No. 17 West Virginia faces crucial road tests in the state of Texas

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Locked in a conference with two of the top three-ranked schools in the country in Baylor and Kansas, it seems like a road trip to the state of Texas would hardly qualify as critical.

Just don’t expect West Virginia coach Bob Huggins to buy into that theory.
Not when the 17th-ranked Mountaineers (19-7, 7-6 Big 12) find themselves in the position they’re in.

To Huggins, Saturday’s 2 p.m. road game against TCU (14-12, 5-8) and Monday’s game at Texas are just as critical than West Virginia’s games down the road against Oklahoma and No. 1 Baylor.

“I think they are, because of the situation we put ourselves in,” Huggins said. “You can’t lose three in a row in any league and not think that you don’t have some making up to do.”

WVU will enter the game knowing it can finish no higher than the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 tournament next month.

That would secure a first-round bye in the league tournament, something the Mountaineers did not have last season in finishing last before winning two games to advance to the semifinals.

“Getting a bye in the conference tournament is important,” Huggins said. “Four games in four days is tough.”

A catastrophic finish could still see the Mountaineers fall as far as eighth in the Big 12, eliminating a first-round bye and likely dropping the Mountaineers out of the top 25 rankings.

That’s the importance of winning games that are supposed to be won, whether it be on the road or inside the WVU Coliseum.

If the Mountaineers were to sweep the Horned Frogs and the Longhorns, WVU would finish no lower than the No. 5 seed in the Big 12. The top six teams earn a first-round bye.

And WVU players know they are supposed to win these next two games, especially after sweeping both school earlier this season at home by a combined 70 points.

“Our next two games on the road are so important,” WVU guard Jermaine Haley said. “We beat TCU and Texas at home, so they’re going to be motivated. We’ve got to find a way to win these games if we’re going to have a shot at building some momentum late in the season.”

Of late, the Horned Frogs have struggled, losing seven of their last eight games, including a 14-point loss at Texas on Wednesday, in which TCU finished just 3 of 18 from 3-point range.

“They’re set up to shoot 3-pointers,” Huggins said. “That’s how they think they can score.”

TCU leads the Big 12 in both 3-point makes (218) and attempted (647) and guard Desmond Bane’s 70 3-pointers are the most in the Big 12.

“He’s really good,” Huggins said. “He’s got great range on his shot. He’s done a great job of working on his game.”

WVU ended a three-game losing streak with Tuesday’s 65-47 victory against Oklahoma State that saw Huggins change his starting lineup and bring sophomore forward Derek Culver off the bench.

Culver responded by grabbing nine of his 10 rebounds in the second half, as WVU erased a 33-28 halftime deficit and held the Cowboys to just five baskets over the final 20 minutes.

“You could say it helped motivate Derek,” Huggins said. “That’s as well as Derek has played in a long time. He’s the guy who turned the game around, if you’re going to point to one guy. He started blocking shots, so they weren’t as eager to penetrate. He did a great job of guarding on the perimeter and he rebounded the ball.”

Huggins said after the game he felt WVU played better as a team when it had both Culver and forward Oscar Tshiebwe on the floor together.

As far as making the change back to a bigger lineup, Huggins was noncommittal.

“I haven’t thought that much about it,” Huggins said. “I’ve been trying to make sure we don’t get ambushed at TCU. I’m trying to make sure that at least we’re prepared. They’re capable of making a bunch of shots. It helps our guys to know how, when and where they’re going to take those shots.”

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