--West Virginia head coach Josh Eilert said the team had a required day off Sunday and they took a minute to reset and get their minds fresh. On Monday, the Mountaineers started prep for Cincinnati and are excited to be back home and have the fans behind them.
--Jesse Edwards had an appointment yesterday which gave him some confidence because there is some pain he needs to play through. Looking back at yesterday, he played with less hesitation in practice and anybody that watched on Saturday could see he was favoring that in a lot of ways. The decision to get back out there was up to him and when they felt they needed him they through him out there. Eilert said that earlier on with the rehab the wrap will be a lot tighter and as they progress it will be loosened.
--RaeQuan Battle is pressing a little bit but Eilert keeps having conversations with him about forcing some actions that can hurt the team. He doesn't want to do that and wants to figure out the niche where he can be effective as a scorer and as a team player. He has his mindset where you want it to be on being an effective member of the program and Eilert is excited to see him in action.
--Cincinnati is one of those teams that plays really physical. It's something they've struggled him at times and they need to match that and can't back down or play on their heels. They are a very good offensive rebounding team and it's something they need to sure up. Inserting Edwards into the lineup should help on the glass.
--Eilert said that on the road it's more of a challenge but at home you feel the energy behind you and you can get that effort. Every single possession matters and it's a game of inches in the end and the difference might be one effort play.
--Eilert said that it should be helpful for all the perimeter players that Edwards is back. When teams have to key on that roll man and do a lot of tagging on the backside it will open up for the guards. They can play differently and inside out which they didn't have the ability to do that before so it means they'll be a more balanced approach. It might not be the case right away with how comfortable Edwards is with his recovery from wrist surgery, but it should.
--The word that Eilert wants to use to describe the offense is more balanced with everybody back. You've seen some spurts but this team needs to develop cohesion. They need to flush the past and strive for growth and try to maximize their potential as a team.
--Edwards likely isn't going to take a three-point shot right now and isn't going to be a threat from the perimeter with his wrist injury. Eilert didn't know what to expect when it came to playing time with his injury upon his return, but when he got the word he was good to play he put him into the game.
--Progress is being used to measure success. The team is whole for the first time and now that they're all together in game 21 they're trying to see what their mindset is and looking at the 11 games left to maximize their potential and show what they can do from day one.
--It's good for everybody in the program to have versatility and if Kerr Kriisa is making shots they're going to go back to him and let him shoot the ball. Noah Farrakhan is a good point guard and while they went to the well too much at Oklahoma State a lot of their success came off that.
--West Virginia was just one or two winning or effort plays from winning the game against Oklahoma State. This team needs to learn how to close games and not make it a habit.
--Eilert said the two words he used the most against UCF and Oklahoma State were discipline and consistency. They have to get to the point where they are a disciplined team and not make mistakes. Those are things that he harps on every single day and they need to take the same approach as they did against Texas and Kansas.
--Eilert said the four new teams had rosters to compete and they can beat anybody or lose to anybody on any given night. Some teams are coming up on their week off to hit the reset button and get their legs under them before heading down the stretch in conference play including West Virginia.
--Eilert said that he can't imagine that the team that wins this league doesn't have five or six losses.
--Edwards game conditioning wasn't there and it will be a gradual process to get him to be where he will be playing the minutes he was playing. Hopefully that occurs in the next two or three games.
--Eilert said that the UConn team in 2011 was on the wrong side of the bubble and they rattled five straight games in the Big East Tournament then won the National Championship. There are teams that get things going and turn things around mid-season. Why can't that be them? If they have the right mindset, why not them>
--Every walk of life you have adversity and how you handle it that's the mentality you have to have. Eilert felt that he had some guys hanging their heads after the Oklahoma State loss and he told them to pick it up and he feels they heard that loud and clear because they have a lot to play for still this year.
--Cincinnati will use a heavy dose of man-to-man and in your face physicality. They are pretty balanced from an offensive standpoint and have a lot of size down low. They're a very balanced team and there's a lot of pieces to work with and they take the physicality to a higher level than a lot of teams. Freedom of movement and how the game is called will be important.
--Certainly it wasn't two of Battle's best performances in the past two games. He got frustrated and Eilert got upset with him because of his effort and he wasn't first to the floor on one play. They've had conversations since the game and everything he hears from him is that he's trying to figure out how to help them.
