--Kansas State has more turnovers (16) than shots at the basket (14) at the 3:41 mark of the first half so it’s really hard to judge what happened with West Virginia racing out to a big lead. The Wildcats finished the first half with 17 points and 18 turnovers and while the Mountaineers were able to race out to a 31-17 lead, it certainly wasn’t a thing of art. It was a really sloppy game on both sides, but Kansas State was so poor it allowed the visitors to take a double-digit lead into the break. Still, you’re not going to apologize for winning a game on the road after a two-week layoff. There is a lot to improve upon and some of that could easily be attributed to conditioning with some of the odd lineups, but you don’t have a lot of time to prepare with Texas Tech coming up in Morgantown Monday.
--When West Virginia needed a big shot in this game it typically came from either Deuce McBride (18 points on 7-12 shooting). He was 4-7 from deep in this one and hit some big ones early to help put some distance between the two teams. He was +19 for the game which was impressive but …
--Senior guard Taz Sherman only connected on two shots in the game, but they were a pair of critical three-pointers on back-to-back possessions when the game was getting tight. He was an incredible +30. But overall, this was a balanced scoring effort.
--Redshirt freshman Jalen Bridges responded with 12 points on 5-6 shooting and you can easily see why head coach Bob Huggins glows so much when he talks about his skill set. He seems to be getting more and more confidence and is going to be a player to really watch as he develops. I think he has really blossomed since being thrust into the four-out, one-in motion style of offense and he really seems to be feeling a lot more confident because of it.
--It wasn’t the best game for redshirt junior Derek Culver, but he only played 21 minutes. He finished 2-8 from the field for 8 points and grabbed 4 rebounds before fouling out. It was learned pre-game that Culver was one of the ones affected by the recent pause and it might take some time to get him back into playing full speed. However, he did have a very impressive dunk when he beat Kansas State down the floor on pure effort alone to finish. He was +16 on the floor despite the obvious struggles.
--It wasn’t the best offensive night; nobody is arguing that. But anytime you have 17 assists on 22 made baskets that is great basketball especially when you consider the break.
--The 28 turnovers were the most for Kansas State under Bruce Weber. The Mountaineers turned that into 26 points which was obviously the difference in the game. Overall, when Kansas State just wasn't simply giving the ball to the Mountaineers this was their best effort in some time on the defensive end.
--The Mountaineers were outrebounded by 13. But they did hold Kansas State to 38-percent from the field and 20-percent from three.
--Loved getting to see Seny Ndiaye get some minutes, hated to see him get a technical foul the way he did. It unfortunately is going to overshadow the fact he scored and filled in admirably in the first half. It will get corrected, or he won’t play, but it’s a learning lesson here.
--How can you not love the energy that Kedrian Johnson plays with? He played 15 minutes and is all over the floor and while he didn’t score at a high clip (2 points) he got a steal and really always is moving.
--Felt like Jordan McCabe really gave this team a lift. He only hit one shot and scored 8 points but he facilitated things well with 5 assists and was better defensively than he gets credit for at times. He really seemed to play his role in this one and made the most of his opportunities.
--Junior Sean McNeil continued to struggle to find the bottom of the net. He was 0-6 in this one and is now 6-27 from the field and 5-17 from three over his last four games. He is somebody they have to get more from against better teams.
--Again, you can’t apologize for this one. It was a gigantic game to come back after two-weeks off and only having one day as a team to practice. I don’t care that it was a bad Kansas State team, you had to go on the road to do it and they took care of business. Now, the Mountaineers are going to have to do it against much more difficult competition against Texas Tech and that could be a significant game moving forward with the Mountaineers now at 3-3 in the league with a lot of challenges ahead.
--When West Virginia needed a big shot in this game it typically came from either Deuce McBride (18 points on 7-12 shooting). He was 4-7 from deep in this one and hit some big ones early to help put some distance between the two teams. He was +19 for the game which was impressive but …
--Senior guard Taz Sherman only connected on two shots in the game, but they were a pair of critical three-pointers on back-to-back possessions when the game was getting tight. He was an incredible +30. But overall, this was a balanced scoring effort.
--Redshirt freshman Jalen Bridges responded with 12 points on 5-6 shooting and you can easily see why head coach Bob Huggins glows so much when he talks about his skill set. He seems to be getting more and more confidence and is going to be a player to really watch as he develops. I think he has really blossomed since being thrust into the four-out, one-in motion style of offense and he really seems to be feeling a lot more confident because of it.
--It wasn’t the best game for redshirt junior Derek Culver, but he only played 21 minutes. He finished 2-8 from the field for 8 points and grabbed 4 rebounds before fouling out. It was learned pre-game that Culver was one of the ones affected by the recent pause and it might take some time to get him back into playing full speed. However, he did have a very impressive dunk when he beat Kansas State down the floor on pure effort alone to finish. He was +16 on the floor despite the obvious struggles.
--It wasn’t the best offensive night; nobody is arguing that. But anytime you have 17 assists on 22 made baskets that is great basketball especially when you consider the break.
--The 28 turnovers were the most for Kansas State under Bruce Weber. The Mountaineers turned that into 26 points which was obviously the difference in the game. Overall, when Kansas State just wasn't simply giving the ball to the Mountaineers this was their best effort in some time on the defensive end.
--The Mountaineers were outrebounded by 13. But they did hold Kansas State to 38-percent from the field and 20-percent from three.
--Loved getting to see Seny Ndiaye get some minutes, hated to see him get a technical foul the way he did. It unfortunately is going to overshadow the fact he scored and filled in admirably in the first half. It will get corrected, or he won’t play, but it’s a learning lesson here.
--How can you not love the energy that Kedrian Johnson plays with? He played 15 minutes and is all over the floor and while he didn’t score at a high clip (2 points) he got a steal and really always is moving.
--Felt like Jordan McCabe really gave this team a lift. He only hit one shot and scored 8 points but he facilitated things well with 5 assists and was better defensively than he gets credit for at times. He really seemed to play his role in this one and made the most of his opportunities.
--Junior Sean McNeil continued to struggle to find the bottom of the net. He was 0-6 in this one and is now 6-27 from the field and 5-17 from three over his last four games. He is somebody they have to get more from against better teams.
--Again, you can’t apologize for this one. It was a gigantic game to come back after two-weeks off and only having one day as a team to practice. I don’t care that it was a bad Kansas State team, you had to go on the road to do it and they took care of business. Now, the Mountaineers are going to have to do it against much more difficult competition against Texas Tech and that could be a significant game moving forward with the Mountaineers now at 3-3 in the league with a lot of challenges ahead.
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