WVU hosted BYU in a massive Big 12 matchup on Tuesday; they dropped the game in the final minutes 73-69. Here’s a look at some of the deciding factors in the game.
The Mountaineers once again had a difficult time controlling the glass. WVU had 25 rebounds in the game compared to BYU’s 35. Rebounding has been a struggle for the Mountaineers all year, and they have been out-rebounded in their last two games. Toby Okani and Amani Hansberry were tied for a team-leading five rebounds each, while BYU’s Fousseyni Traore was the leading rebounder for the game with six.
BYU’s defense on Javon Small was another deciding factor in this one as BYU made it a point of emphasis to try and slow down the Big 12’s leading scorer, and they were able to hold him to nine points. Only the second game all season that Small was held under double-digit points. BYU “face guarded” Small all game and guarded him tightly all the way up the court. Small shot 2-4 from field and 1-3 from three-point range.
The Mountaineers were able to win the turnover battle in this game, forcing 12 BYU turnovers. They also had six steals; Sencire Harris led in that category with two. They were only able to turn the 12 turnovers into 17 points and fell just short at the end after picking up a few crucial fouls in the final minutes of the game.
West Virginia was dominated in bench points in this game 18-38 in BYU’s favor. The Mountaineers will need more out of their bench moving forward with their path to make the NCAA Tournament getting harder.
WVU will need to play a more complete game when they travel to take on Baylor on Saturday, Feb. 15th, at 2:00 pm EST. The game will be shown on ESPN2.
