A deep dive into the West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia is 11-5 (2-1) under first-year head coach Ross Hodge. Last week was great for them, as the Mountaineers beat Cincinnati by two and Kansas by 11(!!) at home. Now Hodge will visit Kelvin Sampson and his No. 7 Houston Cougars 15-1 (3-0) on Tuesday evening for the UH’s blue game.

Hodge has built a sporty team in Morgantown. On paper, they don’t look great, but they have started to really gel over the last couple of weeks. They’ll surprise some people this year. I really like North Texas transfer Brenen Lorient: He’s a solid stretch-forward who can be a matchup nightmare, thanks to his ability to score inside or outside.

But my Head of the Snake for this one is shooter Honor Huff. Huff needs to be guarded the moment he steps off the bus. He is similar to former UH great LJ Cryer in that he is a smaller guard who needs very little space to get his shot off. Huff can catch and shoot, take it off the bounce, step-back, and doesn’t need an inch.

The Mountaineers are not a great offensive team, but have been a terrific defensive team so far this season. When he was hired, Hodge said Houston was the blueprint – he wanted to build a defense-first program. So far, they are not a great rebounding team, and they’ve certainly seen the film from the Baylor game.

Anything is possible in this league, as Kansas once again learned on Saturday at WVU, but I love Houston in this one.

West Virginia Offense Notes

• WVU has a bunch of guys who like to create for themselves. They are ranked #225 in the nation (worst in the Big 12) in assists, so blitzing their ball screens will give them problems, as long as the Coogs recover quickly.
• They are one of the lowest-ranked fast-break point teams in the nation, #310 out of 361 teams (8 per game). WVU takes 55 shots a game, one of the slowest offenses in the country (think Iowa). They want a rock fight in the 60s.
• The ‘Eers are not extremely deep, playing eight guys normally. The majority of their points are coming from their starters. They are ranked #192 nationally in bench points.
• They take a lot of tough, contested shots. They shoot a low percentage and are 237th nationally in scoring offense.
• WVU doesn’t hit the offensive glass very hard. Harlan Obioha does a nice job, but if you can keep him off the boards, you should be in good shape.
• The Mountaineers shoot a pretty good three-point percentage (37%). It will be important for the Coogs to force them to put the ball on the floor.

Mountaineers Defensive Notes

• West Virginia is an outstanding defensive team. They are ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense. The only team ranked higher in the Big 12 is…Houston.
• WVU is likely to run man-to-man (M2M) defense, as they have 99.8% of the time for 1,022 total defensive possessions. They tend to run “drop coverage” rather than a pick-and-roll.
• They have only run half-court zone defense in two total possessions this year. However, both of those possessions were in their last two games. They have experimented with a 2-3 zone. I’ll be watching to see if they implement it more on Tuesday night.
• They run two different full-court presses. Neither is used often, and they are really just to slow you down and take some time off the shot-clock. They run a full-court man-to-man press, where they may deny the point guard so someone else brings the ball up (not a problem for UH, as they have two point guards). They also run a 1-2-1-1, full-court press, but they don’t trap out of it, which is weird.
• WVU is 14th in the conference in blocked shots. The Coogs should be able to get the ball inside or score in the paint with their guards.
• They struggle on the defensive boards, ranking #160 nationally in defensive rebounds. Houston is ranked #16 in the nation in offensive rebounds. The key to the game is for UH to get second-chance opportunities and drill dagger threes.

WVU Cheat Sheet

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WVU Personnel (*Indicates likely starters)

*#3 – Honor Huff – 5’10” – SR – Guard – (VMI, Chattanooga) – 18ppg, 2rpg.

• Head of the Snake;
• Smaller three-point specialist guard;
• Best shooter I’ve seen on film this year (75/185, 41%), and 84% of his attempts are threes;
• Can shoot from SUPER DEEP; I mean SUUUUPER DEEP; Extremely quick release;
• Isn’t just a catch-and-shoot guy. Can create for himself and make tough step-backs;
• Capable of taking it off the bounce to shoot a floater in the paint;
• Will kick his leg out to draw a cheap foul if you aren’t disciplined on defense. He has only 29 shot attempts inside the arc, but has attempted 81 free throws.

