(Bob Huggins postgame Zoom conference)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In a game that marked West Virginia’s lowest scoring contest this season, it was fitting a player who never scored — or tried to — made as much of an impact as anybody.
Mountaineer forward Gabe Osabuohien recorded seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a pair of blocks, playing his role to perfection to spark a sluggish West Virginia team to a 65-43 victory at the Coliseum.
“He’s terrific, particularly when we switch defenses and we try to gap everything a little bit more,” WVU coach Bob Huggins said. “He stops penetration from all directions. He was terrific.”
Osabuohien, who never attempted a field goal or free throw, made the most of his 19 minutes to help the Mountaineers (17-6, 10-4) win their third straight and complete a regular season sweep of the Wildcats.
Yet the final score isn’t much of an indication how the first half played out, with 10th-ranked West Virginia shooting 33 percent (9-of-27) and committing 10 turnovers while sputtering its way to a 26-22 halftime lead.
“The first half was a miserable half for both teams,” Huggins said.
West Virginia’s point guard and leading scorer Miles “Deuce” McBride was replaced in the starting lineup by Jordan McCabe as a precaution to limit minutes with three more regular season games over the next week.
Huggins had said Friday, McBride “was a little banged up”, though he logged 23 minutes off the bench after checking in with 11:58 to play in the opening half.
“I didn’t know that I would be (starting) until shootaround today,” McCabe said. “Deuce is nursing some things on his end, but he seems to be on track. He probably could’ve started today, but going into this four-game stretch they wanted to be more safe than sorry.”
WVU held an early 11-4 advantage, but scored only 15 points over the final 13:24 of the half. Were it not for Kansas State struggling to the tune of 7-for-25 shooting and 11 turnovers, the Wildcats would’ve been ahead at the break.
“We did an OK job early on,” McCabe said, “but then we hit a wall and got stagnant.”
The Mountaineers built an 11-point lead early into the second half, scoring the first seven points on Sean McNeil’s jumper, Jalen Bridges’ conventional three-point play and Derek Culver’s layup.
Kansas State (7-19, 3-14) scored eight of the next 12 points and got to within 37-30 on a dunk by Kaosi Ezeagu with 12:35 remaining.
But McBride made his second and final field goal — a 3-pointer with 10:45 to play — to up the lead to 45-34 and start what became a 17-0 run.
McCabe scored all seven of his points during the spurt in what was easily WVU’s best stretch of the game.
“He got better and better as the game went on,” Huggins said. “He didn’t start out real well, but he started to feel more comfortable as the game went on. We have to get him to make some of those shots he had, but he’s really capable and helps spread the floor.”
McNeil had a game-high 16 points and made 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Culver added 11 points, while Bridges had eight points, four rebounds, three blocks and one steal.
Over the last two games, Bridges has made 7-of-8 field goals without committing a turnover.
“Jalen is slowly becoming the player that he was last year for us in practice,” McNeil said. “He was one of the most aggressive guys for us, attacking the offensive and defensive glass, trying to tip dunk and playing above the rim going for rebounds. He’s going to be an unbelievable player and what he’s doing for us is really big and really special.”
Davion Bradford’s 11 points led the Wildcats, who finished 15-of-51 shooting. Kansas State made 3-of-19 triples and had 18 turnovers.
“This was one of the few really well-rounded defensive performances for us,” McNeil said. “Our matchup has been really good. We still have to make some tweaks and adjustments. Nothing is perfect, but our defense is slowly progressing.”
Kansas State played without leading scorer Nijel Pack, who sat out with an eye infection. Pack averages 12.1 points and the Wildcats have lost all five game he has missed this season.
West Virginia made 15-of-17 free throws and returns to action Tuesday, facing Big 12 leader Baylor for the first time this season.