West Virginia, also known as Press Virginia, has a very powerful halfcourt press that Bob Huggins has used all season. It has worked against some teams, and utterly failed against others. They knew that the team would have to become more than just a one trick pony, and with the talent the squad has, such as Big 12 preseason player of the year Juwan Staten and big man Devin Williams, as well as a boatload of sharpshooting freshmen, 'Huggy Bear's' 'Eers had the potential to be amazing.
In their win over Kansas on Monday, they got into the paint with relative ease against the Kansas Jayhawks, using their big man to bruise defenders, and get kickout threes along the way. Juwan Staten won the game for WVU with a driving layup at the end of the game, proving to the world that West Virginia was here to stay. Against Oklahoma State today, WVU attained 37 rebounds and forced 15 turnovers to get their first road win over a top 25 opponent this season, 73-63.
The OKST Cowboys got off to a great start in the game, as Anthony Hickey Jr. hit two consecutive threes to get Gallagher-Iba Arena rocking. Big man Michael Cobbins was also getting in the fray, and with 7 1/2 minutes gone by, it was 13-4 Cowboys. The Mountaineers' savior all season, Juwan Staten, took over the game after the Pokes' run, getting into the lane for layups, as Oklahoma State's defense parted like the red seas. BillyDee Williams came off of the bench and hit 2 treys to give WVU a spark, and it was tied, 25-25 at the half. Noticeably, Phil Forte III only had 2 points in the half, as the Mountaineers shut him down.
West Virginia came out of the break with a swagger that carried them to the very end. Devin Williams, the premier Mountaineer big man, pushed his way into the paint with authority, and Daxter Miles Jr. was hot from beyond the arc. The senior Mountaineer captain, Gary Browne, was leading the team by getting open jump shots and using his speed to blow by the lost Pokes defenders. The team core of Browne, Staten, and Williams led the Mountaineers to another impressive victory on this evening.
Oklahoma State looked lackadaisical in this game, as both stars Le'Bryan Nash and Phil Forte were held in check, scoring 12 and 10 points respectively. Anthony Hickey Jr. started off the game red hot for the Pokes, but cooled off dramatically in the 2nd half. Michael Cobbins kept the team in the game by hitting the occasional floater or layup, but without the catalysts of Nash and Forte working together, the Cowboys were out of time. It was just another blemish on what has been a topsy-turvy season for Oklahoma State. They are solidly in the NCAA tournament, but will need Nash and Forte to be working in cohesion to make a deep run. They get the week off before taking on lowly Texas Tech at Lubbock.
It took the Mountaineers a while to finally find an identity, but now they are rolling, and they look scary. Juwan Staten is finally looking like the Big 12 Player of the Year again, leading the team on the court and on the sidelines. The team is broiling with energy, as the great Bob Huggins is looking for his first Big 12 championship when the tournament rolls around this coming month. The 'Eers now will prepare for inviting the Texas Longhorns to Morgantown on Tuesday, looking for revenge after a humiliating loss to the 'Horns earlier this year in Austin.