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No. 1 Kansas 81, No. 10 WVU 71

March 13, 2016 by Mike Casazza

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Say this about West Virginia — the team that had me at my breaking point on deadline Friday night — but that squad leaves very little to the imagination. Quite often what you see is what you get, and Saturday night’s Big 12 championship game was exactly as it appeared. You could watch the whole 40 minutes or the highlights above, or you just take a more brief route and glance at a box score, and quickly arrive at a uniform and thorough conclusion: The Mountaineers were a one-man gang and outnumbered on the floor and on the scoreboard by sharp-shooting, well-rounded Kansas.

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The Jayhawks are nothing if not resilient, and we’ll see how much bounce-back WVU has at the end of this week. The selection show is a two-hour ordeal tonight, and while the Mountaineers couldn’t produce an answer in the final, they think they have this all figured out now.

Other possible starting locations for WVU include Denver, Des Moines, Iowa, Oklahoma City, Providence, Raleigh, North Carolina, St. Louis and Spokane, Washington.

“I think they might put us as a No. 5 or something,” Williams said. “To be honest, I don’t know how they’ll do us. It doesn’t matter. They might put as a No. 5, but wherever they put us, we’ll be ready.”

Williams finished with a career-high 31 points and 10 rebounds for his 15th double-double this season. He made 9 of 12 shots and 13 of 15 free throws. Williams had 18 points on 7-for-7 shooting in the first half.

“It’s the best he’s finished all year,” coach Bob Huggins said.

WVU v. Kansas: Big 12 championship

March 12, 2016 by Mike Casazza
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You are looking live at the for-now blank Big 12 tournament championship trophy. This is the physical prize that’s on the line tonight. Harder to put a handle on is exactly what’s at stake for West Virginia. Kansas, for example, is going to be a No. 1 seed and play its opening-round game in Des Moines. The Mountaineers? It’s not as clear.

The chances of a No. 1 see are not great. It’s not out of the question, but even some WVU folks figure it’s a longshot, and they’re OK with that.

The NCAA tournament’s selection committee takes the top four seeds — 16 teams — and tries to place/rank them in geographic order. WVU would be the last No. 1 and plunked in the West Region, and though things would probably begin in Brooklyn, the regional semifinal and final the next weekend would be in Anaheim.

The Mountaineers almost can’t be worse than a No. 2, and win or lose they’re probably still a top-half No. 2, which almost doesn’t matter because of the geography. It feels likely WVU ends up as the No. 2 in the East Region and plays its games in Brooklyn with Villanova, which is going to be the No. 1.

The Mountaineers could live-scout Villanova three times before they play in the Elite Eight, provided Jay Wright doesn’t vanish before that, but that regional final would be in Philadelphia. Putting the horse back ahead of the cart, though, is the Brooklyn setup, which would pit WVU against a No. 15 and then the winner of the 7-10, and it’s possible your friends in Oakland might be the No. 10.

We can discuss that more tomorrow. We’re here for tonight’s game.

A lot can, and did, happen in 1.8 seconds

by Mike Casazza

I don’t know how they did it, but that’s precisely what was happening inside my head last night, ominous music and all.

Christian James, the unknown Oklahoma freshman who decided Friday night would be his night and that he would scoop up his teammates and carry them to the Big 12’s championship game, caught the pass at the top of the key and aimed himself at the rim. One dribble. Two steps. Up he went, uncurling the right arm that was protecting the ball through traffic so that he could roll a shot up and over the rim. There was congestion, and there was contact with West Virginia’s Devin Williams, but there was no whistle.

The ball hit the right side of the rim and fell toward the Sprint Center floor, but before it made it there, the long arms of WVU’s Jon Holton pulled it out of the air and toward his chest. He was surrounded, Oklahoma’s Ryan Spangler to his right and Khadeem Lattin to his left. They both poked and swatted at it, and then James came back in bounds and knocked the ball out of Holton’s grasp and off his left foot. Holton threw those long arms down at the ball and pulled it up and toward his chest once again, and this time the pokes and swats were interrupted by a whistle.

It was John Higgins, and the official fired his right arm up into the air and then pointed it at James.

Foul. Free throws for Holton with a 68-67 lead and a mere 1.8 seconds to go. The Mountaineers would survive after losing all of a 12-point lead with 7:05 to go and coming back from a three-point deficit with 1:47 left in the day’s second semifinal.

