The Diehard Breakdown: WVU 73 OSU 63

[WvuDieHard]

WV rolled into Stillwater today fresh off the heels of an impressive win over a top 10 team (Kansas) and rustled a road win from the Cowboys of Oklahoma State 73-63. Head Coach Bob Huggin's team showed a new dimension today--3 point shooting. WV hits 10-20 behind the arc to create as much as a 14 point lead in the 2nd half. Equally impressive was WV's work on the glass as they corral a 37-20 rebounding advantage over the Cowboys. Most glaring was the 18 WV offensive rebounds.

WV struggled to score in the 1st half as they fought OSU to a 25-25 draw at halftime. The 2nd half gave fans a glimpse of what I expect to see in the NCAA tournament from WV---a Browne/Staten 1-2 punch late in the game. Brown leads WV today with 22 points while Staten hits 9-10 free throws for 18. When WV garners a lead, these 2 are as good as anyone in the country. I suspect the Coaching staff knows this too. Staten might miss a few FT's or miss a few shots but one thing stands out--he understands the value of a possession. Other stats of note: OSU 15 TO's, WV 13 TO's, 54 total fouls called in the game.

In conclusion, I was very impressed to see WV win like they did. We get 6 guys hitting 3's, we get Billy D. keeping us in the game in the 1st half hitting 2 3's, we get a big 3 from Wannie, and Brown hits 3 3's. If this team can shoot like this more consistently, we get more big wins in this conference. Right now, I think this solidifies WV as an NCAA tournament selection. I believe their body of work is too impressive to leave out of the 64 tournament teams. Now, we just need to keep doing what we do best--press and play good half court defense. Have a great evening Mountaineer fans wherever your Country Road takes you this snowy day. May you all be safe.

 

[bbwvfan]

Nice to see Huggy go back to the 4 out high motion and 5 out ISO again. This opens up driving lanes for Staten and Browne. To finish at the rim or kick out for the 3, was the offense of the day.

Wanny played a hell of a second half.

Most impressive was WVU's half court defense today. Against a pretty talented outside shooting team, they basically shut down their top shooters/scorers until desperation time.

This win bought them their ticket! Great road win!

 

[GoldRusher]

Its all about seeding now, lets get a few more W's!

 

[WVUDAD]

Palm has us a 5 seed in his bracket this week

 

[WvuDieHard]

I have seen us as 5, 6 or 7 seed. After these next 4 games, I imagine that could change. We really need to knock off Texas or Baylor. Personally I see that as a very tall task. Texas is your best chance but both are not good match ups for us. Still scratching my head wondering why Oklahoma State didn't play zone? Anybody with a brain is gonna zone WV and make them shoot you out of it.

 

[bbwvfan]

Like KU, Okie St plays pressure man defense. If you don't regularly play zone, you may not play it well. Did you see the one possession in the 2nd half when Okie St played some form of 2-3. It was a joke, and Macon was left wide open next to the basket for an easy deuce.

 

[CoolBeans]

This win wrapped up our NCAA BID, but now what seed? Right now our RPI is 25th and our BPI is 18th, and Sagarin 19th. If we go .500 the rest of the way I think we stay steady there. If we win 5 we could end up a 4, If we win 5 or 6 with a Big12 Tournament Championship we are looking at a 3 seed. Our lowest seed if we lose out is a 10, 8 with one win.