MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — With its non-conference schedule now in the rear-view mirror, the 14th-ranked West Virginia men’s basketball team has its sight set on the rest of the Big 12.
“I go into the theater room and they have on the blackboard, ‘Win the conference. Win the national championship,’ ” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said following the Mountaineers’ 74-51 victory against Missouri on Saturday. “I’m like, ‘You guys have to string it together. You have to string wins together.’ ”
West Virginia (16-3, 4-2 Big 12) wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a 12-1 record, the best since the 2016-17 season, which also saw WVU finish 12-1.
The Mountaineers finished in a three-way tie for second in the Big 12 that season and fell to Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament title game.
“We know we have some catching up to do, but it’s all still out there for us,” WVU guard Jermaine Haley said. “We just have to stay focused and keep winning. We still have a lot of big games left to play.”
Among those big games is Wednesday against No. 18 Texas Tech (12-7, 3-3), which is coming off a 76-74 overtime loss against No. 15 Kentucky. Texas Tech guard Davide Moretti was stripped of the basketball in the final seconds on his drive to the basket that could have sent the game into a second overtime.
The other season highlights: WVU has a home game remaining against third-ranked Kansas (Feb. 12) and will play No. 1 Baylor twice over the final seven games of the regular season.
“This will be an exciting time for us,” WVU forward Oscar Tshiebwe said. “You want to play in the big games. We need to keep climbing and keep playing better. The one thing I love about this team is we all have the same goal and we play together.”
Big 12/SEC Challenge
For the second time in the seven-year history of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, the conferences tied with five wins apiece.
WVU ended a two-game losing streak in the series with its victory against Missouri.
Over the seven years, Big 12 schools now hold a 40-30 record over the SEC and has an overall record of 4-1-2 in the series.
Baylor continues to be the most successful Big 12 school, owning a 6-1 record after its 72-61 win against Florida on Saturday.
Kansas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are 5-2 in Big 12/SEC Challenge games.
A year ago, the conferences signed an agreement with ESPN to extend the series for another six years.
Haley steps up
Since falling on the road against Kansas State on Jan. 18, no WVU player has seen more time on the court than Haley.
West Virginia’s senior guard has logged 55 minutes in wins against Texas and Missouri, which came by a combined 61 points.
Haley has shot 10 of 17 from the field in those two games, but it’s been his other intangibles that has kept him in games.
“We’re trying to put people in a mismatched situation with him more,” Huggins said. “I think the biggest thing is he helps us rebound at both ends. He keeps balls alive and he rebounds.”
Haley combined for 16 rebounds against Texas and Missouri, with nine of those being offensive rebounds.
“We’ve had spells where we’re just out,” Huggins continued. “You know, we’re not really playing. We’re not really concentrating and that’s when it’s great to have a 6-foot-7 guard.”
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