Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia is entering the stretch of the season when every game counts. The Mountaineers (16-9, 7-5 Big 12) have six regular-season games left, and each one could determine their postseason fate.
Last year, WVU missed the NCAA Tournament despite one of the strongest resumes ever for a team left out under the current selection process. This year, the message is clear: win games, starting Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. against Utah.
A 74-67 comeback win at UCF on Saturday, highlighted by 21 points from Honor Huff, has put the Mountaineers in the conversation. ESPN’s latest bracketology lists WVU in the second group of four teams missing the tournament. The Mountaineers have no marquee nonconference wins, but they hope the Big 12’s overall strength can carry them into the Field of 68.
WVU head coach Ross Hodge wants his players focused on the present, not the past.
“They live in a social media world, and they don’t need me to tell them what’s at stake,” Hodge said. “I think it’s my job to counter that message and get them to focus singularly on ‘let’s beat Utah on Wednesday night.’ If you can do that enough times, then the things that you hope for and want will be there at the end. If you start to make it more than, ‘how do we get back? How do we slow their guards down?’ It just gets confusing, because everybody else is going to want to talk about that. Our families and our friends, everybody wants to talk about everything instead of what’s just right in front of you.”
The Mountaineers are 13-2 at home and rank ninth in the Big 12 in defensive rebounds, led by Treysen Eaglestaff (3.7 per game). Over the last 10 games, WVU is 6-4, averaging 64.2 points, 30.5 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 5.0 steals and 2.0 blocks, while allowing 67.2 points.
The Utes (9-16, 1-11 Big 12) have lost seven straight but can still score in bursts. Guard Terrance Brown averages 20.4 points per game, while Don McHenry adds 17.4. Utah is 3-1 in games decided by fewer than four points and averages 8.1 made 3-pointers per game, slightly more than the Mountaineers allow. In their last 10 games, the Utes 1-9, giving up 78.6 points while scoring 70.4.
“Like all nights in the Big 12, this one will be another big challenge,” Hodge said.
Hodge stresses handling pressure and playing to win.
“The mindset of going into these pressure situations that if you are going into it like you are holding on to something, or you don’t want to lose, then you probably have the wrong mindset,” he said.
“To feel pressure is really a privilege, and (they) need to understand that,” he added. “That anxiety that you feel in your stomach leading up to these games and that nervous energy, that’s a feeling a lot of people will never get to feel in their lives. It’s really hard to explain to people what that feels like, so to be in meaningful moments and meaningful games and to feel the pressure, it really is a privilege, and you’ve got to be appreciative to be in these situations and not kind of shrink and pull back from it.”
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
