MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Two key areas of the box score told a tough story Wednesday, as No. 11 West Virginia fell to top-ranked Gonzaga, 87-82, in the Jimmy V Classic in Indianapolis.
The Bulldogs held a 60-30 advantage in points in the paint and also had a 25-4 advantage in fast-break points.
Gonzaga forwards Drew Timme and Corey Kispert combined for 36 points — they entered the game averaging a combined 50 points — but their points down low did not come from dominating the glass or by scoring on post-up plays.
Rather, the majority of those points came from simply getting down the floor faster and scoring in transition or from driving their way into the paint for a jump shot.
“Their forwards run so well,” WVU guard Deuce McBride said. “We didn’t stick to our game plan and get back on defense. That’s on us.”
“They capitalized on every opportunity they got,” added WVU forward Derek Culver. “If they saw a little loophole in our transition defense, they capitalized on it.”
As for the fast-break points, Gonzaga star point guard Jalen Suggs left the game midway in the first half with an apparent ankle injury and didn’t return until the 15:52 mark of the second half.
That didn’t stop the Bulldogs (3-0) from running, as Andrew Nembhard came off the bench to finish with 19 points and six assists.
“Obviously, I knew he was a good guard and I was wanting to match up against him,” McBride said of Suggs. “I was sad that he went down. We knew he was the main part to their transition, so when he went down, I think we were blind-sided by how the other players ran so well.”
Isaiah Cottrell makes first impact
Under normal circumstances, WVU head coach Bob Huggins would not have had freshman forward Isaiah Cottrell playing crucial minutes in the second half against the No. 1 team in the country.
But because Culver, Oscar Tshiebwe and Gabe Osabuohien were all in foul trouble, Cottrell was forced into the fire.
In 11 minutes, Cottrell scored six points and had a rebound, an assist, a steal and blocked a shot.
“I saw a lot of resilience from Isaiah,” Culver said. “He’s still a freshman and he isn’t as tough as the older guys, but he showed me a lot of toughness today. He got thrown into the fire against the No. 1 team in the country and he hit the ground running. He did what was asked of him.”
Cottrell’s assist came on a high-low entry pass to Culver that cut the Bulldogs lead, 61-60, with 8:14 remaining.
He also scored on a nice turnaround jumper with 5:05 left that cut Gonzaga’s lead to 73-71.
“I thought Isaiah played well,” Huggins said. “He made a couple of mistakes defensively, but we probably need to take a little more time with him, because he’s a skilled guy. He can shoot it and he can pass it and we need that.”
Sean McNeil takes a blow to the head
WVU guard Sean McNeil played the majority of the game with a bandage over his forehead, after taking an elbow from Kispert with 9:53 left in the first half.
McNeil remained on the floor after Kispert’s drive to the basket, with blood running down the side of his head.
The kicker? McNeil was charged with a foul on the play.
“I don’t remember a guy getting hit in the head and laying on the floor bleeding and the foul is on him,” said Huggins, who added McNeil required eight stitches before getting back into the game. “I’d have to think long and hard as to the last time I saw that happen.”
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