LUBBOCK, Texas — How did Juwan Staten celebrate No. 14 West Virginia’s 78-67 win at Texas Tech? By spilling his guts.
“I walk in the locker room and Wannie’s throwing up in a trash can,” said coach Bob Huggins, who actually relished a scene that had Staten’s teammates cringing. “I said, good—that’s what men do. Men go do their job. Don’t let a little cold bother you. Sweat it out.”
Staten, the All-American candidate just 48 hours removed from sitting out the TCU game with an illness, finished with 16 points and Devin Williams added 14 on Monday night. A combined 24 of those came during the second half, helping the Mountaineers (14-1, 2-0 Big 12) pull away from Texas Tech to sweep a two-game swing through the Lonestar State.
“I don’t know how it looked out there but I was pretty worn down,” said Staten, who was 1-of-8 shooting at intermission but 5-of-7 afterward. “You try to never let them see you hurt, but I think I was pretty tired.
“I just tried to stay positive. I told myself that I work out enough that it will start coming. I just tried not to get timid.”
Off to its winningest start since the 1981-82 season, West Virginia shot 62 percent in the second half, including a torrid 9-of-10 coming out of the break.
The Mountaineers, who have harassed opponents all season with their pressure defense, forced 22 turnovers while committing only eight.
Devaugntah Williams led Texas Tech with 21 points, including a 3-point equalizer at 32-all. But the Red Raiders (10-5, 0-2) were too riddled by turnovers to keep it close for long.
A 13-2 run capped by Staten’s step-back baseline jumper put West Virginia up 55-40. Texas Tech got no closer than nine the rest of the way.
“Staten’s just such a talented player,” said Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith. “I’m sure he was tired, coming off the sickness, but he’s hard to stop.”
Gary Browne and Daxter Miles Jr. contributed 12 points each and Jevon Carter added 11 for West Virginia, which has nine wins away from campus this season. That’s the most since the 2010 Final Four season.
Staten’s home remedy: After illness sacked him at TCU on Saturday, ending a streak of 63 consecutive games, Staten was determined to get well for Texas Tech.
In tandem with medicine and bed rest, Staten created a hotel-room sauna: “I cut the shower on, made it steamy and tried to sweat some of that out.”
The Big 12’s top point guard was back in action, yet hardly himself. He struggled to get lift on his jumpers and finished with one assist, his fewest since the conference tournament loss to Texas Tech two seasons ago.
“He wasn’t Juwan tonight,” Huggins said. “I thought early he forced things, but then he settled down in the second half and played better.”
Press for success: West Virginia, which came in leading the nation at 22.6 forced turnovers per game, stayed right on pace.
“Against the press, maybe we got nervous,” admitted Texas Tech’s Williams, who had four turnovers. “I know I got nervous a little.”
Toddrick Gotcher tossed in 14 points, albeit on 2-of-7 shooting, for Texas Tech, which dropped its second straight home game after 10 consecutive wins at the United Supermarkets Arena.
“We haven’t played any team that pressed us like that.,” Gotcher said.
Though Smith tried to prep his team for “Press Virginia” by practicing 7-on-5, the Red Raiders still had guards swallowed up by sideline traps and big men making shaky skip passes.
“When you have these turnovers, it just takes so much out of you,” Smith said. “Those are four- and five-point swings.”
Free-throw follies: Texas Tech made only 22-of-37 free throws, misses that short-circuited a comeback. “We were attacking. We got to the line 37 times,” Gotcher said. “Maybe if we hit 75 or 80 percent it’s a closer game, it’s a different game.”
West Virginia also struggled with 14-of-24 foul shooting, including 3-of-8 by Staten, who was at 81 percent coming in.
Macon sidelined: The Mountaineers were without freshman forward Elijah Macon, who sustained bruised ribs in Sunday’s practice. It was his second missed game this season.
Grand theft: West Virginia freshman Jevon Carter, who began the night second in the Big 12 in steals at 2.27 per game, made four. The league leader at 2.77, Oklahoma State’s Phil Forte, was off Monday.
Carter now has 15 steals in his past three games.
Treys for Tech: The matchup pitted the league’s worst-shooting 3-point teams: West Virginia entering at 31 percent and Texas Tech at 29 percent. The Mountaineers went 4-of-17 from deep, but the Raiders sank 7-of-12, including three by Williams.