they might match up against the league’s top teams. Head coach Dawn Plitzuweit knows what it takes to win a conference title, so hopefully she can lead WVU its first regular season title in the Big 12.

3. Men’s Basketball at Kansas State (December 31st)

West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins has provided even more justification for his recent induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Huggins adapted to the transfer portal to bring in a group of newcomers that fit in with his style of play and personality, and the team is off to a 6-1 start.

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The Mountaineers hope to start conference play with a win at Kansas State. Like WVU, the Wildcats are receiving votes in the national polls.

2. Wrestling at #6 Missouri (December 2nd)

The undefeated WVU wrestling team will have to step up to the challenge in this match against #6 Missouri. The Tigers’ one loss this year was to #5 Arizona State, by very narrow margins. Chester, West Virginia, native Peyton Hall is one of two Mountaineers that are undefeated individually. Hall is 10-0 at 165 pounds, making him one of the top 10 wrestlers in the country at that weight level. True freshman Brody Conley is 8-0 in the 174-pound weight class. An upset win in this match against Missouri would be huge for WVU and head coach Tim Flynn.

1. Men’s Basketball at Xavier (December 3rd)

The biggest game of the month for WVU athletics is the men’s basketball team’s matchup with Xavier in the Big East-Big 12 Battle. The early-season events have not been kind to the Musketeers. They lost their Gavitt Tipoff game to Indiana and picked up two losses at the Phil Knight Legacy tournament. Despite the struggles, Xavier is still receiving votes in the Coaches Poll.

The Mountaineers have been strong offensively, so far, scoring over 80 points per game on average and shooting at almost 50%. Transfer guard Erik Stevenson has led WVU with over 14 points per game. Fellow transfers Tre Mitchell and Joe Toussaint are also averaging over 11 points per game.

This game between the Mountaineers and Musketeers will be nationally televised on FS1.

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Be sure to tune in to support WVU for these games and let us know what other matchups you are looking forward to this month!