West Virginia Ranked 9th in Jon Rothstein’s Big 12 Conference Preview

CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein released his Big 12 offseason breakdown on Monday morning, revealing that West Virginia is No. 9 in his current rankings.

Rothstein has Baylor at No. 1 while the reigning national champion Kansas at No. 2.

ROTHSTEIN’s BIG 12 RANKINGS:

1. BAYLOR

2. KANSAS

3. TCU

4. TEXAS

5. TEXAS TECH

6. OKLAHOMA STATE

7. OKLAHOMA

8. IOWA STATE

9. WEST VIRGINIA

10. KANSAS STATE

West Virginia is turning over most of their roster as they’re only bringing back Kedrian Johnson, Seth Wilson, Kobe Johnson, Jamel King and James Okonkwo. Bob Huggins and his coaching staff rolled in nine new players this offseason; four transfer portal additions, two high school recruits and three Junior College recruits. Erik Stevenson (South Carolina), Tre Mitchell (Texas), Emmitt Matthews Jr. (Washington) and Joe Toussaint (Iowa) plan on making an immediate impact with WVU this upcoming season.

The national college basketball analyst listed Mitchell as an impactful transfer for WVU, as well as listing Stevenson as an under-the-radar transfer. Rothstein’s preview for West Virginia includes an interesting projected lineup for the Mountaineers this season.

ROTHSTEIN’s PROJECTED LINEUP FOR WVU:

JOE TOUSSAINT, G

KEDRIAN JOHNSON, G

ERIK STEVENSON, G

TRE MITCHELL, F

MOHAMED WAGUE, C

Bench: Kobe Johnson, Seth Wilson, James Okonkwo, Jimmy Bell, Emmitt Matthews Jr., Pat Suemnick, Josiah Harris

The most glaring note is that Rothstein has Matthews coming off the bench. Matthews, a fifth-year senior, started for the Mountaineers during his first three seasons at WVU.