--Jesse Edwards had an appointment yesterday which gave him some confidence because there is some pain he needs to play through. Looking back at yesterday, he played with less hesitation in practice and anybody that watched on Saturday could see he was favoring that in a lot of ways. The decision to get back out there was up to him and when they felt they needed him they through him out there. Eilert said that earlier on with the rehab the wrap will be a lot tighter and as they progress it will be loosened.
--RaeQuan Battle is pressing a little bit but Eilert keeps having conversations with him about forcing some actions that can hurt the team. He doesn't want to do that and wants to figure out the niche where he can be effective as a scorer and as a team player. He has his mindset where you want it to be on being an effective member of the program and Eilert is excited to see him in action.
--Cincinnati is one of those teams that plays really physical. It's something they've struggled him at times and they need to match that and can't back down or play on their heels. They are a very good offensive rebounding team and it's something they need to sure up. Inserting Edwards into the lineup should help on the glass.
--Eilert said that on the road it's more of a challenge but at home you feel the energy behind you and you can get that effort. Every single possession matters and it's a game of inches in the end and the difference might be one effort play.
--Eilert said that it should be helpful for all the perimeter players that Edwards is back. When teams have to key on that roll man and do a lot of tagging on the backside it will open up for the guards. They can play differently and inside out which they didn't have the ability to do that before so it means they'll be a more balanced approach. It might not be the case right away with how comfortable Edwards is with his recovery from wrist surgery, but it should.
--The word that Eilert wants to use to describe the offense is more balanced with everybody back. You've seen some spurts but this team needs to develop cohesion. They need to flush the past and strive for growth and try to maximize their potential as a team.
--Edwards likely isn't going to take a three-point shot right now and isn't going to be a threat from the perimeter with his wrist injury. Eilert didn't know what to expect when it came to playing time with his injury upon his return, but when he got the word he was good to play he put him into the game.
--Progress is being used to measure success. The team is whole for the first time and now that they're all together in game 21 they're trying to see what their mindset is and looking at the 11 games left to maximize their potential and show what they can do from day one.
--It's good for everybody in the program to have versatility and if Kerr Kriisa is making shots they're going to go back to him and let him shoot the ball. Noah Farrakhan is a good point guard and while they went to the well too much at Oklahoma State a lot of their success came off that.
--West Virginia was just one or two winning or effort plays from winning the game against Oklahoma State. This team needs to learn how to close games and not make it a habit.
--Eilert said the two words he used the most against UCF and Oklahoma State were discipline and consistency. They have to get to the point where they are a disciplined team and not make mistakes. Those are things that he harps on every single day and they need to take the same approach as they did against Texas and Kansas.
--Eilert said the four new teams had rosters to compete and they can beat anybody or lose to anybody on any given night. Some teams are coming up on their week off to hit the reset button and get their legs under them before heading down the stretch in conference play including West Virginia.
--Eilert said that he can't imagine that the team that wins this league doesn't have five or six losses.
--Edwards game conditioning wasn't there and it will be a gradual process to get him to be where he will be playing the minutes he was playing. Hopefully that occurs in the next two or three games.
--Eilert said that the UConn team in 2011 was on the wrong side of the bubble and they rattled five straight games in the Big East Tournament then won the National Championship. There are teams that get things going and turn things around mid-season. Why can't that be them? If they have the right mindset, why not them>
--Every walk of life you have adversity and how you handle it that's the mentality you have to have. Eilert felt that he had some guys hanging their heads after the Oklahoma State loss and he told them to pick it up and he feels they heard that loud and clear because they have a lot to play for still this year.
--Cincinnati will use a heavy dose of man-to-man and in your face physicality. They are pretty balanced from an offensive standpoint and have a lot of size down low. They're a very balanced team and there's a lot of pieces to work with and they take the physicality to a higher level than a lot of teams. Freedom of movement and how the game is called will be important.
--Certainly it wasn't two of Battle's best performances in the past two games. He got frustrated and Eilert got upset with him because of his effort and he wasn't first to the floor on one play. They've had conversations since the game and everything he hears from him is that he's trying to figure out how to help them.
