Ross Hodge Reflects on WVU Basketball Season, What’s at Stake in Postseason

WVU basketball has faced a regular season full of ups and downs, a regular season which concluded Friday night when the team defeated UCF 77-62 at home.

WVU is off Joe Lunardi’s and needs more quality wins to balance out some bad losses this season. However, the season isn’t over, as the Big 12 tournament gives the team a chance to gain some of those much-needed wins.

Head coach Ross Hodge broke down how teams who make runs in March often function, but also what it means to them.

“You’re fighting to keep playing games, but if you really care about each other, you’re fighting for like one more film session, one more plane ride, one more bus trip. And the teams that I’ve been around that have had the level of success that we’ve had, they enjoy being around each other this time of year,” Hodge said in the postgame press conference.

“Special guard play always helps. And then you usually typically have to have an ability to win a game or two that is ugly and/or you were fairly fortunate to find a way to win it.”

While the team looks to keep adding memories from this season, Hodge described some moments he said will stick with him forever.

“I told the team the other day, I will never forget for as long as I live the Pitt game, my first Pitt game here with them. I’ll never forget that as long as I coach. I’ll never forget that moment. Some of the other wins, some of the gut-wrenching losses, like some of those moments where we collectively all we had was each other,” Hodge added.

Overall, Hodge said he wants  to give his team everything he can and continue to do so throughout the rest of the season.

“I want to give these guys everything I have. They’ve given us everything they’ve had from the moment that stepped on this campus, and I want to honor and respect them and be in the trenches with them and fight with them and, you know, not let them down,” Hodge said.

WVU will now have to wait until Saturday night until the Big 12 Tournament bracket is finalized to learn their seed. As it currently stands, WVU is the conference’s No. 8 seed with an overall record of 18-13 and a Big 12 record of 9-9.

Find more coverage of  WVU basketball at WV Sports Now.