The WVU men's basketball team is coming off a tough loss to Missouri. Now they will face a much more talented Gonzaga Bulldog team. This will be the third time these two teams have met in the last three years. The first time was in the NCAA Tournament, and last year in the Old Spice Classic, both of which Gonzaga won. WVU will be looking for some payback after losing these two games, but they will need all of their players to step up big.
Last year, the Mountaineers had no players with double digit points per game and now they have three. That may not seem like too much of a difference, but the West Virginia team last year struggled a lot on the offensive side of the court. Now they seem a bit more complete. Sophomore guard Eron Harris had a forgettable freshman season, but he now leads the team in scoring with 18.9 points per game, more than doubling his point total from last season. He will have to lead the Mountaineers in their charge against the Bulldogs. Harris’ most impressive stat is his shooting 51% from beyond the arc. This is the type of offensive weaponry West Virginia will need to fire against a very good Gonzaga team.
Another player that the Mountaineers need to have a big game is junior guard Juwan Staten. Staten struggled last season shooting just 37% from the field. Now he is shooting 52% from the field and is amassing 16.3 point per game , compared to last season's meager 6.7. With Harris and Staten leading the Mountaineers at the top of the key, it is up to the three other players on the court to pick up the slack where Harris and Staten may fall short.
One such player is freshman forward Devin Williams. Not only is he third on the team in scoring, he also leads the Mountaineers in rebounding, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game. In four games this season he has recorded double digit rebounds, and only one of those games resulted in a loss. Williams has been extremely dominant when it comes to offensive rebounds as well, with 23 so far this season. The Mountaineers will need a strong showing from him on the boards if they want to keep this game close and possibly pull off an upset.
With Harris, Staten and Williams dominating on offense there are still some question marks remaining when it comes to defense. Last year the Mountaineers were very effective at turning the ball over, but now it seems they have dropped off a little bit in this category. Staten has the most steals among any of his teammates this season with 14, and against a team like Gonzaga the Mountaineers will need him to create havoc on defense.
Another area that is dwindling number-wise is blocked shots. As a team the Mountaineers are averaging just three blocks per game. This number is down from last year, when Aaric Murray was on the team, alone averaging one and a half blocks per game. Freshman forward Nathan Adrian is currently leading the team with 0.9 blocks per game. He also has eight blocks on the season. If Adrian can swat shots away with ease then it could be a long day for the Bulldogs inside men.
With this in mind, West Virginia is going to need a big showing from their defense since they will be going up against a Gonzaga team that can put big points on the board. They are fourth in points scored, averaging 90.4 per game. Aside from this, they are shooting around 55% as a team in field goal percentage which ranks them first in college basketball.
With the Bulldogs' scoring and field shooting averages so high, the Mountaineers will have their work cut out for them on defense. The one player they will have to limit at all costs is junior guard Kevin Pangos. His averages per game are 19.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists. He is also shooting 50% from three-point land. Pangos seems to be unstoppable, and it will require tough play by the defense to keep his shooting to a minimum. One of his biggest weaknesses is turnovers, with eleven on the season. So if Staten or another Mountaineer can play tough defense, they may be able to give him turnover problems, giving the Mountaineers a better chance to win this game.
This will be on of West Virginia's toughest non-conference games, and they need everyone including some of their weaker bench players to play hard. Gonzaga knows how to shoot, and even the smallest lead could turn into a big one if West Virginia slacks off at all on defense. Through nine games this season the Mountaineers have allowed 67.2 points per game which is well below what the Bulldogs are used to scoring. If the Mountaineers can slow down the Bulldogs’ top scorers (besides Pangos) then they might be able to edge out a win.
Prediction: WVU-75 Gonzaga-96
WVU Player of the Game: Juwan Staten 18 Pts 4 Rebs 7 Ast
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