Believe it or not, this was when the drama started, drama that managed to unbelievably and understandably overshadow everything that happened before it. Everything, like Jevon Carter’s six 3-pointers on his late grandmother’s birthday, Jaysean Paige’s high-arcing jumper for the lead with 11.1 seconds remaining, Isaiah Cousins beating the shot clock with a very deep 3 for the lead with 2:12 to go, James rescuing the Sooners from Buddy Hield’s rare quiet night inspired by WVU’s defense. One thing followed another throughout an unforgettable 40 minutes.

Yet what we’ll remember is the final 1.8 seconds. Here’s how the Mountaineers chose to recall it late Friday night.

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No. 10 WVU 69, No. 6 Oklahoma 67

by Mike Casazza

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Words escaped and overwhelmed me last night, and there is no easy or adequate way to properly describe what happened while on deadline. We gave it a shot, but I can do better.

And I will.

It’s presently early Saturday morning, but I’m working on something that will require a little of time when I wake up in a few hours. If you don’t mind, use the words of Oklahoma and the words of West Virginia to bide your time until I bring you a far better rendition of what happened.

By the way, what happened?

And what happens now? Might WVU be a win and some help away from a No. 1 seed?

Kansas has one. I think Villanova has one. I also think the Mountaineers can get one with a win and with Virginia and Utah winning the ACC and Pac-12 tournaments. A North Carolina win probably sweeps the Tar Heels and Virginia up into the top of the bracket, and Oregon and Virginia wins probably put them on the top line, too.

I also have a feeling, provided Kansas and Villanova are in and Virginia beats UNC, that the WVU-Oregon-UNC debate is going to be really tricky, and you wonder how much credit the NCAA’s selection committee will give the Big 12 for all it proved and achieved this season.

WVU v. Oklahoma: Big 12 semifinal

March 11, 2016 by Mike Casazza
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You are looking live at action from last month’s WVU v. Oklahoma game at the Coliseum. This did not end well for Jaysean Paige, and that game did not end well for the Mountaineers. Let’s begin at the end: The Sooners won 76-62 in Morgantown after losing two in a row and three out of four before that. How they did it said a lot, too.

“We played tough,” Spangler said. “The last three or four games, people have been beating us to loose balls and out-toughing us. I think we did that for the most part today.”

There aren’t more personal or offensive indictments of the Mountaineers than to say you were tougher or more physical. It can be true — and it most certainly was that day — but that cuts deep into the fabric of this WVU team. And perhaps that’s why Bob Huggins was so pointed in his postgame criticism that evening. “I think the biggest thing is we got destroyed on the glass,” he said. “They outrebounded us as bad as we’ve been out rebounded all year.”

WVU’s only been outrebounded seven times in 32 games. Richmond and Virginia on neutral courts and Kansas at home did it once. Baylor and Oklahoma did it twice. The Mountaineers were 2-0 against Baylor and 0-2 against Oklahoma. It was a big part of the second loss to the Sooners. They had 18 offensive rebounds, the most against WVU this season, and 48 total rebounds, the most in two seasons. The plus-11 rebounding margin was also the biggest against WVU this season.

The first loss wasn’t as one-sided, but it was defined by an offensive rebound. WVU’s defense fell apart on the final possession, and that left Khadeem Lattin to his own designs for a game-winning tip in. The Sooners had 13 offensive rebounds and a 19-7 edge in second-chance points.

Lattin’s been a problem for the Mountaineers. He has 16 points, 21 rebounds, two assists, eight blocked shots and three steals in the two wins this season. His two-game averages for the season are 11 points, 11 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 4.4 blocked shots and 1.8 steals. He is who everyone is, it seems, against WVU, and he’s obviously in the middle of the preferred approach tonight.

“West Virginia is a physical team and we have to be physical just as much as them,” Isaiah Cousin said. “Coach Kruger gets us prepared every time we played them. He really focused on being physical.”

WVU knows what’s coming, as odd as it is to say that while readying for Cousins, Buddy Hield and Jordan Woodard against the press, but that war of aggressions is going to matter. I have to think that’s why the Mountaineers weren’t tickled with shooting 11-for-24 from 3-point range last night.

The 11 3s were the most in a Big 12 game and the second-best total of the season, and that was a timely supplement to use against TCU’s zone. But it was a deviation, and though that might win tonight, it might not be what WVU wants to bring to the floor.

