Success on the road again for WVU
Not even a sellout crowd at the Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma could stop the Mountaineers from earning their first conference victory of the season with a 92-75 dominating performance over the Cowboys.
The win not only gave the Mountaineers its second true road victory of the season but also showed that they are capable of playing a complete team game and can dominate in a tough environment.
West Virginia is now 2-0 in true road matchups this season, the first one came against in early December when the Mountaineers upset then sixth ranked Virginia 66-57.
Winning on the road in the Big 12 conference is no easy task but opposing environments such as the sold out crowd in Stillwater seemed to have had little to no effect on the Mountaineers as they cruised to victory.
“Our guys don’t pay attention to the crowd,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said. “This league is full of places like this.”
A fast start by West Virginia in Friday’s game against Oklahoma State silenced the first sold out crowd at Gallagher-Iba Arena in nearly two years.
So far this season and seen mostly in these two road victories, the Mountaineers have proved that they are capable of two things. The first is that they fight until the end are able to come from behind.
In West Virginia’s only loss of the season to Temple, the Mountaineers at one point faced a 20-point halftime deficit but managed to put together a second half rally that fell just short.
Against Virginia, West Virginia overcame a sloppy start that included an 11-point deficit midway through the first half but forced 14 total turnovers and ended the game on a 7-0 run to pull off the upset and snap Virginia’s 24-game home winning streak.
Second, is that the Mountaineers can put together a total team effort from start to finish as seen in Friday’s victory against Oklahoma State as three different players scored in double figures and four other players were a point away from also doing so.
Both of these road wins are impressive ones by the Mountaineers and can help build more momentum for the team as they continue conference play, especially when they hit the road to play Kansas, Texas, Baylor and even in Lubbock on Tuesday against an 11-2 Texas Tech team.
The Mountaineers have yet to beat the Jayhawks in Lawrence since joining the Big 12 and have only one victory over Texas in Austin. The early success on the road this season is a positive sign for West Virginia and shows promise that the team may be on the verge of getting over the hump and being able to pull off those victories in places like Lawrence and Austin.
Opposing crowds so far have shown to not have any impact on the Mountaineers, something that Huggins knows must continue for the team, especially in the Big 12.
“If you get nervous playing in front of big crowds, this is a bad league,” Huggins said.
The team’s two crucial road wins will also help build West Virginia’s resume and further cement themselves as one of the nation’s top contenders. A win against Texas Tech in Lubbock on Tuesday would help this team take another step in doing just that.