Odds are you vividly remember what happened the last time Kansas and West Virginia squared off. Feb. 16 wasn’t that long ago, after all.
The final seconds, in which the Mountaineers’ Juwan Staten scored a layup on one end of the floor and the Jayhawks’ Perry Ellis missed one on the other end, [received a lot of attention][1]. But West Virginia’s ability to dominate the offensive glass and create Kansas turnovers throughout proved even more important for Bob Huggins’ squad.
In a 62-61 WVU win, the Mountaineers scored 15 second-chance points off 22 offensive rebounds. — Again, 22 offensive rebounds. — Plus, Kansas gave the ball away 14 times, and West Virginia capitalized by scoring 17 points off turnovers.
West Virginia thrived by doing what it does best. Now the question is: Can the Mountaineers replicate that at Allen Fieldhouse? Statistics indicate those specific set of skills travel well.
[According to TeamRankings.com][2], WVU leads the nation in opponents’ turnover percentage: 28.2%. In away games, WVU opponents have turned it over on 28% of their possessions.
What’s more, [WVU retrieves 38.7% of available offensive rebounds][3] — that ranks 8th in the nation. On the road, the Mountaineers get 37.6%.
The tricky part for the No. 20 Mountaineers (22-7 overall, 10-6 Big 12), though, could be maintaining their typical style, aggressiveness and effectiveness without a key piece or two.
Huggins said Monday starting guards Staten and Gary Browne are “day-to-day” with injuries. Staten hurt his knee against Texas and Browne suffered an ankle sprain against Baylor.
Without both of those guys, beating No. 9 Kansas (23-6, 12-4) might prove impossible. WVU lost by 12 at Baylor without Staten and Browne (played just 3 minutes).
Now, as a refresher, here are the Mountaineers KU has to hold back in the final week of the regular season, as the Jayhawks try to clinch their 11th straight Big 12 championship outright.
MOUNTAINEERS STARTERS
———————
**No. 3 — Juwan Staten, 6-1, senior G**
> — Feb. 16 vs. KU: 20 points, 9/18 FGs,
> 2/3 3s, 4 assists, 0 turnovers, 1
> steal in 32 minutes
Will West Virginia’s best player be available at Kansas? We might have to wait until just before Tuesday’s 8 p.m. tip to find out.
If he suits up and is close to 100%, Staten gives WVU its best shot at pulling off an upset. The Big 12’s preseason Player of the Year has scored 20 or more points in three straight games vs. Kansas.
In 14 Big 12 games, Staten has averaged 13.1 points and 5.0 assists, made 10 of 29 3-pointers (34.5%) and hit 40.8% of his field goals overall. He also gets to the foul line with regularity, but has made just 53 of 86 free throws (61.6%).
*– [hoop-matth.com][4] update: Look for Staten to go one-on-one and take 2-point jump shots. 48.4% of his attempts on the season qualify as such, and while he connects on 41.3% of them, only 10 of his 62 makes have come via a teammate’s assist.*
**No. 5 — Devin Williams, 6-9, sophomore F**
> — Feb. 16 vs. KU: 8 points, 4/7 FGs, 4
> rebounds (1 offensive), 3 assists, 2
> TOs, 1 steal in 26 minutes
In WVU’s first meeting with the Jayhawks, KU actually did a nice job of negating his presence on the offensive glass, but his teammates more than made up for Williams only grabbing 1.
Williams has cleaned the glass well in the Big 12, averaging 8.9 bards to go with his 11.4 points and 46.2% shooting. He averages 2.7 offensive rebounds a game.
The big man gets to the foul line for 4.9 attempts a game in the league, and he shoots 69.9%.
*– hoop-math.com update: Given his size and rebounding ability, it’s surprising that Williams only takes 47.1% of his shots at the rim. He gladly takes jumpers from the baseline and elbows. His 34 put-backs on the offensive glass don’t even lead the team.*
**No. 14 — Gary Browne, 6-1, senior G**
> — Feb. 16 vs. KU: 6 points, 1/6 FGs,
> 1/2 3s, 3/4 FTs, 3 rebounds (1
> offensive), 2 TOs, 1 steal in 24
> minutes
Another starting guard described as “day-to-day,” West Virginia could really use one of its better 3-point shooters at Allen Fieldhouse.
In Big 12 games, Browne has knocked down 16 of 48 3-pointers (33.3%). That’s not outstanding, but he has made the second-most 3s on the team in conference.
Browne averages 8.6 points in the league on 38.9% shooting from the field.
On the season, he has made 26 of 72 from 3-point range.
*– hoop-math.com update: More likely to shoot jumpers than attack the rim, Browne makes 35.9% of his 2-point jumpers — the range where 26.4% of his attempts comes from. He doesn’t live there as much as he does downtown, but if you can force him there it is to your benefit.*
**No. 1 — Jonathan Holton, 6-7, junior F**
> — Feb. 16 vs. KU: 5 points, 2/3 FGs,
> 1/2 FTs, 9 rebounds (6 offensive), 1
> assist, 1 TO, 1 block, 2 steals in 22
> mintues
One of many players to destroy KU on the offensive glass just more than two weeks ago, Holton might not have scored much himself, but his 6 offensive rebounds set a tone for WVU’s win.
