Powerhouse team the West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represents West Virginia University and is a member of the NCAA Division I Big East Conference. The West Virginia men's basketball team has competed three times in championship final matches including the NIT final in 1942, the NCAA final in 1959 and the 2007 NIT championship. In 1942 at the time of their NIT final appearance, the NIT was considered more prestigious than the NCAA and the Mountaineers were victorious against Western Kentucky, finishing the game with 47-45.

They lost an intense game to California in the 1959 NCAA final with a final score of 71-70. In 2007 at their second NIT championship appearance, they again were victorious, this time over Clemson with a 78-72 finish in a rebuilding season. Along with championship final successes, many notable successes have been made by the team and its members. In 1949, Fred Schaus, a future Mountaineers head coach, became the first player in the history of the NCAA to record 1,000 points. In 1994, the team played their highest scoring game at 132 points against Alaska-Fairbanks.

A recent success of the team was reaching the Sweet Sixteen in the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament with the coaching of former player Bob Huggins. In 2007, Huggins left his position at Kansas State University to fill the vacancy left by head coach John Beilein. Huggins led the team to their 20-8 record, allowing the Mountaineers to extend their 20-season win streak to four seasons now, the most impressive streak since a seven-season streak from 1981-1987. This was also a notable feat for Huggins, moving his record to at least 20-wins in 22 of his 26 seasons coaching college basketball. He is tied for the 12 place all-time Division I level record of 20 20-win seasons.

In the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, the Mountaineers were placed a #7 seed in the West Region and won their first three rounds of the tournament, including a win against #2 seed Duke in a 73-67 game. West Virginia lost the Sweet Sixteen match to Xavier, the #3 seed team in an intense overtime game with a final score of 79-75. The Mountaineers completed the season with a ranking of #17.