MORGANTOWN — Eliot Ness and his “Untouchables” were replaced Tuesday night by WVU’s “Unpredictables.”
As in the Mountaineers kept their NCAA tournament hopes alive following a 73-55 victory against TCU inside the Coliseum, but the key to their critical win was not exactly the usual suspects.
Sure, the box score tells you Javon Small played a major role with 23 points, 10 assists and five rebounds — just the eighth all-time 20-10-5 game in WVU history — but his supporting cast did more than just reinforce on this night.
Guys like Sencire Harris, Joseph Yesufu and K.J. Tenner, well, they may have been the foundation of the win that put the Mountaineers (17-11, 8-9 Big 12) in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Big 12.
Now, a three-way tie for seventh doesn’t exactly sound like a reason for celebration, but in a deep and expanded Big 12, staying in the upper half of the league almost assures any team with a respectable resumé like WVU’s a spot in the NCAA tournament.
“They’re all critical at this time of year,” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said. “It was a big game. It doesn’t mean your season is over if you lose it, but it certainly would have put us in a tougher spot.”
In any case, we get to the “Unpredictables,” a group that was led by Harris.
On any given night, the sophomore is the Mountaineers’ defensive muscle.
He was that and then some against the Horned Frogs (15-13, 8-9). It started with a couple of rebounds and then he took on Noah Reynolds’ drive to the basket and sent the shot into the stands.
As the game evolved, so did Harris’ offensive output, which included a step-back jumper from about 15 feet that fell through. Later on, Harris simply drove through the lane and came away with a thunderous dunk.
“It’s just college basketball, points are points for me,” Harris said. “I just look at it like that.”
His season averages coming into the game were 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds. By halftime, Harris already had 11 points and five rebounds. He finished with 13 points and also added two blocked shots and two steals.
“I thought Sencire was great all-around,” DeVries said. “He impacted the game from all over the floor.”
No way TCU head coach Jamie Dixon, coaching his 37th time against WVU, could had ever predicted that.
Then there was Tenner, the smallest guy on the court at — generously listed at 6-feet on the roster — but he came up with a dandy of a bucket in the first half.
With his momentum and dribble stopped around the foul line, Tenner found himself locked up with TCU forward.
Tenner somehow gave a little up-and-under move and pulled off a scoop shot from about 14 feet that fell in.
Yesufu nailed a 3-pointer in the corner — while falling down — that gave WVU a 36-18 lead. He had four of WVU’s 11 3-pointers in the game and finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
For the better part of the past month, it was maybe the unexpected that had taken a bite out of the Mountaineers.
Whether it was an upset home loss against struggling Arizona State or a tough overtime loss at Baylor in which the Bears didn’t score a single basket in the overtime and still won, WVU’s season had gone from promising to critical condition because of unforeseen events.
So, maybe this was a little payback. It certainly looked that way to the Horned Frogs, who beat the Mountaineers 65-60 back in Ft. Worth earlier this month.
TCU was held without a 3-pointer until the second half and was held scoreless for a period of 8:21 of the first half.
Meanwhile, WVU had one of its better shooting nights.
For the first time this season, the Mountaineers shot better than 50% in a Big 12 game, connecting on 27 for 52 from the field.
“Our defense has not been great this season,” Dixon said. “We got what we deserved.”
Amani Hansberry chipped in nine points and five rebounds for the Mountaineers, who will now travel to the state of Utah for back-to-back games against BYU and Utah.
Utah will be coached by former WVU interim Josh Eilert, who was named the Utes interim head coach on Monday.
