MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Ever wondered what the textbook definition of winning ugly is?
Simply look at the kind of Big 12 season 17th-ranked West Virginia is putting together to answer it.
The Mountaineers (13-2, 2-1 Big 12) have played three Big 12 games. One came against the conference’s most heralded and tradition-rich team in Kansas and Saturday’s 66-54 victory against Texas Tech was against the school that was the national runner-up last season.
In those three games, the Mountaineers have turned the ball over 57 times and registered only 24 assists.
Against Texas Tech, WVU had 21 turnovers and nine assists.
And yet, minus a brief 41 seconds in the first half — before either team had reached 10 points — the Mountaineers never trailed.
That’s ugly, ladies and gentlemen.
“I don’t know if we like it, but we know how to get through it,” WVU guard Chase Harler said. “I think we are a tough group of guys who have a will to win.”
Or maybe you may call it being a little lucky.
Maybe it’s both, who really knows at this point?
What can’t be denied is how a WVU team that couldn’t guard a traffic cone on a windy day just last season is now the top defensive team in the Big 12. Maybe the nation, if you listen to the likes of ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla, who has given his approval many times on the Mountaineers’ defense on social media this season.
Through three Big 12 games, only Kansas has been able to sniff a team shooting percentage above 40% for the game against WVU. And that was just barely above 40.
Texas Tech suffered through three shot-clock violations and couldn’t find a way to get a shot past either Derek Culver or Oscar Tshiebwe in the opening minutes of the game.
“I’m not sure how many blocks we had, but the way we play defense, we definitely let other teams know that we’re not here to play around,” Culver said. “I feel like me and Oscar are going to lead the way in that. We did a good job of contesting everything at the rim.”
The flip side to all of that is it would be fantastic to tell you that WVU goes back at the other end of the floor and knocks down shots and make passes that are on target and decisions that can be questioned by no one.
That’s not winning, ugly, though, and that’s just not what the identity of this team seems to be.
Maybe one day or one game in the future, you’ll see four or five guys get hot at the same time and assists begin to pile up one after the other.
Maybe WVU will even begin to make a few free throws here and there — the Mountaineers were 23 of 35 at the line against Texas Tech, but were an awful 8 of 14 in the first half.
Maybe the Mountaineers won’t have to rely so much on its defense and rebounding to carry the load.
That time just isn’t right now. Right now, the Mountaineers are winning ugly. Like, bad-hair day, no mouthwash around and bad acne kind of ugly.
And these Mountaineers couldn’t care less.
“I feel like if we just continue to prepare like we’ve been preparing, we’ll be fine,” Culver said. “Our coaches really break down the scouting reports and how we’re going to guard someone to the finest detail. Really, a lot of the credit to our defense should go to the coaches.
“I’d much rather win ugly, as long as it’s a win.”
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