With a No. 38 RPI, Wofford will gauge West Virginia’s ability to refocus

Point guard Karl Cochran (2) has Wofford off to a 9-2 start, and at No. 38 the Terriers are the second-highest RPI opponent West Virginia has faced this season.

 

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Not since their final night in San Juan had the West Virginia Mountaineers been so fiery and dogged, at least not to their coach’s satisfaction.

Bob Huggins sensed the ambush of Connecticut back on Nov. 23 evolved into a false pinnacle that left his team feeling too satiated. In complete accord was point guard Juwan Staten, who noticed a receding hunger from West Virginia’s first five games to its subsequent five.

What the Mountaineers needed to regain their edge, said Staten, turned out to be game No. 11, which resulted in Saturday night’s 83-69 win over N.C. State at Madison Square Garden.

“Yeah, I think we got it back,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve played with as much passion and intensity since Puerto Rico. We were wanting to get ranked and prove to the world how good we were, and once we did that, I think we got a little lax.”

If handling a solid ACC opponent showed a glimpse of WVU rekindled, Monday night’s quick-turn game against a mid-major that actually sports a higher RPI than the Wolfpack will test the ability to maintain.

Will the Mountaineers remain stuckin a New York state of mind, or is all this trap-game stuff nonsense? Here’s the primer for tonight …

WOFFORD (9-2) at No. 22 WEST VIRGINIA (10-1)

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. Monday in Morgantown (West Virginia Media local TV affiliates)

Scouting Wofford: After a 20-13 season that culminated with an NCAA loss to Michigan, Wofford returned seven players who averaged 4.4 points or more. So the Southern Conference favorites possess continuity and chemistry. … The Terriers have never beaten a ranked team (0-19), but their 55-54 win at N.C.State on Dec. 14 certain caught WVU’s attention. … After dropping its opener 74-59 at Stanford, Wofford later fell 66-62 at William & Mary—a loss that ended a swing of five games in nine days. … Senior point guard Karl Cochran paces the team in scoring (13.6), rebounds (6.8), assists (3.3) and steals (2.2). Junior guard Spencer Collins adds 11.4 per game. The Terriers don’t feature a starter taller than 6-6.

Another Terriers tidbit: With an enrollment of 1,600 students, Wofford is the third-smallest school in Division I, ahead of only Presbyterian and VMI, which West Virginia beat 103-72 last month.

Williams awakens: Being 6-foot-8 and absurdly muscular doesn’t guarantee a player can get shots off at the rim, as Devin Williams’ 44-game career at West Virginia proves.

During a recent six-game stretch, when he made only 13-of-36 attempts (36 percent), Williams was particularly ineffective. That drought ended against N.C. State—one of the nation’s top shot-blocking teams—with a season-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shots.

“I’ve just got to continue to believe in my craft. Although I haven’t been playing real good offensively I’ve been in the gym everyday trying to figure it out,” Williams said. “I think this game really helped me out, really boosted my confidence.”

Fellow forward Jonathan Holton liked what Williams brought to the Garden: “Devin had energy. You could see it in him—he played like a real beast. It could be scary as we go forward.”

Huggins doles compliments: The rotations on the press haven’t always been reliable and the shooting has been downright dreadful in spurts, yet West Virginia has positioned itself to chase an NCAA bid with some winning work in the nonconference slate.

“This group, they let you coach them,” Huggins said. “I can get on their butts pretty good and they respond to it. They don’t take anything personal.”

Holton a threat from 3 again? The coach had no contempt for Holton launching late-game 3-pointers on Saturday. Huggins just wants more of them to go in, as Holton’s final two attempts did. Those lifted his season 3-point accuracy to 18 percent.

“If we’re going to make a serious run, he needs to make those shots,” Huggins said. “Because we can spread people then and let Wannie do what he does.

“We watch Jon shoot everyday—it’s not like he can’t shoot. It just hasn’t transferred over to the games yet. I think he gets anxious and gets in a hurry.”

Guard Jaysean Paige figures it’s a matter of time before Holton’s jump-shooting practice pays off.

“He works on that corner shot a lot, so I believe in him shooting the 3-ball. It hasn’t been falling, but as long as he works on it everyday, you can’t knock him for shooting it. It’s going to start falling sometime.”

RPIs: West Virginia 23rd, Wofford 38th

Line: West Virginia -9.5

Prediction: West Virginia 72-62





More WVU Sports

WVU Sports
3 Guys Before The Game - Searching For Mr. Right (Episode 539)
What factors will determine how long the search lasts for WVU's new basketball coach?
March 18, 2024 - 3:05 pm
Sports
WVU heads to Iowa City as a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, potential matchup with Caitlin Clark awaits
WVU will face Princeton in the NCAA Tournament opener Saturday.
March 17, 2024 - 10:56 pm
Sports
Ohio State rolls past WVU, 26-11 in series finale
An 8-run sixth inning allowed the Buckeyes to take two out of three in the weekend series.
March 17, 2024 - 7:13 pm
News
Wren Baker talks about the basketball coaching search
Baker spoke about the search on Friday's MetroNews Talkline and wouldn't put any timeline or number on candidates or direction other than to say he's focused on the future of WVU basketball
March 15, 2024 - 1:20 pm


Your Comments