The Diehard Breakdown: WVU 78 TCU 67

[WvuDieHard]

When your All American point guard is sick and can't dress, most teams are in deep trouble but not the WV Mountaineers. No siree, ya see WV has a backup Senior point guard named Gary Browne who has seen a lot of minutes in his tenure here in Morgantown. The veteran guard scores 16 2nd half points to carry the Mountaineers when doom seemed almost certain.

WV came out in this game bewildered as to how it could score with Staten out due to sickness. So in the first 10:30 of the 1st half, they scored a meager 7 points while eventually falling behind 19-10 later in the half. Most teams would have packed it up and said hey we can't win without out our All American guard but this group continued to shoot it, press full court, and attack the glass with vigor and discipline. Once Wv fought back to a 2 pt. deficit (32-30 at halftime), I knew this group was not going to quit. I saw emotion and will on the sideline tonight and that is very refreshing. In the 2nd half WV, finally got the lead and spread the floor with Gary Browne destroying the defender in the open floor. Quite simply, it was a coaching move that helped win the game and allow WV to beat one of the last 5 unbeaten teams in the nation 78-67.

Wv was led in scoring by Gary Browne with 16, Devon Williams with 14, and Paige with 10 while Holton and Miles, Jr. have 9 apiece. WV forces TCU into 18 turnovers today resulting in 14pts and contributing to WV's 22 extra shots on goal. Although TCU was bigger and had rebounded well so far this season, WV killed them on the glass 43-33 including 21 offensive rebounds. Watkins and Williams log 8 rebounds each.

So now the 15th ranked Mountaineers roll on and push their record to 13-1 in what has become a most pleasant start to this season. Fans, I was impressed today. The fire and determination in the face of adversity by this team, being as young as they are, was just fantastic. The decision to spread the floor with Gary Browne just as impressive. Good teams find a way and a will to win, this group did it tonight. They didn't shoot it well but by god they played defense, they rebounded, and they never quit. Offensive rebounding and defense may have been the biggest reasons for today's win but effort was just as important. This is definitely a NCAA tourney team and very well could be a dangerous one. We are aging this group every game and today's adversity will only make them better. I said from day one, this is a special group and can be real special if they can improve. Have a great day Mountaineer fans wherever your country road has taken you this New Year!

 

[WVUDAD]

Browne put on a clinic in the second half, awesome to see kids all step up with Staten out sick. Hats of to the kids and our HOF coach for a good win against a good opponent, on the road.

 

[bbwvfan]

Tough sledding in the first half for sure. Browne getting his third foul was brutal. The poor kid didn't return to the game until after the first TV timeout of the 2nd half. I wasn't thrilled with the high screen ISO look for the latter part of the game, but I have to agree… it worked… so it looked like a move of genius.

The intensity of the press and defensive pressure was definitely ramped up in the 2nd half.

I was impressed with the poise the kids showed today. To have your SR leader unable to play, and your 2nd in command hit the bench in foul trouble, and not only cut a 10 point deficit to 2 at half but take control of the 2nd half was surprising.

Having such a deep bench paid dividends today. Not only did the team have to deal with the loss of Staten, but there was also the number of kids who got into foul trouble. This year's team can plug the next guy in without making too much of an impact.

Nice win tonight!

 

[mad2mc]

I was ready for Huggins to be put on the clock after this season. Glad I did. Look how good he is coaching.

Hopefully this will continue and he continues to prove me wrong. Some are saying that Huggy shed the suit, after wearing one since the LSU loss, and going back to his athlete casual wear had something to do with it. Not too superstitious.

 

[DCWV4life]

He should be fired for wearing black

 

[mad2mc]

He should be fired for wearing black

Dammit, I forgot about that. Forget what I posted. Dammit.

 

[CoolBeans]

Very Impressed. Our schedule is about to get tougher in a league where we play everyone twice with 7 teams in the Top 30 in the nation. With us being one of those schools, we have 12 games remaining against Top 30 competition. TCU is Top 40, so 13 against Top 40 teams. We may lose a few of those games, but this WVU squad is downright impressive.

 

[WVUDAD]

This team seems to have great chemistry, really working good together, I think we just may see something special out of this team.