MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Bob Huggins’ teams have always been known for rebounding, but what happened Monday night at WVU Coliseum took the word to an entirely different level.
Docked two spots in Monday’s AP Top 25 after its worst performance of the season, No. 14 West Virginia bounced back with a 97-59 molly-whomping of Texas.
“West Virginia did a wonderful job coming out with aggressiveness and fight and balance,” said Texas coach Shaka Smart. “That worked out in their favor.”
It was the widest margin of defeat for the Longhorns (12-6, 2-4) since a 39-point loss to rival Texas A&M in 1983.
That game was back in the days of the Southwest Conference. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, the Horns have never lost a conference game by a greater deficit. Texas’ two worst Big 12 losses have now taken place at WVU Coliseum in the past three seasons.
“It’s not Shaka,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. “Shaka is a good coach. It’s not that. We made shots, and we’re coming off being embarrassed.”
Just two days prior, the Mountaineers (15-3, 4-2 Big 12) looked like they had been exposed in an 84-68 loss against a Kansas State team that had lost its first four league games.
Monday’s game was over well before halftime, blown open by a 28-2 West Virginia run that took place in a nearly 10-minute stretch of the first half.
“It’s so mental,” Huggins said. “If you come in and you’re excited, know what you have to do, you’re so much more likely to have success.”
Everyone who touched the ball for West Virginia Monday had a little bit of success, all the way down to walk-on Spencer Macke, who capped off the game with his first career three-pointer.
Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe led the way, as they often do, with 13 points apiece. Tshiebwe also recorded his seventh double-double of his freshman campaign with 11 rebounds.
West Virginia also had significant contributions from Jermaine Haley (12 points), Jordan McCabe (10 points), Gabe Osabuohien (9 points), Miles McBride (9 points), Logan Routt (9 points) and Emmitt Matthews (8 points) in a total team effort. WVU shot 51 percent from the field and 43 percent (6 of 14) from three-point range.
“I think Jermaine and Emmitt, particularly, were a lot more aggressive,” Huggins said. “We ran some things early for Jermaine to kind of get him going. Emmitt got some things in transition that kind of got him going a little bit.
“You know, they see the ball go through the basket, and it helps.”
West Virginia’s dominance was reflected in the paint.
The Mountaineers outscored the Longhorns 52-18 in the paint, including a thunderous Tshiebwe dunk on which he took off from at least three feet outside the paint after corralling a loose ball near the 3-point line.
“If that’s not the top play on ESPN,” Matthews said of the jam, “then that’s on ESPN.”
The Mountaineers responded to their middling rebounding performance at Kansas State, whipping Texas by a 53-28 margin on the boards.
Game Highlights
Keeping it clean
West Virginia committed a season-low eight turnovers, off of which Texas scored only one point. Kansas State had 28 points off of 17 West Virginia turnovers on Saturday.
Everhart’s assist
Huggins credited assistant coach Ron Everhart’s scouting report on Texas, saying “For a one-day prep, Ronnie did a good job with the scout. For the most part, they did what we asked them to.”
Macke’s moment
Macke, who always hears his name chanted at the end of blowouts, was carried off the floor by teammates after his first career field goal, a late three-pointer.
High finance
West Virginia won by its biggest margin since a 77-38 win over Coppin State on Dec. 20, 2017. Since you’re wondering, Coppin State has an annual athletic department budget of $3.5 million. Smart’s salary this season is $3.3 million.
Next Up
The Mountaineers step outside of conference play, hosting Missouri at noon Saturday in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.