–West Virginia needed that one in the worst way. The Mountaineers had started 0-2 in the Big 12 and really looked lost in some areas prior to this game but did enough to get this one done 76-73. After allowing 92 points in the paint over the past two games, that total was just 28 tonight. Still not ideal, but West Virginia sort of brought the fight early in this one and kept it up throughout. The Mountaineers are now 6-10 and 1-2 in the league with a difficult stretch coming up with a road trip to Oklahoma and then home against Kansas. It remains to be seen if this is the start of something or just a nice win, but it at worst is a building block for a team that’s been looking for anything there.
–Patrick Suemnick was a difference maker in this one and really is the only physical option that the Mountaineers have in the post. He finished with a career high 16 points and also grabbed 6 rebounds. He has two of the best dunks I’ve seen in recent memory going baseline and has truly been a spark for this team when there has been some trouble filling that role at the five. The only downside is that he was 6-12 from the foul line and if he’s going to play a lot of minutes that has to improve.
–Who had West Virginia winning the rebounding edge 32-31 in this one? I definitely didn’t. But the Mountaineers have been doing better there of late and it’s really helped them.
–West Virginia forced 22 turnovers but only turned that into 15 points. The Mountaineers made some adjustments on defense and it definitely looked to be a better overall effort.
–A big advantage in this game is the fact the Mountaineers shot 41 free-throws and made more (27) than Texas even attempted (21). Going 20+ in free throw attempts is never a bad thing.
–RaeQuan Battle finished with 14 points in this one and only attempted 11 shots to get it as he dealt with foul trouble at times. He definitely brings another level of athleticism and scores the ball well. This team is going to need him if they want to go on any type of run.
–You can see the ability that Noah Farrakhan brings to the table right now, and he’s not alone here, but there’s too much dribbling and not enough moving the ball. Shot selection continues to be a concern here and he was 1-8 from the floor with some of those forced. However, one thing that you did like to see was him getting 7 rebounds from his guard spot. He also did a good job defensively.
–Teams continue to try to force the ball out of the hands of Kerr Kriisa but he hit some big shots in this one and finished with 14 points on 4-10 shooting. Kriisa had three turnovers and I think they all were off ball-screens, but he definitely sees the floor well and is a selfless player.
–This was a bounce back game for Quinn Slazinski who had been marred in a slump who had gone 8-27 over the last three games from the floor. He was 2-4 in this game, but made some big plays with both his decision-making and free throw shooting (7-10). If the Mountaineers can get the guy that played well through the first part of the year, it will provide a significant leap.
–You can go up and down the roster but this was a team effort. West Virginia got contributions from all over and players like Akok Akok didn’t even get mentioned in this but helped. Now the key is turning this into more than just a one-off game and trying to turn this around.
–Patrick Suemnick was a difference maker in this one and really is the only physical option that the Mountaineers have in the post. He finished with a career high 16 points and also grabbed 6 rebounds. He has two of the best dunks I’ve seen in recent memory going baseline and has truly been a spark for this team when there has been some trouble filling that role at the five. The only downside is that he was 6-12 from the foul line and if he’s going to play a lot of minutes that has to improve.
–Who had West Virginia winning the rebounding edge 32-31 in this one? I definitely didn’t. But the Mountaineers have been doing better there of late and it’s really helped them.
–West Virginia forced 22 turnovers but only turned that into 15 points. The Mountaineers made some adjustments on defense and it definitely looked to be a better overall effort.
–A big advantage in this game is the fact the Mountaineers shot 41 free-throws and made more (27) than Texas even attempted (21). Going 20+ in free throw attempts is never a bad thing.
–RaeQuan Battle finished with 14 points in this one and only attempted 11 shots to get it as he dealt with foul trouble at times. He definitely brings another level of athleticism and scores the ball well. This team is going to need him if they want to go on any type of run.
–You can see the ability that Noah Farrakhan brings to the table right now, and he’s not alone here, but there’s too much dribbling and not enough moving the ball. Shot selection continues to be a concern here and he was 1-8 from the floor with some of those forced. However, one thing that you did like to see was him getting 7 rebounds from his guard spot. He also did a good job defensively.
–Teams continue to try to force the ball out of the hands of Kerr Kriisa but he hit some big shots in this one and finished with 14 points on 4-10 shooting. Kriisa had three turnovers and I think they all were off ball-screens, but he definitely sees the floor well and is a selfless player.
–This was a bounce back game for Quinn Slazinski who had been marred in a slump who had gone 8-27 over the last three games from the floor. He was 2-4 in this game, but made some big plays with both his decision-making and free throw shooting (7-10). If the Mountaineers can get the guy that played well through the first part of the year, it will provide a significant leap.
–You can go up and down the roster but this was a team effort. West Virginia got contributions from all over and players like Akok Akok didn’t even get mentioned in this but helped. Now the key is turning this into more than just a one-off game and trying to turn this around.
