–West Virginia had to get this one and to their credit the Mountaineers were able to do just that, pulling away from Utah with a late first half run and really for the most part keeping them at a distance for the majority of the second half. This was a strong bounce back performance for the supporting cast on the roster after the issues against TCU earlier this week. West Virginia led by 9 points at halftime and Javon Small only had 3 points which is a sign of how well others on the roster played. This is a good building block win that now gets the Mountaineers to 15 on the season with eight left.
–West Virginia really did a good job on the offensive end in this game shooting 48-percent overall and 38-percent from three. The Mountaineers had 15 assists on 25 made baskets and really ran some good stuff against Utah to get some easy baskets. Really encouraged by this performance especially with how the Mountaineers took care of the basketball with just 7 turnovers.
–On the defensive side, felt West Virginia had good energy and held Utah to 41-percent from the field and was able to take advantage of some of their mistakes. The Utes shot just 26-percent from three.
–West Virginia only forced 10 turnovers, but that resulted in 16 points which was basically the difference in the game when you consider that the Mountaineers were +10 in that department.
–Amani Hansberry had himself a game. The sophomore was aggressive on the offensive end and showed the ability to knock down some shots as well as get to the rim. Hansberry had 17 points overall on 6-10 shooting and was 3-6 from three to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. This was as complete of a game as he’s played in quite some time and overall impressive. It should come as no surprise he left the team at +16 overall.
–West Virginia won this game despite Javon Small just taking five shots. He finished with 14 points and 8 assists with zero turnovers. He’s just special.
–Joe Yesufu also came up big, especially in the first half, with 14 points in 24 minutes and made 6-10 from the floor. He hit some big shots in this one early and really gave the Mountaineers another scoring option before he got help from some others. Late in the game, Yesufu also had an impressive finish to basically close the deal on the game. Really good bounce back all around here.
–Jonathan Powell had been struggling making just 7 for his last 30 three-pointers, but scored 11 points in this one and hit 2-5 from deep. Those shots came in critical junctions of this game and this team is simply better when he’s scoring the basketball. He could have made some better decisions on the break at times, but was also getting after it defensively and that led to some opportunities on the break. He was +13 in this one and it’s good to see the freshman rebound.
–Toby Okani was very good on the defensive end again in this one and continues to showcase his ability to help on the offensive end as well. His block at the rim was impressive and his final stat line is basically what we’ve become accustomed to with 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks while playing 37 minutes. He was +11.
–KJ Tenner scored his first points in 2025 from the field and was able to give Small a breather.
–West Virginia went with the eight man rotation again. This seems like it will be the group as long as there aren’t any more injuries or foul issues.
–Free throw shooting wasn’t good in this one. It didn’t cost them today, but they can’t go 13-23.
–Only -2 on the glass. You’ll take that.
–Up next is BYU and it’s going to be another challenge here inside the Coliseum. A win would really set the Mountaineers up well over the final seven games of the season and move them one step closer to that magic number of what I believe is 19 to be a lock for the tournament.
–West Virginia really did a good job on the offensive end in this game shooting 48-percent overall and 38-percent from three. The Mountaineers had 15 assists on 25 made baskets and really ran some good stuff against Utah to get some easy baskets. Really encouraged by this performance especially with how the Mountaineers took care of the basketball with just 7 turnovers.
–On the defensive side, felt West Virginia had good energy and held Utah to 41-percent from the field and was able to take advantage of some of their mistakes. The Utes shot just 26-percent from three.
–West Virginia only forced 10 turnovers, but that resulted in 16 points which was basically the difference in the game when you consider that the Mountaineers were +10 in that department.
–Amani Hansberry had himself a game. The sophomore was aggressive on the offensive end and showed the ability to knock down some shots as well as get to the rim. Hansberry had 17 points overall on 6-10 shooting and was 3-6 from three to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. This was as complete of a game as he’s played in quite some time and overall impressive. It should come as no surprise he left the team at +16 overall.
–West Virginia won this game despite Javon Small just taking five shots. He finished with 14 points and 8 assists with zero turnovers. He’s just special.
–Joe Yesufu also came up big, especially in the first half, with 14 points in 24 minutes and made 6-10 from the floor. He hit some big shots in this one early and really gave the Mountaineers another scoring option before he got help from some others. Late in the game, Yesufu also had an impressive finish to basically close the deal on the game. Really good bounce back all around here.
–Jonathan Powell had been struggling making just 7 for his last 30 three-pointers, but scored 11 points in this one and hit 2-5 from deep. Those shots came in critical junctions of this game and this team is simply better when he’s scoring the basketball. He could have made some better decisions on the break at times, but was also getting after it defensively and that led to some opportunities on the break. He was +13 in this one and it’s good to see the freshman rebound.
–Toby Okani was very good on the defensive end again in this one and continues to showcase his ability to help on the offensive end as well. His block at the rim was impressive and his final stat line is basically what we’ve become accustomed to with 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks while playing 37 minutes. He was +11.
–KJ Tenner scored his first points in 2025 from the field and was able to give Small a breather.
–West Virginia went with the eight man rotation again. This seems like it will be the group as long as there aren’t any more injuries or foul issues.
–Free throw shooting wasn’t good in this one. It didn’t cost them today, but they can’t go 13-23.
–Only -2 on the glass. You’ll take that.
–Up next is BYU and it’s going to be another challenge here inside the Coliseum. A win would really set the Mountaineers up well over the final seven games of the season and move them one step closer to that magic number of what I believe is 19 to be a lock for the tournament.
