MORGANTOWN — Having already figured out its offense is mainly coming from guards Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil, WVU men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins now looks to answer the next question:
What is WVU’s best defensive options?
Huggins took that question following the Mountaineers’ 65-59 victory against UAB.
“I’ve got to try and keep those two guys, Gabe (Osabuohien) and Pauly (Paulicap) on the floor,” Huggins replied.
Osabuohien has long been known as a defensive pest, whether it’s drawing offensive fouls, rebounding or deflecting passes.
Paulicap came to WVU this season as a fifth-year transfer out of DePaul, where he was known for being an undersized shot blocker.
Paulicap’s hustle and 11 blocked shots have already made him a local fan favorite, many of whom chanted his name during a timeout in a win against Kent State.
“We’ve got to keep them out of foul trouble,” Huggins continued. “I don’t play them as much just for that reason.”
Which is the flip side to the forwards’ stories. Osabuohien leads WVU with 34 fouls and Paulicap is third on that list with 19.
Against UAB, the difference of when the duo is on the floor and off of it was noticeable.
“Pauly really helped us. I thought Pauly was really good. It’s a big difference when you kind of have a guy there waiting on you when you’re driving it,” Huggins said. “We didn’t have anyone in there to start the game and they just kept taking it at us.”
Paulicap has blocked at least one shot in seven consecutive games, while Osabuohien leads WVU at 5.1 rebounds per game. He had a season-high nine boards against UAB.
Too close for comfort
WVU (10-1) will enter Wednesday’s game against Youngstown State (7-3) as the lowest-scoring team in the Big 12, averaging 69.4 points per game.
The Mountaineers’ average margin of victory is 8.8 points, ninth in the Big 12.
“I’m getting old, man,” Huggins said. “We really haven’t put anyone away. If you look at our scores, we haven’t put anyone away. It’s going to catch up to us sooner or later.”
NET update
West Virginia improved to No. 39 in the NCAA’s NET rankings following the UAB victory, which was considered a Quad 1 game, since it was on the road against a top 75 team in the NET.
The NET rankings are used by the NCAA tournament selection committee to determine at-large teams and seeding for the tournament. WVU is 2-0 on the season in Quad 1 games.
The Big 12 currently has all 10 of its teams ranked in the top 80 of the NET, the only Power Five Conference to make that claim.
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