West Virginia beat one of the better teams in the Big 12 on Wednesday night when the Mountianeers took it to the Cyclones in their 76-71 victory. West Virginia led by as many as 15 points in the first half, but Iowa State would lead by as many as three in the second half.
Late-game heroics fueled West Virginia with the Mountaineers getting stops on defense late and Joe Toussaint making clutch free throws in the final 1:07.
Questionable Substitutions?
Yes, it is February, and yes it is time for this team to have some idea of who comes in and when. On Wednesday night thought things still looked out of sorts. For the first time, James Okonkwo came in before Mohamed Wague off the bench, while Kobe Johnson saw the floor before Joe Toussaint. Things got even more of a mess for West Virginia as Kedrian Johnson shined and Erik Stevenson got hurt late in the first half.
WVU’s closing lineup featured Johnson, Toussaint, Seth Wilson, Emmitt Matthews and James Okonkwo. The three-guard lineup for WVU worked as over the final six minutes of the game these five (along with switching Stevenson in and out with Wilson before he fouled out) seemingly won the game for WVU. This is the second time in as many games West Virginia head coach has gone with a guard-dominant lineup. Against Oklahoma on Saturday, the Mountaineers deployed Johnson, Toussiant, Stevenson, Wilson, and Wague on the floor at the same time as they went on a late flurry to end the first half.
It seems the more guards the better right now, especially when you are getting athletic bigs like James Okonkwo who can move better without the ball and create more space.
Emmitt and Tre, Welcome Back
Emmitt Matthews and Tre Mitchell found themselves in the spotlight on Wednesday night. Mitchell played 33 minutes, while Matthews played 28 minutes. Matthews scored a season-high 20 points, while it is only the second time Matthews has scored in double-digits in the past six games. While it was expected that Matthews would cool off a little bit following a blistering non-conference showing, if Matthews can start to score the ball more consistently and efficiently than he has been, it gives WVU another weapon to turn to. Mitchell added nine points, with all of his points coming in the first half. Mitchell saw the floor for 13 minutes in the second half, but seemed to at times be cautious to play through contact. You can never expect a foul call in this league and Mitchell has to adjust, but more importantly it was nice to see him make shots in the first half.
No Stevenson, No Problem
This offense has more or less has been as good or bad as Erik Stevenson is. On Wednesday however, they won without him. Stevenson exited in the first half, with an apparent head injury but would return to the bench for the closing minute or so of the first and then start the second half on the floor. Stevenson played 22 minutes in the win, down from his showings of 29, 38, 27, and 30 minutes in the four games prior. Stevenson also fouled out with 2:20 remaining and WVU leading by one. The Mountaineers did not have their go-to bucket getter, and it almost proved costly on the second-to-last possession where Kedrian Johnson tried to force a pass inside leading to a runout layup attempt from the Cyclones.
Either way though, the Mountaineers won while Stevenson scored only eight points, and without him closing the game. Stevenson had three assists on the evening as well, and went 1 for 6 from the field.
Free Throws Won the Game
Over the final 5:53 of play, West Virginia did not score a basket. All eight points WVU scored were at the free throw line. During the same stretch, Iowa State missed three foul shots, while WVU only missed two. Yes, there is not a big difference there, but WVU going to the line in a pressure situation and making all six free throws in the final 1:07 was the difference.
