MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — West Virginia has spent the majority of its non-conference season with a size advantage inside with forwards Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe.
Bob Huggins believes that could be the case again Sunday when the No. 22 Mountaineers travel to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland to face No. 2 Ohio State.
“I don’t know if it changes (against Ohio State),” Huggins said. “They may change for us, which I don’t think they will. They play four perimeter guys and a big and their big plays on the perimeter.”
That big is versatile junior forward Kaleb Wesson (6-foot-9, 270 pounds), who has the strength and size to match up with either Culver or Tshiebwe.
Wesson leads the Buckeyes (11-1) in both scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.0 rpg), yet also has the unique ability to step behind the 3-point line and make shots.
Wesson is 18 of 39 (46.2%) from behind the arc for a team that has had much of its success from long range.
Ohio State’s team 3-point percentage of 40.9% is eighth in the country and No. 1 among teams from Power 5 Conferences.
“They did bring some more bigs who played inside more the Minnesota game,” Huggins said.
Minnesota pulled off an 81-71 upset over the Buckeyes on Dec. 15 on a night when Ohio State shot poorly from the field and was out-rebounded, 40-28.
The same lineup Ohio State used against Minnesota it used in its 71-65 victory against Kentucky last week.
The difference? Ohio State made 50% of its shots against the Wildcats and held a 33-25 advantage on the glass.
That starting lineup also featured Kaleb’s older brother, Andre (6-6, 220), and junior forward Kyle Young (6-8, 205), who would also offer a little more size to match up with West Virginia’s forwards.
Andrew Wesson and Young combine to score 17 points and 10 rebounds per game.
That could be a welcomed style of defensive play for Culver, because it could allow him to defend closer to the basket rather than defending near the 3-point line.
“I think it’s good four our bigs and it’s good for Derek,” Huggins said. “Derek’s been out there running around chasing 6-3, 6-4 guys. That’s good for Derek. He’s got a world of ability that he hasn’t tapped into, yet.
“If Derek can be a 6-10, 260-pound guy who can score and pass it the way he can pass it and stay in front of guards, he can make himself very marketable.”
The Buckeyes also bring highly-recruited freshman E.J. Liddell (6-6, 236) off the bench for added size. Liddell is averaging 8.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
As for the Buckeyes’ 3-point shooting, Ohio State has six players with at least 11 3-pointers on the season. In comparison, WVU (10-1) has two in Sean McNeil and Emmitt Matthews Jr.
Sophomore guard Duane Washington Jr. leads Ohio State in shooting 23 of 46 (50%) from behind the arc. He has started eight times this season, but came off the bench against Kentucky and did not play against Minnesota, because of a rib injury.
Washington started and scored 18 points in the Buckeyes 74-49 victory against North Carolina. He also started and led the team with 14 points in Ohio State’s 76-51 victory against Villanova, in which Ohio State shot 60% percent from the field and 56% from 3-point range.
“It’s an honor to be able to play on the national scale and be able to prepare for games like this,” WVU guard Taz Sherman said. “We have to take it up another notch. If we come out and play in the first half against Ohio State lie we did against Youngstown State, we’re down 15, easy. If we come out like we did in the second half, we’ll be OK.”
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