MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jaysean Paige delivered 15 points and five assists on Senior Night and No. 10 West Virginia’s rebounding prowess was on full display in Wednesday’s 90-68 romp over Texas Tech.
Daxter Miles scored all of his 15 points on 3s for the Mountaineers (23-7, 12-5 Big 12), who retained sole possession of second place behind Big 12 champion Kansas.
“We played with a purpose tonight,” said Paige, who grew choked up during a pregame ceremony in which he was flanked by family members. “I ain’t gonna lie, I didn’t expect to feel that. But then I saw the guys coming out of the tunnel for the last time. It was indescribable.”
Nathan Adrian added a season-high 13 points—including a nearly indescribable basket he made while being tugged to the floor—and West Virginia hardly noticed Devin Williams needing a last-minute tip-in to avoid the first scoreless performance of his 97-game career.
Justin Gray scored 15 and Aaron Ross added 14 to pace the Red Raiders (18-11, 8-9), who were badly outrebounded 40-23 overall and 19-3 on the offensive glass.
“We were just manhandled tonight,” said coach Tubby Smith. “They really took it to us in all phases.”
Jonathan Holton grabbed 11 rebounds in his West Virginia home finale and senior walk-on Richard Romeo brought the crowd alive with a late baseline jumper.
Hamstrung by 19 turnovers, Texas Tech was cemented as the seventh seed in the Big 12 Tournament, though Smith’s team remains well positioned for the program’s first NCAA bid since 2007.
“I saw a lot of one-handed passes we don’t even teach, and those are slow passes that can be intercepted,” Smith said. “We worked on it but it’s a different animal against a team that’s focused like that. They were trapping every pick-and-roll and we we kept coughing it up.”
Giveaways and the massive rebounding edge afforded West Virginia a 68-41 edge in shot attempts.
The Mountaineers enjoyed plenty of opportunities at the rim early, converting six layups and four dunks to lead 41-26 at halftime.
Texas Tech, which averages 11.6 turnovers per game, committed 11 in the opening half, falling prey to “Press Virginia.” Three of the giveaways came during a 12-0 West Virginia burst that extended the lead to 36-22, including Tarik Phillip’s strip of Keenan Evans at midcourt that led to a dunk by Holton.
West Virginia sophomore forward Elijah Macon made his second start in 63 career games, finishing with eight points and two blocks. He took the spot of Williams, who failed to start for only the fourth time in three seasons.
“Study hall is important,” explained coach Bob Huggins.
Texas Tech, which leads the Big 12 in free-throw percentage, made 50-of-60 free throws in two games against the Mountaineers. Still, the Raiders have dropped all eight regular-season meetings since WVU joined the Big 12.
