MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Leading into Thursday’s renewal of the Backyard Brawl rivalry at Hope Coliseum, first-year WVU head coach Ross Hodge was eager to see how his team would respond against their first power conference opponent after posting three wins in six days to open up the season.

After falling behind by seven points in the first half, West Virginia outscored the Panthers, 57-28 to dominate the 192nd edition of the rivalry, winning 71-49.

“It was great. It was kind of what we expected,” said WVU senior guard Jasper Floyd. “We know how much this game means and meant to the state.”

“Going through some of these earlier games even though they were not the magnitude of a game like this, you still feel that game pressure maybe in a way a little more when you get in these tight games,” Ho

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