Mountaineers Look For Revenge Against Houston Wednesday Night

The No. 6-ranked Houston Cougars head north to Morgantown to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in a rematch from earlier this season. It is another crucial matchup in Big 12 play, where the Cougars rank first, undefeated in the conference (8-0). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.

West Virginia has struggled of late, losing consecutive games for the first time all season. They have lost by eight-plus points in their last two games against Kansas State and Arizona State. They sit at 13-6 (4-3 in Big 12). Offensively, it has been a struggle for the Mountaineers. Finding consistent scoring has been one of the glaring issues WVU has faced. In their last two games, they are shooting an average of 33.9% from the field and a mere 16.4% from three-point range. It is not a great landing spot for the Mountaineers either, as Houston boasts one of the best defensive units in the country.

Head coach for WVU Darian DeVries said this in a press conference earlier today: “I mean they’re (Houston) as good as it gets, defensively especially. It’s a hard code to crack, and nobody’s really been able to do it much.”

Houston did not come out firing to start the year. They saw all three of their losses come in the first seven games of the season but have definitely found their footing, winning 12 consecutive games since then. They stand at 16-3 and, as mentioned before, undefeated in conference play, looking to add another to the tally tomorrow night. The Cougars are dominant on the defensive end, holding teams to the worst field-goal percentage and least amount of points per game in the Big 12.

The Mountaineers faced off against Houston on the road just a couple of weeks ago, where they lost 70-54—a game where WVU leading scorer Javon Small shot poorly, going 4-for-11 from the field. That brings one of the keys to this matchup: Javon Small versus the Houston defense. WVU has seemed to run as far as Small takes them, and a repeat of his last performance versus Houston will likely end in the same result. In WVU’s recent huge upset win over then-No. 2 Iowa State, Javon Small was the clear X-factor, shooting over 50% from the field and scoring 27 points in the victory.

Another matchup to look out for will be West Virginia’s three-point defense versus the sharpshooters Houston boasts. An unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, if you will. WVU is first in the Big 12 in defending the long ball, holding opponents to 28.5%. However, two of Houston’s leading scorers, Emanuel Sharp and L.J. Cryer, shoot significantly well from beyond the arc, both over 40%. Sharp is ranked in the top 10 in the country in three-point percentage. We saw this same matchup take place last time out, where Houston won the battle, shooting over 42% as a team from deep.

Mountaineer guard Sencire Harris was asked during a press conference about Houston’s three-point success against them, compared to the rest of the Big 12. He responded, “When we played them at Houston, you know coach told them that they shoot 50% when they’re at home as a team. I think we just got to guard harder. I think when we definitely did sit down and dead-guard I think we got stops and runs, and we had cut it into a five-point game…”

It is no surprise that WVU is missing a key piece to its offense in the absence of the coach’s son, Tucker DeVries. He has been sidelined since Dec. 6, last playing in the win versus Georgetown. DeVries was able to shoot effectively from anywhere on the court and was a sidekick to Javon Small when he was not having his best night shooting. He was essential in their win over Arizona at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas, where he scored 26 points and was 8-for-12 from three-point range. Since DeVries has been hurt, WVU has yet to find the guy to back up Small but has gotten spurts from players such as Amani Hansberry and Eduardo Andre.

Although Cryer and Sharp are the two main players Houston relies on to score, forward J’Wan Roberts was the guy who took down the Mountaineers last time out. He scored 22 points on 10-for-13 shooting, and since that matchup, he is averaging 18.67 points and 7.33 rebounds per contest. It will be necessary for Andre and other WVU bigs to contain Roberts better than they did the first time.

It will be a tough task for West Virginia to pull off a home upset similar to the one they accomplished versus Iowa State, but it is desperately needed. A loss would add to their longest losing streak of the year and drop them to .500 in conference play. If the Mountaineers pull it off, it will be because of a stellar performance from Javon Small and a collective effort on defense that causes disruptions shooting inside and outside the perimeter.