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Huggins likes West Virginia’s fiery mix: ‘They’re not afraid’

LUBBOCK, Texas — For anyone suspecting point guard Juwan Staten was irreplaceable or invaluable to West Virginia’s basketball team, Saturday’s comeback at TCU showed otherwise.

Even though a pregame illness left No. 17 WVU without Staten’s 16.2 points, 4.2 assists and disruptive defense, the resilient Mountaineers dug out of a 10-point hole to win 78-67, prolonging the program’s best start in 33 seasons.

A flurry of impressive cameos compensated for the sidelined superstar. Gary Browne closed out the game with the most productive 11-minute span of his career (save for one behind-the-back misfire.) Devin Williams snagged clutch rebounds and shot better than 50 percent for only the fourth time this season.

Off the bench, Brandon Watkins volleyed for boards during a crucial first-half stretch when West Virginia looked vulnerable. Freshman Jevon Carter registered six assists, ripped away six steals, sank a halftime buzzer-beater and handled several possessions at point guard while Browne sat with foul trouble.

The game’s unfolding only reinforced what Bob Huggins suspected about Staten’s supporting cast: “They’re not afraid.”

Yes, this was only TCU—a team that hasn’t notched a Big 12 win in its last 21 tries. But don’t confuse these Frogs with iterations of past seasons, not when they were 13-0 entering Saturday with three wins over power-conference opponents.

Whereas surviving Fort Worth with Staten would have sufficed, beating TCU without him went another step toward asserting West Virginia is capable of wrestling Texas and Kansas for a Big 12 title.

“Bob’s said twice that he likes this team,” joked TCU coach Trent Johnson. “And Bob don’t like a lot of things.”

While Staten is expected to return in some capacity for Monday night’s matchup at Texas Tech, Huggins clearly likes how his team played shorthanded.

“We don’t pack it in,” he said. “We don’t say uncle. We keep going. We’ve got competitive guys again.”

WEST VIRGINIA (13-1, 1-0) at TEXAS TECH (10-4, 0-1)

Tipoff: 7 p.m. Eastern at United Supermarkets Arena (ESPNU)

Scouting the Red Raiders: Texas Tech started 10Juwan Staten at Texas Tech 2014-0 at home before losing 70-61 to Texas on Saturday. It was the Raiders’ third loss to a top-70 RPI team, including a 69-64 overtime setback at LSU. … Junior college transfer guard Devaugntah Williams (11.6 points) is the lone double-digits scorer on a team where no one averages more than 25 minutes per game. … Senior guard Robert Turner (9.2 points), 6-9 freshman center Norense Odiase (8.1 points, 5 rebounds) and freshman forward Justin Gray (7.6 points) are other key scorers. Gray, however, is coping with tendinitis. “He can’t guard,” coach Tubby Smith told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “He can’t bend his knees. His knees are stiff. We’ve got the bike out there to keep him loose.” … Another freshman, 6-10 Isaiah Manderson, has played a larger role the past two games, highlighted by scoring 12 points in 11 minutes against Texas. … The Red Raiders rank 278th nationally in 3-point accuracy (30.5 percent), while WVU is 252nd at 31.2 percent.

Coaching the Red Raiders: Smith is 535-248 in his 24th season as a head coach. After taking Tulsa and Georgia to the NCAA tournament, he won a national title at Kentucky in 1998 and most recently enjoyed six years of moderate success at Minnesota.

Mountaineers numbers: WVU leads the nation with 18.1 offensive rebounds per game and grabbed 21 against TCU. Devin Williams made his two count, leading to and-one putbacks during a 14-point effort. “Devin can be one of the best rebounders in the country, but he hasn’t rebounded much lately,” Huggins said. “I challenged him at halftime vs. TCU) and I told him I liked the other Devin better, the one that went and got every rebound.”… Jonathan Holton (10.9 points, 6.7 rebounds) and Williams (10.1, 7.3 rebounds) have started every game this season. … The Mountaineers won 89-86 in Lubbock last season, needing a Terry Henderson 3-pointer to force overtime. Staten scored 25 in that victory.

RPIs: West Virginia 13, Texas Tech 154

Line: West Virginia favored by 5.5

Prediction: West Virginia 74-67





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