Feb 20, 2026 By Justin Jackson 4 min read

MORGANTOWN, W.VA. — It would seem there is no safe place for the WVU men’s basketball team to hide these days.

The comforts of home have become uncomfortable, the result of three straight losses inside Hope Coliseum.

Road games were once a recipe for disaster, yet the Mountaineers (16-10, 7-6 Big 12) have won two in a row away from Morgantown, which is where they will find themselves at 5 p.m. Saturday when they travel to TCU (16-10, 6-7).

Yet, WVU head coach Ross Hodge throws out a giant asterisk when it comes to those recent road wins.

“I think that’s looking at it in terms of black and white too much,” Hodge begins. “If you’re only looking at it as your last two road results versus your home results, then yes, but the truth is we were down 14 points at Cincinnati and we were down 14 points at Central Florida. We still had to dig ourselves out of those holes by making plays late.”

WVU is at its biggest fork in the road of the season. Slow starts and poor play are no longer just some casual topic of conversation, they have become reality for the Mountaineers. When they were able to fight their way back – think two wins against Cincinnati, as well as UCF and Kansas State – it made for good comeback stories.

“We’ve been very fortunate,” Hodge continued. “We have seven Big 12 wins, and we’ve trailed in the second half of every win we have. On some level, you just can’t keep digging yourself out of the holes you are creating.”

When those early deficits became insurmountable in home games against the likes of Baylor and Utah – those teams are a combined 5-21 in Big 12 play this season – it becomes devastating to a team that’s sort of in the conversation for the NCAA tournament.

“I wouldn’t say devastating, because the reality is we’re going to be on a plane Friday, and the beauty and the curse of being in the Big 12 is you still have opportunities in front of you,” Hodge said. “Now, those opportunities can run out, and that’s a reality, but we still have opportunities and we still have all of our goals in front of us. That’s the truth. Two things can be true at once. We let a good opportunity slip (against Utah), so that puts more pressure on your other opportunities.”

And now WVU heads for Schollmaier Arena. The last time TCU hosted a game there, it pulled off a major 62-55 upset of No. 6 Iowa State. The Mountaineers haven’t won in Fort Worth, Texas since 2021, when Bob Huggins was still the head coach and Deuce McBride was on the roster.

How does WVU turn its current negatives into a positive? That’s the million-dollar question at the moment. In the Utah postgame, WVU guard Honor Huff hinted at some changes in the starting lineup.

At this point, nothing is off the table. Hodge even hinted at taking his team to a hotel the night before a home game. Any suggestion that falls in between those two examples will also likely be considered.

“Any messaging you have between now and Saturday is trying to figure out how we can play better for longer and not have the inconsistency pockets of putting yourself down 14,” Hodge said. “What are we doing? Is it personnel or shots? What am I doing as a head coach to cause it? You’re either coaching it or allowing it.

“On some level, it does fall on me. I’ve got to do a better job.”

WVU will face a balanced attack in the Horned Frogs, who are led by sophomore forward David Punch (14.6 points, 6.7 rebounds per game). Like WVU, the Horned Frogs also know the disappointment of losing to Utah. TCU is also coming off an 82-71 road loss at UCF, in which TCU was held to just 19% (4 of 21) from 3-point range.

ESPN analytics give TCU a 56% edge to win, but it is a matchup, on paper, where neither team has a major advantage. It may simply come down to which team is willing to grind and battle the most.

“We’re certainly not playing with a level of desperation and urgency and aggression that you need on either end of the floor,” Hodge said. “Our margin for error is thin. That’s the truth. Everything is on the table. We’ve evaluated it. We’ve looked at it. We’ve talked about it ad nauseum, but it is my responsibility. I’ll own that part of it.”