MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — No. 12 West Virginia raced away from Missouri-Kansas City with 24 unanswered points in the first half, giving fans an early start in celebrating coach Bob Huggins’ 800th victory.
Nathan Adrian’s 13 points led seven players in double figures during Saturday afternoon’s 112-67 blowout, a game primarily memorable for the Huggins tribute that transpired after it.
BOX SCORE: West Virginia 112, UMKC 67
The 6-foot-4 coach — a growling, intimidating presence on the sideline — wiped away tears as players donned commemorative hats and his wife presented him with a ceremonial jersey bearing the No. 800.
“He’s got a lot of pride for this state, a lot of pride for the game of basketball, so you can’t really hide that emotion,” said Adrian.
Then came a star-studded 20-minute tribute video featuring congratulatory messages from the likes of Jerry West, Jim Boeheim, John Calipari, Rick Pitino, Rod Thorn, Dick Vitale, Bill Raftery, Jay Bilas and Brad Paisley.
“I’ve been blessed,” said Huggins, who ranks among the 10 winningest coaches in Division I history.
He seemed especially touched by the cadre of former players at Cincinnati, Kansas State and West Virginia who contributed to the video or appeared at the arena in-person.
“It was sort of neat seeing all the people, because I didn’t score a goal in any of the 800 wins,” Huggins said.
The win was another collective effort for West Virginia (9-1), which got 12 points each from Daxter Miles, Brandon Watkins and Esa Ahmad, and 10 apiece from Lamont West, Jevon Carter and Teyvon Myers.
“It’s something I’m going to be thinking about in 50 years when I walk in here,” said the typically playful Myers, who didn’t tease his fiery coach about the postgame cry. “Come on, 800 wins? You’ve gotta cry. I told him ‘Just let it out, Huggs. Let it out.’ And he did.”
The Mountaineers forced 27 turnovers, and despite aggressive defense, committed only 17 fouls.
LaVell Boyd paced UMKC (7-6) with 14 points, while Isaiah Ross and Xavier Bishop scored 12.
Miles had four steals, while Tarik Phillip and Carter made three each for West Virginia, which came in allowing 57 points per game, third-fewest in the nation.
WVU finished with 21 assists — Carter dishing out six and Phillip handing out five — and turned the ball over only seven times.
After Boyd’s 3-pointer tied the game at 8-8, the Kangaroos went scoreless the next 6 minutes, committing 10 turnovers and attempting only two shots in the stretch.
The Mountaineers, feeding off those takeaways, poured in five layups while Carter and West combined for four 3-pointers to build a 32-8 cushion.
That helped West Virginia shoot 55 percent for the half while taking a 56-24 lead into intermission.
West Virginia entered Saturday forcing 26 turnovers per game, most in Division I, and forced 20 in the opening half.
By that juncture, Huggins’ milestone victory was all but sealed, lifting him into the 800-win club that includes Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith, Bobby Knight and Adolph Rupp.
“Those are big names,” Huggins said. “Those are some of the guys, that when I first got to go to the final Four, I sat in the lobby all day and just watched them. I’d watch how they interacted with people, thinking one day I want to be like that, I want to be one of them.”
Tough day for the Roos
Kangaroos guard Dashawn King fouled out in only 5 minutes while committing four turnovers. … The 45-point losing margin was the worst for UMKC this season, nudging out the 105-62 defeat at No. 3 Kansas on Dec. 6. …
Zinging Calipari
Asked about a favorite win from his 35-year coaching career, Huggins replied: “I can’t pick just one. I like beating Cal, but that was way more than just one.”
Quotable
“I ain’t think he knew that many people.” — WVU forward Lamont West on the long list of luminaries in the postgame tribute video
“Obviously, we aren’t that big a factor in it, because it’s a lot of wins over a lot of years, but just to be a part of it means a lot to us. He’s been a great mentor to me. ” — Adrian on Huggins’ 800th
“When I committed, they always talked about how mean he was and wondered if that was the correct school for me to go to. I knew he was going to be a tough coach but that didn’t faze me.” — Ohio native Esa Ahmad on signing with Huggins
“You get interviewed for one dunk? You gotta be kidding me!” — Adrian taking a postgame swipe at freshman Chase Harler, whose breakaway jam in the closing minutes had the crowd roaring