FINAL: Rugged No. 17 Mountaineers wear down Kansas State, 65-59

West Virginia guard Tarik Phillip drives for a basket at K-State, where he scored a team-high 12 points off the bench in a 65-59 victory.

 

It was back to Manhattan, Kan., back to the venue of Bob Huggins’ one-year layover and back to the Bramlage Coliseum where West Virginia had been routed on two previous visits.

The third time became a charm, however, as No. 17 West Virginia prevailed 65-59.

Below is a recap the live-game blog:

FINAL STATS: If you had Tarik Phillip in the WVU leading scorer pool, congrats. He finished with 12 points and Juwan Staten scored 11. Devin Williams added eight points and nine rebounds. and Jevon Carter scored seven WVU outscored K-State’s bench 35-13. … Marcus Foster scored 15 in a losing effort, including a turnaround 25-footer in the waning moments. Wesley Iwundu added 12 for the Wildcats, who really missed Nino Williams for the game’s final 27 minutes. … Both teams shot 36 percent in a scrappy, often ugly ballgame.

West Virginia wins 65-59
The Mountaineers forced K-State into a season-worst 25 turnovers—and overcame a season-high 20 of their own—to climb to 10-1 away from home this season. (Speaking of home: The Wildcats has been 20-2 in Big 12 games under Bruce Weber at Bramlage,  including 4-0 this season.)

West Virginia leads 55-49 (3:45 second half)
Kansas State’s 17-of-29 foul shooting has prevented the home team from capitalizing, especially in the second half. Foster has scored seven of his 10 in the second half, but without Nino Williams in the game, the Wildcats need more. … Staten appears to be playing through the pain of the left wrist injury. In fact, his pullup 16-footer from the left wing was huge to a near-perfect K-State defensive possession.

West Virginia leads 49-41 (9:27 second half)
The turnovers keep coming for Kansas State. That’s 20 so far, approaching their season-high 22 at Tennessee. Phillip completed an and-1 out of the timeout to become the first double-digit scorer. It’s not really a homecoming for the backup point guard, but he did spend a season of junior college ball at Independence.

West Virginia leads 42-40 (10:51 second half)
We’ve had five lead swaps in this half, and here’s guessing there are plenty more to follow. … Staten has been grimacing and holding his left wrist since taking a spill at the rim on a foul by Thomas Gipson. Though he’s in the game, Staten has essentially been playing one-handed since the tumble. Meanwhile, Jaysean Paige has come to life and has seven points.

K-State leads 32-31 (15:43 second half) The Wildcats run spanning two halves stretched to 11-0 before Devin Williams made a strong move down the lane. That snapped a scoreless streak of 6:50 for WVU. … Holton picked up his third foul setting a screen, so he went back to the bench, having played only five minutes. 

West Virginia leads 26-24 (halftime) Despite going scoreless during the final 3:41, the Mountaineers take a lead to the locker room. That two-point advantage looks even more blessed considering Holton, Devin Williams and Juwan Staten have combined for one field goal. West Virginia (13 turnovers) is shooting 29 percent and K-State (14 turnovers) is stuck at 24 percent. … Phillip has seven points, while Staten and Jevon Carter have four each. Staten played only seven minutes and Holton four. … For the Wildcats, Nino Williams leads with six points, but his return is questionable after the leg injury. Foster is 1-of-5 for three points. 

West Virginia leads 26-19 (3:32 first half) A Bruce Weber technical—now that’s a rarity. He thought WVU’s press was getting too grabby, which it does at times. But K-State’s ballhandlers are shrinking from the challenge by cowering in traps and freezing on inbounds passes. WVU has forced three five-second calls and one 10-second violation. … Tarik Phillip has seven points off the bench, including his second 3-pointer of the season. He’s now 2-of-12 from deep.

K-State leads 13-10 (7:52 first half)
Beautiful basketball? Not here. WVU has nine turnovers and is shooting 28 percent, while K-State has seven giveaways and clocks in at 26 percent. Marcus Foster picked up his second foul, putting the smooth-scoring guard in peril. Nino Williams also exited with a left leg injury. He has yet to return.

West Virginia leads 10-7 (10:58 first half)
While the Mountaineers went on a 9-0 run, capped seconds ago by Gary Browne’s 3, they have major foul trouble brewing. (What’s new, right?) Juwan Staten picked up two fouls in the span of a minute, on a charge and a rebounding bump. He’s joined with two fouls by Browne, Jaysean Paige and Holton. … K-State hasn’t scored in five minutes.

K-State leads 7-1 (15:42 first half)
Jonathan Holton picked up a live-ball taunting technical after 17 seconds and earned foul No. 2 setting a moving screen after 4 minutes. Somehow, he’s only the second-most foul-prone player in the Big 12. … West Virginia has started 0-of-4 from the floor. Nino Williams has a couple baskets for K-State.

PREGAME NOTES

— Huggins on the pace disparity between WVU and K-State: “We’re trying to play with more possessions and they’re trying to play with less.” He said he feels confident the Mountaineers can speed up the Wildcats, who as we documented in today’s preview, average the fewer possessions than all but 43 of 351 teams in Division I.

— The Kansas State pack-line defense (a so-called sagging man) places particular emphasis on preventing dribble penetration and forcing shooters to make 3s. That’s its aim, anyway, which might portend a tough night for point guard Juwan Staten. But Staten managed to knife into TCU’s zone Saturday and, rewinding to last year, recall he blistered K-State for 35 points in Morgantown. He was an incredible 18-of-21 at the foul line that day, which happens to be WVU’s only win over the Wildcats in four meetings since they became Big 12 brothers. … In last season’s 78-56 loss in Manhattan, Staten had 16 points and 11 rebounds but committed a career-high seven turnovers.

— West Virginia’s freshman duo of Daxter Miles and Jevon Carter certainly deserve props for Saturday’s contributions against TCU, but not to be overlooked was the second half that Devin Williams produced—14 points (4-of-5 on free throws) and eight rebounds. “We got it close,” Huggins said. “Devin scored in the second half and it looked a lot better.”

— Kansas State’s current RPI is 77, which isn’t in range for an NCAA at-large range, but that will climb considerably should the Wildcats manage a 12-6 finish in the Big 12. That appears to be the unofficial mark needed to get them in the field, though 11-7 might suffice.







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