--Well that had the feel of an old-school Big East basketball game from start to finish. Both teams didn’t particularly play well but credit West Virginia for going on the road without a starter in sophomore Esa Ahmad and beating a TCU team that labeled this as it’s “biggest game of the year.” That isn’t easy to do and West Virginia gutted this one out and was able to get a big win to help for seeding moving forward. There were 12 lead changes and 8 ties in this game, but the Mountaineers got it done. Things looked tougher when TCU got back into the game and it was a dog fight but the result is what matters.
--Yes, that last foul was a weak one and the decision by junior Daxter Miles was questionable at best but it was called a foul and credit him for hitting a free throw to put the Mountaineers ahead. Not sure how, TCU got an open three-pointer to attempt to get the win but it was off and they did.
--Speaking of Miles he started strong with an opening jumper making the start in place of Ahmad, but that free throw was his only other point of the game in 21 minutes. West Virginia has got to get him jump started much like they did with Ahmad earlier in the year.
--West Virginia was out-rebounded 21-12 at the half by TCU which helped offset the 12 turnovers by the Horned Frogs. This was obviously a point of emphasis in the locker room as the Mountaineers won the edge 24-17 to end up -2 for the game but the difference on the boards was a key factor. Especially on the offensive end where the Mountaineers held a 17-9 advantage.
--The Mountaineers moved to the 1-3-1 zone defense late again in the game and the Horned Frogs seemed to have some trouble solving it. It’s been something we’ve seen over the last couple games as a different look at it’s just another thing teams have to prepare for when they play the Mountaineers.
--Familiar formula for West Virginia here in this one compared to the first one. West Virginia had 42 of their 82 points in the paint in the first meeting, 34 of the 61 today. The Mountaineers attacked the basket and was able to get some timely buckets.
--Also similar to the first meeting West Virginia turned TCU over 21 times and scored 19 points off those miscues. The Mountaineers had 28 points off 18 turnovers the first go-around. Of those turnovers today, 12 of them were steals by West Virginia.
--The Mountaineers held TCU to 12-29 from two-point range in this one and .896 points per possession on 67 trips. Overall, they turned the ball over on 31-percent of their possessions and shot 43.5 percent from the field for the duration of the game.
--Junior guard Jevon Carter has become a Jedi-master at making the difficult seem easy. He just continues to hit tough shot after tough shot with relative ease and is the unquestionable focal point of this team when they need to get a basket. Today he had 15 points and 5 rebounds in 37-minutes. In the last three games, Carter has played 120 out of 130 minutes scoring 63 points, grabbing 22 rebounds, dishing 9 assists, recording 6 steals and only 4 turnovers.
--Senior forward Nathan Adrian was huge in this game in basically every aspect. Adrian had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in this one and had one of the best passes over the year to find Carter for a huge three-pointer late in the second half. Adrian helped carry the team offensively in the early-goings of the second half and just continues to do everything right when he’s on the floor. It’s apparent Huggins doesn’t want to take him off the floor either as he logged 38-minutes in this one.
--Redshirt junior forward Elijah Macon just narrowly missed his third straight double figure scoring effort, which would have been the first time he did that in his career, with 8 points and 5 rebounds. All five of those rebounds were on the offensive end. But again in 20 minutes he was solid giving the Mountaineers a good effort in the post.
--West Virginia hit 10-15 from the free throw line, while TCU was 12-20. As all people that follow the Mountaineers know, not making free throws in close games is a dagger. In the first meeting the Horned Frogs made 17-21 from the free throw line.
--West Virginia had 14 assists on 24 made baskets in this one.
--Highest +/- is redshirt freshman Lamont West with a +6 in his six-minutes as well as four points (on SEVEN shots) and one monster dunk that should end the finishing concerns.
--Senior guard Teyvon Myers has had his issues at times in Big 12 Conference play but was big today with eight points and three steals in his 13-minutes. His stretch with back-to-back contested layups was a huge one that kept the Mountaineers out front.
--This game had a total of 14 blocks between the two teams.
--West Virginia is 10-37 from three-point range against TCU this season.
--West Virginia will get Baylor Monday night and depending on how things unfold in Ames today could be playing for a chance to lock up second place in the Big 12.
