KANSAS CITY, Mo. — West Virginia went from cellar to Cinderella on Thursday. Freshman forward Emmitt Matthews made sure of that.
He threw his body around like a pro wrestler just to snare a rebound, while holding the Big 12’s top player in Jarrett Culver in check for about 25 minutes. And, oh by the way, the kid from Tacoma, Wash., also poured in a career-high 28 points in leading the Mountaineers to a 79-74 upset of second-seeded Texas Tech, at the Sprint Center.
“There were times back in November he probably would have fell on his face going after some of those rebounds, but that shows you how far he’s come,” guard Jordan McCabe said of Matthews.