The Diehard Breakdown: WVU 65 Kansas State 59

[WvuDieHard]

The WV Mountaineers rolled to their 17th win on the season tonight by wearing down another opponent. The game was sloppy, rough, and physical with both teams struggling to maintain possessions and make baskets. Yet this seems to be the kind of game WV relishes as it takes the opponents out of their normal routine and turns the game into a helter-skelter environment. And tonight was no different as WV got 25 turnovers out of KS while committing 20 themselves. WV and KS both shot a poultry 36% from the field but WV got 6 extra shots. Had KS made their FT's (20-35), it may have been a different story for the Mountaineers.

WV was led in scoring by Tarik Phillips who came off the bench and played superbly as Staten picked up 2 first half fouls and sat the bench. Gary Brown and Javon Carter have 9 a piece. Devon Williams has 8 and 9 rebounds while Jaysean Paige has 7. Funny how a night on the pine can have a positive effect. Phillips and Paige were instrumental in this win so another great coaching move last week by Huggs in setting those two.

In conclusion, this team is still not where it could be. But how do argue with the results? Come on--did anyone see 17 out of the first 20 in the win column? I didn't but after the first 3-4 games, I became a believer and still am. If this group can learn to play to its strengths and find some scoring, they are going to keep winning games. They have a tough stretch ahead of them and some tough road games but the defense can always keep them in it. A couple of more observations. 1) Holton has got to play smart as his athleticism is important to the future of this team. He needs to stop running his jaw and start playing basketball 2) Tarik Phillips is going to be special. Now I have said this before but now I know. He can score off the dribble and right now he and Staten are the only two who can do that. I think Phillips is better because he has a little more size once he gets in there with the timber. 3) If anybody ever doubted Huggins in the past few years, you must also realize some of the moves that he has been made in this season. He truly is a Hall of Famer even if he is a little unconventional. Have a great day Mountaineer fans wherever your Country Road has taken you!

 

[bbwvfan]

I think the KSU a student section had it right tonite when they chanted "Big 12 refs suck."

That was turrible...

Our kids have got to stop making stupid fouls. It is maddening! But, I am happy with an ugly loss on the road.

 

[DBAR4WVU]

Yeah - I saw some pretty bad calls (travel by Williams late?) that were total head-scratchers.
Kansas St really wanted this game. The do not like losing at home - and they rarely do.
I liked the stat they showed late where WV has won 9 away from home this season.
I think they said only 2 other teams have accomplished that (VA and KTY???).

Tenacious D by WV but coupled with some sloppy ball handling (by both teams) late in the game.
Stupid fouls as well, some by the young guys.... it was entertaining to watch.

To answer your question - no, I never thought 17-3 in the first 20.
I believe I said I hoped we were undefeated going into Big12 play (missed by 2 pts.)
but felt we would be lucky to go .500 in conference.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Well, 11 games to go. I think I would be happy to go 6-5. Who knows, maybe we can do better. Texas and Kansas will give us fits but the others we can play with. It just becomes a matter of whether we can make enough shots. Ya know, we came out of timeouts running plays and scoring. Why are we not doing more of that in regular sets? We must either run good sets or have Tarik in the game to penetrate and create when we get bogged down in half court games. When these teams Zone us, you need Carter and Conner in the game to bust the Zone. We just need to play smarter in the half court sets and we will score more points. Having the ball in the hands of Devon Williams and Holton has proven to be a turnover waiting to happen when we ask them to pass the ball.

 

[bbwvfan]

The other player who needs to be on the court more is Paige. He is the best shooter on the team. He is another one that has to stop committing stupid fouls. He needs to stay on the court.

 

[DBAR4WVU]

yep - we need all of the offensive talent on the court as much of each game as possible.
Make a few stupid fouls - and Huggy will sit ur ass down, as he should.
Sometimes - 40 minutes of gathering splinters in your ass will teach you
more discipline and control than a week of coaching.