--You’ve just seen flashes at times this year, but I think you can really see what head coach Bob Huggins sees down the road with freshman Maciej Bender at the top of the press with his length and the way he can move his feet for a big man. He’s been getting some impressive blocks fast few games and had two today including one where he tracked it down from behind to thwart an easy layup attempt.
--Yes, that last foul was a weak one and the decision by junior Daxter Miles was questionable at best but it was called a foul and credit him for hitting a free throw to put the Mountaineers ahead. Not sure how, TCU got an open three-pointer to attempt to get the win but it was off and they did.
--Speaking of Miles he started strong with an opening jumper making the start in place of Ahmad, but that free throw was his only other point of the game in 21 minutes. West Virginia has got to get him jump started much like they did with Ahmad earlier in the year.
--West Virginia was out-rebounded 21-12 at the half by TCU which helped offset the 12 turnovers by the Horned Frogs. This was obviously a point of emphasis in the locker room as the Mountaineers won the edge 24-17 to end up -2 for the game but the difference on the boards was a key factor. Especially on the offensive end where the Mountaineers held a 17-9 advantage.
--The Mountaineers moved to the 1-3-1 zone defense late again in the game and the Horned Frogs seemed to have some trouble solving it. It’s been something we’ve seen over the last couple games as a different look at it’s just another thing teams have to prepare for when they play the Mountaineers.
--Familiar formula for West Virginia here in this one compared to the first one. West Virginia had 42 of their 82 points in the paint in the first meeting, 34 of the 61 today. The Mountaineers attacked the basket and was able to get some timely buckets.
--Also similar to the first meeting West Virginia turned TCU over 21 times and scored 19 points off those miscues. The Mountaineers had 28 points off 18 turnovers the first go-around. Of those turnovers today, 12 of them were steals by West Virginia.
--The Mountaineers held TCU to 12-29 from two-point range in this one and .896 points per possession on 67 trips. Overall, they turned the ball over on 31-percent of their possessions and shot 43.5 percent from the field for the duration of the game.
--Junior guard Jevon Carter has become a Jedi-master at making the difficult seem easy. He just continues to hit tough shot after tough shot with relative ease and is the unquestionable focal point of this team when they need to get a basket. Today he had 15 points and 5 rebounds in 37-minutes. In the last three games, Carter has played 120 out of 130 minutes scoring 63 points, grabbing 22 rebounds, dishing 9 assists, recording 6 steals and only 4 turnovers.
--Senior forward Nathan Adrian was huge in this game in basically every aspect. Adrian had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in this one and had one of the best passes over the year to find Carter for a huge three-pointer late in the second half. Adrian helped carry the team offensively in the early-goings of the second half and just continues to do everything right when he’s on the floor. It’s apparent Huggins doesn’t want to take him off the floor either as he logged 38-minutes in this one.
--Redshirt junior forward Elijah Macon just narrowly missed his third straight double figure scoring effort, which would have been the first time he did that in his career, with 8 points and 5 rebounds. All five of those rebounds were on the offensive end. But again in 20 minutes he was solid giving the Mountaineers a good effort in the post.
--West Virginia hit 10-15 from the free throw line, while TCU was 12-20. As all people that follow the Mountaineers know, not making free throws in close games is a dagger. In the first meeting the Horned Frogs made 17-21 from the free throw line.
--West Virginia had 14 assists on 24 made baskets in this one.
--Highest +/- is redshirt freshman Lamont West with a +6 in his six-minutes as well as four points (on SEVEN shots) and one monster dunk that should end the finishing concerns.
--Senior guard Teyvon Myers has had his issues at times in Big 12 Conference play but was big today with eight points and three steals in his 13-minutes. His stretch with back-to-back contested layups was a huge one that kept the Mountaineers out front.
--This game had a total of 14 blocks between the two teams.
--West Virginia is 10-37 from three-point range against TCU this season.
--West Virginia will get Baylor Monday night and depending on how things unfold in Ames today could be playing for a chance to lock up second place in the Big 12.
--You’ve just seen flashes at times this year, but I think you can really see what head coach Bob Huggins sees down the road with freshman Maciej Bender at the top of the press with his length and the way he can move his feet for a big man. He’s been getting some impressive blocks fast few games and had two today including one where he tracked it down from behind to thwart an easy layup attempt.
