My Fiver on WVU's victory over UCF Saturday at the Coliseum...
1. I have been told by a few on here that Amani Hansberry is not a Big 12 calibre "5". On Saturday, Hansberry went up against 7'2" Moustapha Thiam from UCF and all he did was go for 18 points, 10 rebounds (6 offensive!), 2 assists with just one foul in 28 game minutes. Hansberry was 6 for 7 on 2-point shots. Hansberry outscored Thiam 18-13, outrebounded him 10-7, and matched Thiam's 2 treys with 2 treys of his own. Hansberry is just coming into his own right now and we have him (hopefully) for two more years. I'll roll with him at the "5", Tucker DeVries on one wing, Jon Powell on the other, anytime.
2. Javon Small is something special. He almost goes for a triple double on Senior Night with 25 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals in 36 minutes. Love the shot volume with 23 attempts, 5-15 from "3". We're asking a lot of Javon, not only carrying the load offensively, but to play defense the way Darian DeVries wants to play "D", it's a lot of hustle and grind on both ends of the floor. Dude is a warrior. Now, we need him to be at his best, and he's going to need help along the way if we're going to do anything at all into March...
3. Toby Okani - I'll give credit where credit is due. Keyshawn Hall was (past tense) the Big 12 leading scorer. And Okani frustrated the living hell out of him Saturday to the tune of 1-10 from the field for 6 points and 6 turnovers in 36 minutes. Okani also snagged 8 rebounds - 7 on the offensive glass - which was huge. Admittedly, Okani drives me crazy on offense, as he is the only guy who completely stops the flow of the offense, tries to back down defenders, leading to turnovers when the other team simply doubles him and pokes the ball away...6 TOs for Okani Saturday, and if you were paying any attention at all, you could see a few of them coming from a mile away. He needs to do what he do...snag boards, play great "D", hit the occasional putback and occasional trey, and finish on run-outs.
4. A tale of two halves. 47-25 WVU in the first, 40-25 UCF in the second. WVU forced 15 UCF turnovers in the 1st half, and committed just 1. UCF forced 15 WVU turnovers in the 2nd half, committing just 2 (And i use "forced" loosely in this sentence, as we often just threw the ball to UCF during the 2nd half.). 2nd half meltdowns are a time honored WVU tradition and Darian DeVries has embraced this Mountaineer institution.
- WVU beat UMass 45-28 in the 1st half. 2nd half: UMass 41 WVU 30.
- WVU beat Kansas 33-20 in the 1st half. 2nd half: KU 41 WVU 29.
- WVU beat Oklahoma St. 46-19 in the 1st half. 2nd half: OSU 31 WVU 23.
- Arizona St. 24 WVU 23 in the 1st half. 2nd half: ASU 41 WVU 34.
- WVU beat TCU 29-28 in the 1st half in Ft. Worth. 2nd half: TCU 37 WVU 31.
- WVU beat BYU 34-32 in the 1st half in Morgantown. 2nd half: BYU 41 WVU 35.
- Texas Tech 30 WVU 27 in the 1st half. 2nd half: TT 43 WVU 24.
- BYU 25 WVU 19 in the 1st half in Provo. 2nd half: BYU 52 WVU 37.
I give WVU credit for grinding out a few 2nd halves this year in wins over Cincinnati, Gonzaga and tying Baylor in regulation. But, if our bench isn't contributing like Saturday, then our starters just lose their juice over the course of the game. We need more from KJ Tenner, Joe Yesufu and Eduardo Andre.
5. That's a wrap on an odd season, where we never meet Mr. Jayden Stone, and where Tucker DeVries goes exit, stage left, after the Georgetown win. With everything that occurred, WVU goes 19-12, 10-10 in the Big 12 and is looking at a likely NCAA berth. I'll take it -- all I've wanted since DeVries went down is an NCAA berth, and we're right there. TBH, I really want that 20th win as well. But, seeing our names on those brackets on Sunday is a huge shot in the arm for the program after last year's travashamockery.
But, are we on the Bubble? The NET Rankings make no logical sense to me: https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings. WVU currently sits at 46th in the NET, while UNC is up at #40....WVU is 6-10 in Quad-1 games, while UNC is 1-11. Texas (17-14) is ranked above us at #42, while 5-10 vs. Quad-1 opponents. Baylor, at 17-13, is all the way up at #31 NET with a 5-11 record against Quad-1 opponents. Looks like we really need to start scheduling more Quad-2 opponents, as that is where UNC and Baylor have us in spades. Bottom line is that, even if we go 0-1 in KC, I think we're in. However, if we get to that magic win #20, we're solidly "in", probably looking at a 8/9 game before facing a Duke, Alabama or someone of that ilk.
Crazy season, but it's time to lock down Darian DeVries, as our future is bright with that man and that staff.