“We try not to settle for jump shots,” Jaysean Paige said. “We’re a tough team and we try to get it inside and play a tough game.”

 

‘… they’re coming at you, reaching and grabbing’

by Mike Casazza

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There was a lot of talk about Hield v. Niang following Wednesday night’s shootout, but Oklahoma also took some time to explain its experience and success this season against West Virginia.

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by Mike Casazza

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I need to let it go, I know, and maybe now I will. But there are really only two types of people associated with West Virginia — these are fans, employees, media, etc. — who come to this event. They’re either fine with the Big 12 tournament or they are not fine with it because it’s not the Big East tournament.

Notice neither one is excited about it. Not yet, at least. It’s still got the feel of new shoes, and going 0-3 wasn’t breaking anyone in at the outset of this experience, this transition from the greatest conference tournament at the World’s Most Famous Arena to a conference tournament in a place named after a leading wireless service provider that cannot provide wireless internet.

But maybe that’s changing.

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Make another milestone?

by Mike Casazza

West Virginia “made a milestone” Wednesday night, winning a conference tournament game and advancing to tonight’s semifinal. If the Mountaineers win there, Bob Huggins will be tied with Trent Johnson on the list of all-time Big 12 tournament wins.

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WVU v. TCU: Big 12 quarterfinal

March 10, 2016 by Mike Casazza

We’re live at the Sprint Center, primed and pumped for tonight’s WVU v. TCU game. Earlier in the day, potential nemesis Texas was eliminated by Baylor and Kansas crushed Kansas State. The Mountaineers are expected to roll tonight into the semifinal against either Oklahoma or Iowa State, who play next. WVU is a 16-point favorite, and of all the conference tournament games today, there is only one larger spread.

(Cal State Bakersfield is an 18 1/2-point favorite against Chicago State in the WAC tournament … and I await your explanations for how a team in Chicago ended up in the WAC.)

So WVU is supposed to have an easy go of it tonight, and if that is the case it’s surely the result of winning the guard matchup. As Larry Harrison explained, TCU relies on its backcourt, but WVU’s been successful in the two games this season because it’s bigger guards have been better.

“I think our size and maybe our physicality at times help us, because our guards are a little bigger than theirs,” Harrison said. “With Parrish and Collins, we just can’t let those two guys get open looks, because they can hurt us on the perimeter.”

The Mountaineers want Collins to be “dead on the catch,” which means a defender has to be with Collins when he gets the pass so he doesn’t get to take clean shots, but defenders need to play tight across the court, whether on the ball or inside of sets. TCU runs a lot of plays, and the Mountaineers want to disrupt as many things as they can.

“You try to make them just play basketball and get them out of rhythm and get them out of what they want to do and out of what they practice,” Bob Huggins explained. “Guys don’t practice just playing basketball. You run sets and have your point guard start sets. We try to take away the point guard and make it tough for him to play and make him play basketball.”

With that in mind, Jevon Carter’s responsibilities are significant tonight. He’s seemingly settling in as a point guard as his play and the offense’s play have both improved of late.

In WVU’s four-game winning streak, the best entering a conference tournament since the 1996-97 season, Carter is 8 for 22 from the floor, but 3 for 6 in each of the past two games. He has 17 assists and six turnovers and two games without a miscue. WVU’s averaged 81.5 points and twice reached the 90s.

“He was used to scoring the ball,” Huggins said. “Those guys worry about where they’re supposed to be and what they’re supposed to do and about reading screens and those kind of things. When you’ve got the ball and you’re handling it all the time, you worry about where everybody is.

“You can’t run a set if you have somebody in the wrong place. You can’t run a set if you’ve got somebody on the wrong side of the floor. Those guys are in charge of not only knowing what they’re supposed to do but what everyone on the floor is supposed to do.”

But Carter’s defense has, quietly, been pretty good again, and it must be good against TCU.

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Can Devin Williams rebound?

by Mike Casazza

Devin Williams enters tonight’s quarterfinal in something that is not a groove. He treated study hall like he treats a defender’s torso and was benched for the start of the Texas Tech game, and after barely scoring in that game, Williams went to Baylor and shot 1-for-9 with a handful of left-handed misses.

He was 2-for-15 in those two games, and though he defended and rebounded quite well against the Bears, West Virginia already has a guy who rebounds and defends well. Williams has to be a scorer for the Mountaineers to make a run here and wherever they go next, and that’s not come easy for the big fella.

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