*#1 – Jasper Floyd – 6’3″ – SR – Guard – (Northwest Florida State College, Hillsborough College, Fairfield, North Texas) – 8ppg, 3rpg, 3apg.

• Premium world traveler! On his 5TH COLLEGE;
• LEFTY!
• Strong point guard;
• Loves to back down the opposing guard in the paint;
• Has a nice running jumper;
• Good percentage from three, but doesn’t shoot a ton (11-26: 42%).

*#52 – Treysen Eaglestaff – 6’6″ – SR – Guard – (North Dakota) – 9ppg, 4rpg.

• Tall three-level scoring guard. He’s a tough-shot maker;
• Had 40 points vs. Alabama last season (at North Dakota) and was 8/18 from 3pt;
• Solid at getting in the paint or at the rim to score;
• Nice jumper off the bounce;
• Struggling from outside, but has shown in the past that he is more than capable (25/78: 32%). Last season at UND, he was 84/234 36%.

*#55 – Harlan Obioha – 7’0″ – SR – Center – (Niagara, UNC-Wilmington) – 6ppg, 6rpg, 2.5orpg.

• MASSIVE post player;
• Does a good job of finding open space in the low post;
• Pretty good right around the rim, and isn’t a shooting threat;
• GREAT offensive rebounder. Must box him out and keep him off the boards.

*#0 – Brenen Lorient – 6’9″ – SR – Forward – (Florida Atlantic, North Texas) – 11ppg, 5rpg, 2apg.

• Long, athletic stretch-forward that can play inside or outside. Three-level scorer;
• Solid three-point shooter, especially for 6’9″ (11-29: 38%);
• Athletic enough to take it off the bounce and score at the rim;
• Nice mid-range jumper;
• Can play in the post and likes the right-handed hook shot over his left shoulder.

#13 – Chance Moore – 6’6″ – 5th – Guard – (Arkansas, Missouri State, St. Bonaventure) – 12ppg, 6rpg.

• Tall, athletic guard;
• Started the Iowa State game, but not the last two Big 12 games;
• Wants to get downhill in the paint. Strong finisher at the rim;
• Draws a lot of fouls due to his driving ability (35-51: 69%);
• Not a major outside shooting threat (4-16: 25%);

#5 – DJ Thomas – 6’9″ – FR – Forward – 7ppg, 2rpg.

• Tall forward off the bench;
• Doesn’t shoot a great percentage, but is a solid outside shooter when he has time to catch, square up his feet and shoulders and shoot a wide-open shot (8-26: 31%);
• He’s not great at creating for himself, but does a good job cutting to the basket to score.

#2 – Amir Jenkins – 6’1″ – SO – Guard – 5ppg, 2rpg.

• Shifty back-up point guard;
• Does a good job shaking and baking to get in the paint to score;
• Doesn’t shoot many outside shots, but shoots a high percentage (7-14: 50%);
• Draws a lot of fouls when getting into the paint. Don’t reach!

What I’m Watching…

1. Can WVU keep Houston off the glass? For West Virginia to have a chance to beat Houston on the road, they will have to keep the Coogs off the glass.
2. Who starts on Honor Huff? Milos Uzan started out on Christian Anderson vs Texas Tech. Huff is only 5’10”, but he only needs an inch to get his shot off. I’ll be interested to see if Milos or Emanuel Sharp starts out on him.
3. What will be the pace of play? West Virginia would love to keep this game in the sixties to the lower seventies. I think Houston would like to get it into the eighties, but I kind of expect a rock fight in this one.

Catch CATS! after the game

Join the GoCoogs gang as we discuss No. 7 Houston and WVU from the Fertitta Center. Participate with us with your comments and questions!