GoMart Greenbrier Tip-Off Opens Nov. 13 With Men’s and Women’s Matchups

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (VR) – Two nationally ranked women’s programs, national award candidates and a matchup of unbeaten men’s teams highlight the opening weekend of the third annual GoMart Greenbrier Tip-Off, beginning Friday, Nov. 13, inside Colonial Hall at The Greenbrier.

No. 24 West Virginia and Northwestern open Friday’s action at 5:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network, followed by Mississippi State and Xavier at 9 p.m. ET on FS1. Saturday’s schedule begins with No. 13 Notre Dame facing DePaul at 1 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock in the SoFi Shamrock Classic, followed by Northwestern against Appalachian State at 6 p.m. ET, streaming live on PassThaBall.

West Virginia brings a 3-0 record into its return to The Greenbrier, where the Mountaineers defeated No. 15 Duke before a capacity crowd last season. WVU captured the 2026 Big 12 tournament championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Senior guard Gia Cooke and senior forward Skylar Forbes lead the Mountaineers’ offense while drawing national recognition. Cooke, a unanimous preseason All-Big 12 selection and Naismith Player of the Year Watch List honoree, is averaging 18.3 points through three games and shooting 50% from 3-point range.

Forbes, a Katrina McClain Award watch-list candidate for the nation’s top power forward, leads WVU with 19 points per game while adding 5.7 rebounds. She earned Big 12 Starting Five recognition Monday after scoring 26 points against George Washington and 23 at Georgia Tech.

Northwestern enters the weekend at 1-2 under first-year head coach Carla Berube. Boston College transfer Lily Carmody leads the Wildcats with 18 points per game after scoring 21 and 20 points in her first two appearances for the program.

Senior guard Casey Harter adds 14.3 points per game, while sophomore forward Jasmyn Cooper-Derba has provided a presence inside. Cooper-Derba opened her Northwestern career with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double against Milwaukee and recorded a career-high 22 points with nine rebounds at UIC on Sunday.

Friday’s men’s contest matches two 3-0 teams after Xavier defeated Detroit Mercy 100-55 on Tuesday. Mississippi State also completed a three-game homestand unbeaten, setting up the first regular-season appearance away from home for both programs.

Mississippi State is led by senior guard Josh Hubbard, a preseason All-SEC first-team selection by both the league’s coaches and media. Hubbard reached another career milestone Monday, becoming the fourth player in program history to score 2,000 points.

Hubbard opened the season with 25 points and nine assists against Tennessee Tech, giving head coach Chris Jans an established backcourt leader as the Bulldogs prepare to face their first power-conference opponent of the regular season.

Xavier counters with preseason All-Big East third-team selections Jovan Milićević and Mike Nwoko. Both serve as team captains for second-year head coach Richard Pitino.

Nwoko is averaging 12 points and five rebounds while shooting 73.9% from the field. He led Xavier with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting in Tuesday’s victory. Milićević, who averaged 12.4 points last season, is contributing 10.3 points per game and shooting 50% from beyond the arc through three games.

Senior guard Chance Westry leads the Musketeers with 14.3 points per game while shooting 60.9% from the field. Xavier also features freshman guard Kalek House, who has 16 assists against three turnovers, and forward Nikos Chitikoudis, who leads the team with nine rebounds per game.

Saturday’s action begins with Notre Dame facing DePaul in the SoFi Shamrock Classic. The matchup features one of the nation’s most decorated players in Notre Dame senior guard Hannah Hidalgo against a DePaul lineup that has opened the season with four consecutive victories.

Hidalgo, a preseason Associated Press All-American and the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, returns after winning the Naismith and WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year awards and the Nancy Lieberman Award last season. She also became the first player in ACC history to earn conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in consecutive seasons.

Through Notre Dame’s 3-0 start, Hidalgo is averaging 27.3 points and five steals per game. She earned ACC Player of the Week recognition Monday and surpassed 2,500 career points during the season’s opening week. In Tuesday’s 108-60 victory over Detroit Mercy, she passed Skylar Diggins for the Notre Dame career record for made free throws.

The Irish also feature freshman Jacy Abii, a McDonald’s All-American and preseason ACC All-Freshman Team selection who earned the conference’s first Freshman of the Week award this season.

DePaul enters Saturday’s matchup at 4-0 after an 85-65 win over Northern Illinois, matching its best start since 2016-17.

Forward Louis Volker earned Big East Weekly Honor Roll recognition after averaging 12.7 points and 10.3 rebounds through the first three games. Zoey Ward has three consecutive double-doubles, DePaul’s longest such streak since Aneesah Morrow in 2023.

First-year guard Mikaia Litza has scored in double figures in all four games. Fifth-year guard Kate Clarke added a season-high 20 points and a career-high nine rebounds Wednesday.

The opening weekend concludes with Northwestern facing an Appalachian State team off to its first 3-0 start since 1994-95. The Mountaineers rallied for a 71-67 win at Davidson on Wednesday.

Preseason All-Sun Belt first-team selection Daisia Mitchell leads App State with 13 points per game. Fellow senior Joi Williams, a preseason second-team selection and two-time first-team All-Big South honoree at Radford, adds experience as a career 1,000-point scorer.

Jadyn Atchison averages 11.7 points, while Feryal Defne Atli contributed 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds and two blocks against Davidson.

GoMart Greenbrier Tip-Off play resumes Nov. 20 and 22 with six men’s games in the River Division. George Washington, Liberty, Rhode Island, Richmond, UAB and Western Kentucky will each play twice.

The Nov. 20 schedule features George Washington against UAB at 2 p.m. ET, Rhode Island against Liberty at 4:30 p.m. ET and Richmond against Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET. Play concludes Nov. 22 with George Washington facing Western Kentucky at 2 p.m. ET, Richmond meeting Liberty at 4:30 p.m. ET and Rhode Island taking on UAB at 7 p.m. ET.

The 2 and 4:30 p.m. River Division games each day will air on CBS Sports Network, with both 7 p.m. contests streaming on PassThaBall.

Tickets are available at GreenbrierTipOff.com/tickets. For additional event information, visit GreenbrierTipOff.com and follow Intersport Basketball on X and Instagram at @IntersportHoops.

Fans can find ticket information and additional event details at GreenbrierTipOff.com.