MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — If a West Virginia defense that held Pitt to just 3 of 25 (12%) shooting in the second half during WVU’s 68-53 victory Friday goes on to become a constant, Bob Huggins said there may be one man to thank.
That would be WVU assistant Ron Everhart, the man who was in charge of the scouting report leading into the showdown with the Panthers.
“Ronnie did a great job,” Huggins said. “Ronnie came up with something that we had never done before with ball screens. If we continue to work with it then it can be pretty good. We can do multiple things out of it.”
Interest is now peaked, but don’t expect an explanation from Huggins any time soon on what exactly the Mountaineers did.
“No you can’t ask,” Huggins said. “Those other people can read, too.”
Whatever it was got off to a slow start, as Pitt guards Trey McGowens and Xavier Johnson were consistent in driving to the rim in the first half.
“We weren’t doing what we were supposed to,” WVU point guard Jordan McCabe said. “Coach got on us at halftime pretty good. He has his own special way of motivating you.
“The second half was entirely different. We forced them to take the shots that we wanted them to take and not the shots they wanted.”
Perimeter defense was a sore spot all of last season, when the Mountaineers (2-0) finished 15-21 and allowed 77.4 points per game.
Opponents also shot 45.8% from the field against WVU last season. While it’s still very early, Akron and Pitt have combined to shoot just 34.2% (40 of 117) from the field.
“We’re just so much more active on defense than we used to be,” said WVU forward Emmitt Matthews, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. “I think in general, we’re all just playing with a ton of confidence and that’s showing up on defense, too.”
Hostile environment?
By the end of the game, WVU fans began chanting, “This is our house!” as Pitt fans made their way toward the exit signs.
There may be some truth to that. Friday’s win was the Mountaineers’ third straight at the Petersen Events Center, which was once an arena that was a house of horrors for WVU.
Before the winning streak began, WVU had lost six consecutive games there. It’s only win before the winning streak came in 2005, when Kevin Pittsnogle pumped in 22 points during a 70-66 victory.
As for the atmosphere, Huggins was asked how he prepared his players for a “hostile environment,” and his answer was a doozy.
“I never understood the meaning of hostile,” Huggins said. “I mean, I didn’t see anyone with spears or knives or machine guns or anything like that. I’d like to know the meaning of hostile. I just thought it was a whole bunch of people who paid some money to come in here and watch a good ball game.”
Keeping the rivalry alive
It is not known if the series with Pitt will continue after next season’s game at the WVU Coliseum.
Huggins stated before the game that it would have to be a decision made by the two school’s athletic departments, rather than the two teams.
West Virginia’s coach did let it be known Friday that he was interested in keepig it alive.
“The way we travel in our league, it’s refreshing to jump on a bus and ride an hour, believe me,” Huggins said. “It’s always been such a great game for so many years and it’s been a great rivalry for so many years. I don’t know why we don’t play in every sport. I guess that’s why I’m not an AD.”
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