The West Virginia non-conference slate hasn’t provided too many challenges that would prepare the Mountaineers for what they’ll be seeing in the rugged Big 12 Conference.

But the Connecticut game was different.

The two teams battled in what could best be described as a beautiful display of ugly basketball with both clubs bringing a physical brand to the court. The final result was a 56-53 Mountaineers win over their one-time Big East opponent and the first win over a ranked team this season.

The back-and-forth affair saw 14 different lead changes and came down to the end as both West Virginia and Connecticut slugged each other throughout the contest. The final score and the play on the court resembled a classic Big East basketball game.

And if the Mountaineers have hopes of going to the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season, they’ll need to get used to those type of battles in a hurry.

Because this contest was good preparation for what will come next in a few short weeks.

“Have you watched Big 12 games? I mean it’s not any different. When you have 10 athletes like that running around out there then you’re going to have contact. There’s nothing you can do about it,” head coach Bob Huggins said. “The Big 12 is physical, it’s really physical.”

The league is considered the top in the country and right now boasts four nationally ranked teams and all 10 clubs are positioned in the top 75 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings. That is a combination of star power at the top and quality depth up and down the standings.

The Mountaineers will open Big 12 Conference play Jan. 1 on the road at Texas and then will play each team in the league in home-and-home matchups.

Games like what unfolded inside the Coliseum against Connecticut are about to become the norm in a hurry and Huggins recognizes that.

That means this team is going to have to improve in a hurry before league play opens up and be prepared for some back and forth, physical battles. Fortunately that style has been a trademark of Huggins teams over the years, but it still is going to take effort to match that level nightly.

“They haven’t seen that physicality but they did today. So, they better get used to it, it’s probably going to be the way it is,” Huggins said.

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