HELLO AGAIN — Utah interim head coach Josh Eilert , who coached WVU last season, is the Mountaineers’ next opponent. - Benjamin Powell

MORGANTOWN — It’s a story that maybe could have been dreamt up in some creating think tank, but very few would have ever imagined Josh Eilert’s story would play out the way it has in real life.

In the span of two years, Eilert has been named an interim head coach twice. It happened at two Big 12 schools that are only separated by 1,900 miles and two time zones.

The first came at WVU in 2023, when he was named the interim to replace legendary head coach Bob Huggins.

He’ll now be coaching against the Mountaineers (17-12, 8-10 Big 12) at 9 p.m. today as the interim head coach at Utah when WVU travels to Salt Lake City in what feels like a must-win situation for the Mountaineers.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Eilert said after taking over the Utes (16-13, 8-10) when former coach Craig Smith was fired on Feb. 24.

No kidding.

Since taking over the Utes, Eilert is 1-1 — he was 9-23 in his one season at WVU — which includes a 99-72 beat down of Arizona State on Saturday.

“It’s something we didn’t really ask for,” Eilert said. “The situation we’ve been put it, (the players) have absolutely been professional about it. They understand the situation. I want to thank them and it’s been an honor to lead them through this turmoil.”

There is the other side, when it comes to Eilert’s situation, of how his life went from stability to a roller-coaster ride in the span of just months.

He had spent 16 years with the Mountaineers, working his way from video coordinator to assistant coach under Huggins, before the getting put in charge in his 17th season.

Those 17 years enabled him to start his family and create roots in Morgantown, only to uproot it all and move across the country to a state and city he had no prior knowledge of.

“I told these guys from the beginning that life is full of adversity,” Eilert said. “Life is full of challenges and that goes in every walk of life. There are a lot of things that are out of your control, but the way you handle it will be a testament to your character.”

Utah officials said they are conducting a national search for the next head coach, so it’s possible Eilert may be on the move again in a matter of weeks.

WVU, meanwhile, would like to be moving off the bubble for the NCAA tournament.

The Mountaineers could do so with wins against the Utes and then UCF to close the regular season.

WVU enters the game ranked No. 48 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, with both Utah and UCF outside of the top 60.

The must-win feel comes in that if the Mountaineers don’t sweep the final two games of the regular season, they’ll likely drop out of the top 50 of the NET.

If that happens, WVU could be on the outside looking in heading into the Big 12 tournament.

The Mountaineers haven’t been in that position ever since it ripped off upsets of Gonzaga and Arizona last Thanksgiving.

Then came wins against Kansas and Iowa State, which only strengthened WVU’s case.

WVU is since 4-8 over its last 12 games, which does include a 72-61 win against Utah in Morgantown.

But that came while Smith was the head coach. No one knows what to expect now with Eilert at the controls.

“When the Utah game is in front of us, we’re preparing to play Utah,” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said. “They still have really good players and a really good team. It’s a Big 12 game.”

WVU’s offense is not firing on all cylinders at the moment, after being held to just 33% shooting in a 77-56 loss against BYU on Saturday.

WVU did shoot 48% in its first meeting against Utah, and while the Utes have a major size advantage with 7-foot-1 center Lawson Lovering and 6-9 guard Mike Sharavjamts, the Mountaineers played nearly even on the glass and points in the paint.

If it’s different the second time around, it would simply add a chapter to Eilert’s story that very few saw coming.

“I feel way more comfortable with game management than I probably did going into last season,” Eilert said. “The scenarios are way different.”

Different in that Eilert had to stabilize WVU’s roster over the summer and then put in his offense and defense.

At Utah, “All I’m really doing is trying to keep this thing going,” he said. “We’ve got a lot to play for. If you look at the (Big 12) standings, there is a log jam in the middle. We’ve got a lot to play for, a lot to prove.”