--West Virginia needed to find a way to out tough and grit this game out at home and while it wasn't pretty the entire time and almost got disastrous at the end but the result is exactly what this team needed a win at home over Cincinnati to get to 16-10 overall and 7-8 in the league. There's a lot of work left to do still, but this is such a big win overall and this team showed some real fight after trailing for much of the second half and struggling to get things going. Cincinnati led 47-41 with 9:44 left and this team showed a lot of fight. This is the first week night win at home since early in the non-conference and it couldn't have come at a better time.
--West Virginia couldn't have looked worse at times in the second half offensively had a stretch where they made 1 of 12. But when it mattered the most, they made plays and really found a way to score. West Virginia finished at 40-percent overall. The Mountaineers had 12 assists on 22 made baskets.
--Javon Small had 16 points on 5-11 shooting and seemed to do it somewhat quietly. He had a couple lazy passes in the back court but he is just so good overall. My only complaint is I feel he needs to force it a little bit more at times late in the shot clock. The give and go he had with Eduardo Andre was so nice.
--West Virginia led this game 62-53 with 9 seconds left and had a chance to lose this basketball game. They gave up a three, turned the ball over and another three. Then had to use two timeouts and couldn't get the ball in and turned it over again. The Bearcats had a chance to tie the game with a wide open three but it didn't drop for them. Winning it sure beats the alternative but this team has to stop finding ways to beat themselves in critical situations. A loss here, especially in that fashion, might have been a season back-breaker.
--Sophomore Amani Hansberry had one of the strangest games that I've seen of late as he struggled at times on defense in the pick and roll and on offense but also is likely the reason the Mountaineers won this basketball game with what he was able to do hitting some big shots and getting some really tough rebounds. He finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds overall and was 6-13 from the floor in this one. Strange game but in the end he definitely played a major role in this win.
--Freshman Jonathan Powell has struggled of late hitting shots but was 5-12 in this one overall and 2-7 from three. He was 2-5 in the second half from deep and scored 10 points. It was good to see him be assertive and take the ball to the rim as well. That three-ball that he hit in the second half to stretch the lead to six might be the biggest shot of the season considering what it means right now.
--West Virginia held a 14-7 edge in the free throw attempts in this game. The Mountaineers also were +10 overall in points there. That makes a difference and it was good to not only see the Mountaineers play defense without some bad fouls, but make them when they got there. They were much more aggressive going to the rim overall.
--Sophomore Sencire Harris puzzles me at times on offense. He seems to push it or hold things up in reverse order on the break, but his defense again served as a massive spark. He just gets after it and makes teams work so hard and he definitely frustrated the Bearcats. He finished with 6 points and 6 rebounds.
--Toby Okani wasn't as big of a factor offensively in this one with just 2 points on 1-6 shooting. He seemed to get some attention in this one.
--Joe Yesufu only made 2 baskets on 6 attempts, but it felt like both were so significant and then he also hit a pair of free throws. He is one of the players that can score when things are breaking down offensively and this team is better when he is looking to do so.
--Only 9 bench points for West Virginia. This one was carried by the starters.
--Thought Eduardo Andre did some nice things defensively although he was called on some late fouls. He made things more difficult for them in the pick and roll game. He only had 3 points, but a block and a steal. Also a very nice pass. He played better in his 13 minutes.
--West Virginia was 14-27 around the rim. That isn't going to cut it.
--West Virginia was +8 on the boards. That is nice to see. The Bearcats only had 3 second chance points and that's only 5 overall in the past two games.
--Cincinnati looked much better than in the first meeting and really played well for stretches in this game. The Mountaineers were able to force a 9-0 run late and really on the defensive end they made it tough with their pressure. The Bearcats didn't turn it over a lot with just 6 but 3 of those came in the second half in critical spots. West Virginia was really pressuring them and keeping them from even getting in their sets at times which allowed them to come back. The Mountaineers outplayed the Bearcats down the last six minutes of this one.
--West Virginia now will head to Texas Tech and a win there and you're cooking with gas. Now, it isn't a requirement obviously but this team is in a much better spot than it could have been if this one didn't end the way it did.
--West Virginia couldn't have looked worse at times in the second half offensively had a stretch where they made 1 of 12. But when it mattered the most, they made plays and really found a way to score. West Virginia finished at 40-percent overall. The Mountaineers had 12 assists on 22 made baskets.
--Javon Small had 16 points on 5-11 shooting and seemed to do it somewhat quietly. He had a couple lazy passes in the back court but he is just so good overall. My only complaint is I feel he needs to force it a little bit more at times late in the shot clock. The give and go he had with Eduardo Andre was so nice.
--West Virginia led this game 62-53 with 9 seconds left and had a chance to lose this basketball game. They gave up a three, turned the ball over and another three. Then had to use two timeouts and couldn't get the ball in and turned it over again. The Bearcats had a chance to tie the game with a wide open three but it didn't drop for them. Winning it sure beats the alternative but this team has to stop finding ways to beat themselves in critical situations. A loss here, especially in that fashion, might have been a season back-breaker.
--Sophomore Amani Hansberry had one of the strangest games that I've seen of late as he struggled at times on defense in the pick and roll and on offense but also is likely the reason the Mountaineers won this basketball game with what he was able to do hitting some big shots and getting some really tough rebounds. He finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds overall and was 6-13 from the floor in this one. Strange game but in the end he definitely played a major role in this win.
--Freshman Jonathan Powell has struggled of late hitting shots but was 5-12 in this one overall and 2-7 from three. He was 2-5 in the second half from deep and scored 10 points. It was good to see him be assertive and take the ball to the rim as well. That three-ball that he hit in the second half to stretch the lead to six might be the biggest shot of the season considering what it means right now.
--West Virginia held a 14-7 edge in the free throw attempts in this game. The Mountaineers also were +10 overall in points there. That makes a difference and it was good to not only see the Mountaineers play defense without some bad fouls, but make them when they got there. They were much more aggressive going to the rim overall.
--Sophomore Sencire Harris puzzles me at times on offense. He seems to push it or hold things up in reverse order on the break, but his defense again served as a massive spark. He just gets after it and makes teams work so hard and he definitely frustrated the Bearcats. He finished with 6 points and 6 rebounds.
--Toby Okani wasn't as big of a factor offensively in this one with just 2 points on 1-6 shooting. He seemed to get some attention in this one.
--Joe Yesufu only made 2 baskets on 6 attempts, but it felt like both were so significant and then he also hit a pair of free throws. He is one of the players that can score when things are breaking down offensively and this team is better when he is looking to do so.
--Only 9 bench points for West Virginia. This one was carried by the starters.
--Thought Eduardo Andre did some nice things defensively although he was called on some late fouls. He made things more difficult for them in the pick and roll game. He only had 3 points, but a block and a steal. Also a very nice pass. He played better in his 13 minutes.
--West Virginia was 14-27 around the rim. That isn't going to cut it.
--West Virginia was +8 on the boards. That is nice to see. The Bearcats only had 3 second chance points and that's only 5 overall in the past two games.
--Cincinnati looked much better than in the first meeting and really played well for stretches in this game. The Mountaineers were able to force a 9-0 run late and really on the defensive end they made it tough with their pressure. The Bearcats didn't turn it over a lot with just 6 but 3 of those came in the second half in critical spots. West Virginia was really pressuring them and keeping them from even getting in their sets at times which allowed them to come back. The Mountaineers outplayed the Bearcats down the last six minutes of this one.
--West Virginia now will head to Texas Tech and a win there and you're cooking with gas. Now, it isn't a requirement obviously but this team is in a much better spot than it could have been if this one didn't end the way it did.