In Big 12 play, 52% of his rebounds come on the offensive glass, and he averages 5.1 boards a game, while scoring 5.3 points and making 41.1% of his shots.
Holton is coming off a performance of 7 offensive rebounds (10 total) at Baylor, where he scored 7 points.
*– hoop-math.com update: More than any of his teammates, Holton operates at the rim, where he takes 64.5% of his shots and makes 61% of those looks. He has 46 put-backs via the offensive glass to lead WVU. 29.7% of his shots at the rim are a result of his rebounding.*
**No. 4 — Daxter Miles Jr., 6-3, freshman G**
> — Feb. 16 vs. KU: 2 points, 1/5 FGs,
> 0/3 3s, 3 rebounds (1 offensive), 1
> assist, 0 TOs in 15 minutes
The freshman has struggled with his shooting in the Big 12:
– 38-for-97 FGs, 39.2%
– 14-for-49 3s, 28.6%
– 11-for-21 FTs, 52.4%
With Staten and Browne unavailable at Baylor, Miles scored 11 points (4-for-9 shooting, 1-for-5 from 3) and dished 5 assists.
That came after a 12-point, 5-steal showing in a win vs. Texas, in which Miles hit 4 of 8 shots and 2 of 4 from 3-point range.
*– hoop-math.com update: Only 11.7% of his shot attempts have been 2-point jumpers. He only shoots 19% from that range, and rightfully prefers scoring at the rim (39-for-71) or taking 3-pointers.*
MOUNTAINEERS BENCH
——————
**No. 2 — Jevon Carter, 6-2, freshman G**
No Moment Too Big: http://t.co/WZ1hTiqQ9t Freshman Jevon Carter has hit big shots time and time again for #WVU. pic.twitter.com/dkBwjJlxKa
— WVSports.com (@WVSportsDotCom) February 18, 2015
> — Feb. 16 vs. KU: 13 points, 4/8 FGs,
> 3/5 3s, 2/2 FTs, 6 rebounds (4
> offensive), 1 assist, 1 TO in 29
> minutes
[We told you before the game at WVU][5] to watch out for this guy off the bench. But who knew he’d kill it on the offensive glass, too, with 4 boards on that end of the floor?
Carter might get a chance to make an even bigger name for himself if Staten and/or Browne can’t play. One of those scenarios would make him a starter, and even more critical to the Mountaineers’ offense.
He started at Baylor and basically became Juwan Staten Jr., scoring 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting from 3-point range. — That is correct. Carter made 7 3-pointers his last time out. — He took 16 shots and 13 came from behind the arc.
While WVU’s style forces teams to turn it over more often than usual, Carter really forces things as a defender, with a team-leading 28 steals in Big 12 play.
In conference, Carter averages 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds. Plus, the young guard has made 39.4% of his shots, 40.5% of his 3s and 84% of his free throws.
*– hoop-math.com update: Third on WVU in FG attempts, most of those come from 3-point range (58%), but Carter also finds his way to the paint, where he converts 58.6% of his shots at the rim (34-for-58).*
**No. 00 — Jaysean Paige, 6-2, junior G**
> — Feb. 16 vs. KU: 3 points, 1/2 FGs,
> 1/2 3s, 1 rebound (on offense), 3 TOs,
> 1 block in 6 minutes
He only averages 12.7 minutes in the Big 12, but those obviously could go up depending on the health of WVU’s backcourt.
Paige has made 13 of 41 3-pointers in the league and averages 4.7 points.
*– hoop-math.com update: A catch-and-shoot guy, each of Paige’s 28 3-point makes this season has come off an assist.*
**No. 11 Nathan Adrian — 6-9, sophomore F**
> — Feb. 16 vs. KU: 2 points, 1/7 FGs,
> 0/4 3s, 4 rebounds (3 offensive), 1
> assist, 0 TOs, 1 steal in 17 minutes
A big man who spends time on the perimeter on offense, Adrian has taken 2.0 3-pointers a game in the Big 12. Unfortunately for WVU, Adrian has made 5 of his 32 tries.
With a 25.4 field-goal percentage to boot, he averages only 2.8 points in the league.
*– hoop-math.com nugget: He’d probably be better off getting more looks at the rim, but Adrian is a big guy who likes to jack 3-pointers (that’s where 56.3% of his shots come from). At the rim, he converts 65.4% of his attempts. But only 25.2% of his shots are taken there.*
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2015/feb/16/buzzer-beaten-perry-ellis-jayhawks-take-last-secon/
[2]: http://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/stat/opponent-turnovers-per-possession
[3]: http://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/stat/offensive-rebounding-pct
[4]: http://hoop-math.com/WestVirginia2015.php
[5]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/smithology/2015/feb/16/getting-to-know-west-virginia/
