The Diehard Breakdown: WVU 101 Georgia Southern 68

[WvuDieHard]

Coming into this game, WVU was concerned about the scoring potential for Georgia Southern who's team was ranked 11th in the country in scoring. The game plan was simple: Play lock down defense. In the first half, that was exactly the case as WV raced to a 43-13 lead at one point and settled into a halftime advantage of 55-26. The 2nd half was a case of going through the motions as this game was well in hand. The emphasis on playing better defense was preached all week in practice going into this game. What may be the most impressive thing about the WV defense is that this young team responded to that challenge.

The scoring was very balanced today as WV places 5 players in double figures. Staten again leads the way with a 20 point and 9 assist outing. Henderson and Williams had 16 a piece followed by 15 for Harris and 11 for Browne. WV won the battle of the glass 46-36 while holding GS to 39% FG shooting. WV had a very impressive 24 assists against only 10 turnovers. WV shot 56% from the field for the game.

In conclusion, an impressive performance against a team that was clearly overmatched yet there are positives to take away from this game. 1) balanced scoring--something WV will need in Big 12 play 2) FG shooting--certainly this team is leaps and bounds better than last years at making shots 3) ball distribution--we are moving the ball better as evidenced by the assist totals and balanced scoring. 4) starting to play better defense as the players learn the Huggins methodology of help defense. This team is getting better each game and I think there is a chip on the shoulder of the players and coaches to prove they are better than last years squad. This team plays better together and has much better chemistry than that train wreck we watched last year. There is still a long way to go in this season but right now there is a ray of sunshine on this program.

So now it is on the Presbyterian on Saturday at 1:30 pm in the 2nd round of the Cancun Challenge. WV should pound this team by 30+ points. Have a great day Mountaineer fans wherever your Country road has taken you.

 

[bbwvfan]

While watching the game, I could not tell if WVU was playing really well on both sides of the court… or if GSU was really bad.

After watching it and thinking about it…. I think GSU is just a really bad team.

Nice to see WVU go through the motions and keep the comfy cushion. Obviously something they did not do in the VT loss. Williams looks impressive to me. And, Staten made his first 3 as a Mountaineer. Of course with the way the game is being called now, his dribble penetration will be virtually unstoppable this season.

 

[Anotherwvufan]

I enjoy the Die Hard breakdown better then watching the games.

 

[JIMKOON]

While watching the game, I could not tell if WVU was playing really well on both sides of the court… or if GSU was really bad.

After watching it and thinking about it…. I think GSU is just a really bad team.

Nice to see WVU go through the motions and keep the comfy cushion. Obviously something they did not do in the VT loss. Williams looks impressive to me. And, Staten made his first 3 as a Mountaineer. Of course with the way the game is being called now, his dribble penetration will be virtually unstoppable this season.

I have always called these type of games, confidence builders, because they do show what our players are capable of, in the past two seasons, we haven't been witness to this type of game transitioning to conference opponents. I DID see something last night, very clearly we did not take this team for granted, we played consistently hard throughout the first half.

I too enjoy the eloquent breakdown of the game here, versus the radio babble. Call me simple, but I like it simple.

 

[WvuDieHard]

While watching the game, I could not tell if WVU was playing really well on both sides of the court… or if GSU was really bad.

After watching it and thinking about it…. I think GSU is just a really bad team.

Nice to see WVU go through the motions and keep the comfy cushion. Obviously something they did not do in the VT loss. Williams looks impressive to me. And, Staten made his first 3 as a Mountaineer. Of course with the way the game is being called now, his dribble penetration will be virtually unstoppable this season.

That is the best observation of the year!