MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia wasn’t relishing its win over N.C. State or thinking ahead to a four-day Christmas recess or even going through the motions of a serviceable effort. Instead, the Mountaineers were focused and ferocious, which spelled a whipping for Wofford.
Finding plenty of motivation to avoid a trap game, No. 18 West Virginia staggered its mid-major guests with an early flurry and extended the domination wire-to-wire in a 77-44 victory Monday night before 7,897 at the Coliseum.
“We wanted to come out, put pressure on them and put the game away early,” Juwan Staten said. “We wanted to take their heart from the beginning.”
With an 11-1 record, the Mountaineers are enjoying their best start since the Final Four season of 2009-2010. Their opponents most certainly are not enjoying a rabid defense that rattles and perturbs and fuels transition opportunities.
“They’re very good, very good, in areas I was worried about,” said Wofford coach Mike Young. “They have some guys, holy smokes, on both ends of the floor.”
The Terriers (9-3) came to Morgantown brandishing a top-40 RPI only to find themselves trailing by 40 in the second half. A couple of pregame assertions might have riled up the Mountaineers: One came from a television analyst who omitted Staten from his list of the nation’s top-10 point guards. Another reportedly came from Wofford’s guards questioning whether any defense could compel them into 20 turnovers.
West Virginia forced 21.
“We heard a lot of things they had to say before the game,” Staten said. “We’re pretty sure that after the game they can answer some of their own questions.”
Wofford shot a season-worst 27 percent and made only 11 baskets. After five turnovers on their opening nine possessions, the Terriers trailed 18-2, never to draw within single digits again.
Staten sank 9-of-10 free throws on his way to 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in helping WVU to a 37-27 margin on the glass.
Jonathan Holton scored 11, as did Elijah Macon, the freshman’s first double-figure effort in 12 college games. They combined for nine rebounds, three blocks and 9-of-9 foul shooting.
Freshman guard Jevon Carter continued to be a plus-minus beast (plus 33) while adding 10 points and three steals.
Digging deeper into the endless list of donors, Gary Browne and Jaysean Paige each chipped in nine points on combined 7-of-7 shooting from the floor.
Spencer Collins led Wofford with 12 points, while point guard Karl Cochran scored 10 (on 3-of-12 field goals) and failed to register an assist for the first time in 22 games.
Macon’s impact: The 6-9 freshman, in a curious assessment, attributed his solid night to playing slower on the offensive end while playing harder overall.
“Me and Huggs have been talking about me playing harder,” he said. “It was about just going out there and doing it, more than him yelling at me and stuff.
“On offense I’ve been moving way too fast. Sometimes I get the ball and make a move before I even thinking about what I need to do, and I turn the ball over.”
On the boards: Sacrificing fast-break opportunities to linger longer on the defensive end, Staten tracked down nine Wofford misses. He finished one shy of his rebounding career-high.
“With Jon and Devin rebounding the ball pretty well, he had been leaking out to get us into transition,” Huggins said. “Then we started to struggle rebounding at the defensive end and we talked to him about ‘Man, you’ve got to go help us.'”
Terriers turn it over: Nearly double its per-game average, Wofford’s 21 turnovers also were the most in 72 games dating back to the 2012-2013 season. What the Terriers experienced first-hand looked all too akin to what Young saw on West Virginia’s scouting cut-ups.
“They’re physical,” he said. “I saw them play UConn, and they made (Ryan) Boatright, a terrific player, look like a little guy on a lot of occasions.”
WVU enjoyed a 27-1 edge in points off turnovers.
T’d off: After receiving a double technical for tangling with Wofford’s Lee Skinner in the second half, Staten now has one more technical this season than his coach.
“I’ll catch up,” promised Huggins. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in that.”