MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia players recalled the brutal second half from last season’s 70-54 loss to Virginia at Madison Square Garden, a cocktail of careless passing, errant shots and defensive confusion.
It added up to the Mountaineers leaking poise while being outscored 40-18.
“Mental lapses in the traps on the press. We were taking a long time to get back to contest the shooters,” said West Virginia guard Tarik Phillip. “I think we had 18 turnovers and they didn’t even press us at all.”
No. 25 West Virginia (5-1) gets another crack Saturday at No. 6 Virginia (7-0), albeit on the Cavaliers’ home court this time.
John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville turned electric Wednesday when Virginia won its 24th consecutive home game by rallying from 16 points down to edge previously unbeaten Ohio State 63-61. That atmosphere suits Phillip, a senior who revs himself up by trash-talking opponents and opposing fans.
“That arena got hostile when the game got neck-and neck, and they went crazy when Virginia went up,” Phillip said. “I like road games. The fans are always great. It’s going to be fun.”
There were no fun memories from last year’s meeting in the Jimmy V Classic, where WVU made only 6-of-20 shots in the second half while allowing the Cavaliers to hit 14-of-19.
“We just did dumb things,” said coach Bob Huggins.
One of those, a failed behind-the-back turnover by Jevon Carter, led to a benching by Huggins. The junior guard is back in his coach’s good graces these days, earning praise for his on-ball defense and improved assist ratio.
The Mountaineers need Carter (9.0 points, 4.0 assists) and all the offense they can muster against Virginia’s pack-line defense, which combines man and zone principles to clamp down on penetrators. Cavaliers opponents are averaging an NCAA-low 44 points this season.
“That pack-line defense puts you in positions you’re not used to being in,” said Phillip, who anticipates a grinding matchup against Cavaliers guard London Perrantes (10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds).
Finding open half-court looks for Nathan Adrian (13.5 points, 7.7 rebounds) and the suddenly assertive Esa Ahmad (13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds) will be crucial, especially if the Mountaineers’ press isn’t able to speed up the pace. Aggressive drives and put-backs could be tested by Virginia’s 6-foot-9 freshman shot-blocker Mamadi Diakite and 6-11 sophomore Jack Salt.
This represents West Virginia’s last chance to make a nonconference splash until Texas A&M visits for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 28. The toughest opponent so far, Temple, sprang an 81-77 upset against WVU in the NIT Season Tipoff.
“We dropped the one against Temple we shouldn’t have, so we’ve got to go win games we’re not supposed to win,” Adrian said.
No. 25 West Virginia (5-1) at No. 6 Virginia (7-0)
Tipoff: Saturday, 2 p.m., Charlottesville, Va., ESPNU
Quoting the Cavaliers: “The crowd was terrific. It was one of the best ever. When we made that run to start the second half, that’s as good as it gets. I’m so thankful for that because you dream of that. You work to build your program so that it’s deafening and they’re valuing good play and defense.” — Virginia coach Tony Bennett praising Wednesday’s crowd of 14,556 against Ohio State.
Prediction: Virginia 70-62