1. I have been told by a few on here that Amani Hansberry is not a Big 12 calibre "5". On Saturday, Hansberry went up against 7'2" Moustapha Thiam from UCF and all he did was go for 18 points, 10 rebounds (6 offensive!), 2 assists with just one foul in 28 game minutes. Hansberry was 6 for 7 on 2-point shots. Hansberry outscored Thiam 18-13, outrebounded him 10-7, and matched Thiam's 2 treys with 2 treys of his own. Hansberry is just coming into his own right now and we have him (hopefully) for two more years. I'll roll with him at the "5", Tucker DeVries on one wing, Jon Powell on the other, anytime.
2. Javon Small is something special. He almost goes for a triple double on Senior Night with 25 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals in 36 minutes. Love the shot volume with 23 attempts, 5-15 from "3". We're asking a lot of Javon, not only carrying the load offensively, but to play defense the way Darian DeVries wants to play "D", it's a lot of hustle and grind on both ends of the floor. Dude is a warrior. Now, we need him to be at his best, and he's going to need help along the way if we're going to do anything at all into March...
3. Toby Okani - I'll give credit where credit is due. Keyshawn Hall was (past tense) the Big 12 leading scorer. And Okani frustrated the living hell out of him Saturday to the tune of 1-10 from the field for 6 points and 6 turnovers in 36 minutes. Okani also snagged 8 rebounds - 7 on the offensive glass - which was huge. Admittedly, Okani drives me crazy on offense, as he is the only guy who completely stops the flow of the offense, tries to back down defenders, leading to turnovers when the other team simply doubles him and pokes the ball away...6 TOs for Okani Saturday, and if you were paying any attention at all, you could see a few of them coming from a mile away. He needs to do what he do...snag boards, play great "D", hit the occasional putback and occasional trey, and finish on run-outs.
4. A tale of two halves. 47-25 WVU in the first, 40-25 UCF in the second. WVU forced 15 UCF turnovers in the 1st half, and committed just 1. UCF forced 15 WVU turnovers in the 2nd half, committing just 2 (And i use "forced" loosely in this sentence, as we often just threw the ball to UCF during the 2nd half.). 2nd half meltdowns are a time honored WVU tradition and Darian DeVries has embraced this Mountaineer institution.
- WVU beat UMass 45-28 in the 1st half. 2nd half: UMass 41 WVU 30.
- WVU beat Kansas 33-20 in the 1st half. 2nd half: KU 41 WVU 29.
- WVU beat Oklahoma St. 46-19 in the 1st half. 2nd half: OSU 31 WVU 23.
- Arizona St. 24 WVU 23 in the 1st half. 2nd half: ASU 41 WVU 34.
- WVU beat TCU 29-28 in the 1st half in Ft. Worth. 2nd half: TCU 37 WVU 31.
- WVU beat BYU 34-32 in the 1st half in Morgantown. 2nd half: BYU 41 WVU 35.
- Texas Tech 30 WVU 27 in the 1st half. 2nd half: TT 43 WVU 24.
- BYU 25 WVU 19 in the 1st half in Provo. 2nd half: BYU 52 WVU 37.
I give WVU credit for grinding out a few 2nd halves this year in wins over Cincinnati, Gonzaga and tying Baylor in regulation. But, if our bench isn't contributing like Saturday, then our starters just lose their juice over the course of the game. We need more from KJ Tenner, Joe Yesufu and Eduardo Andre.
5. That's a wrap on an odd season, where we never meet Mr. Jayden Stone, and where Tucker DeVries goes exit, stage left, after the Georgetown win. With everything that occurred, WVU goes 19-12, 10-10 in the Big 12 and is looking at a likely NCAA berth. I'll take it -- all I've wanted since DeVries went down is an NCAA berth, and we're right there. TBH, I really want that 20th win as well. But, seeing our names on those brackets on Sunday is a huge shot in the arm for the program after last year's travashamockery.
But, are we on the Bubble? The NET Rankings make no logical sense to me: https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings. WVU currently sits at 46th in the NET, while UNC is up at #40....WVU is 6-10 in Quad-1 games, while UNC is 1-11. Texas (17-14) is ranked above us at #42, while 5-10 vs. Quad-1 opponents. Baylor, at 17-13, is all the way up at #31 NET with a 5-11 record against Quad-1 opponents. Looks like we really need to start scheduling more Quad-2 opponents, as that is where UNC and Baylor have us in spades. Bottom line is that, even if we go 0-1 in KC, I think we're in. However, if we get to that magic win #20, we're solidly "in", probably looking at a 8/9 game before facing a Duke, Alabama or someone of that ilk.
Crazy season, but it's time to lock down Darian DeVries, as our future is bright with that man and that staff.
