MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — While checking out the Gonzaga scouting report, West Virginia forward Gabe Osabuohien said it didn’t take long for his eyes to light up.
The reason? The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs (2-0) get the bulk of their scoring from two talented forwards in Drew Timme and Corey Kispert.
The duo combine to average 50.5 points per game.
“They move the ball a lot and most of their scoring is based on their two forwards,” Osabuohien said. “I’m really excited for that game and excited to guard both of them. Hopefully, I’ll get to guard both. The goal is to shut them down.”
That was something neither Kansas or Auburn could do last week, as Gonzaga averaged 96 points and shot nearly 59% as a team in those two victories.
“Who said I was looking forward to it?” Huggins said in coming up with a game plan. “They’re good. They’re very very skilled and that’s been a trait of Gonzaga basketball for a lot of years. They have a lot of skilled guys.
“They pass it extremely well and they shoot it extremely well. They shoot it as well as anyone we’ve played in a long time.”
The Jimmy V Classic match-up — this will be the fourth time the No. 11 Mountaineers (3-0) have made an appearance in the doubleheader — appears to be the classic game of offense against defense.
While Gonzaga’s offense is pouring in points, West Virginia’s defense is holding opponents to 41% from the floor and just 25% from 3-point range.
Huggins believes those numbers could be better.
“We haven’t played very well,” he said. “For this group, I don’t think we’ve played nearly as well as we’re capable of playing.
“We haven’t guarded. We haven’t guarded not even a little bit compared to basically this same group did a year ago at the end of the year. Our defense has to get a lot better.”
While Timme and Kispert lead Gonzaga in scoring, it may be freshman point guard Jalen Suggs who actually makes the Bulldogs a legit national championship contender.
He was ranked No. 6 overall in the 2020 recruiting class by ESPN, making him the highest-ranked freshman to ever sign at Gonzaga.
In what was his first-ever college game, Suggs scored 24 points and added eight assists against Kansas, and that came after getting in early foul trouble in the first half.
“Jalen is a special player,” Gonzaga head coach Mark few told the Associated Press after the Kansas game. “And he’s so good to coach.”
He will be a defensive challenge for WVU point guard Deuce McBride, who is settling in as the Mountaineers’ lead guard.
Through three games, McBride leads WVU in scoring at 16.3 points per game and he’s recorded 10 assists against four turnovers.
“I think I’d have a hard time naming a true point guard today,” Huggins said. “I don’t know who has one. There’s not a lot of John Stocktons or Nick Van Exels running around out there. Everybody wants to score. Everybody works on shooting.
“Look at all the teams in the country. Kansas is playing a 6-foot-7 guy at point guard now, who really was a power forward last year.”
For the Mountaineers’ today’s game marks the 16th time in program history WVU has faced the top-ranked team in the country.
WVU is 5-10 overall against No. 1s, including a 3-4 mark when the Mountaineers are also ranked in the AP Top 25.
“We just have to stop them on fast breaks and don’t give up easy points,” WVU guard Taz Sherman said. “They like to get out fast. They average 96 points a game and half of those are on fast-break points. We’re really focusing on stopping the ball early and don’t give up easy transition points. We can’t let them do what they want to do.”
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