Bob Huggins club did it the old fashioned way in engineering the upset win over No. 2 Ohio State.

In true West Virginia fashion, the Mountaineers simply rolled up their sleeves and outworked, or perhaps better put out-toughed, the Buckeyes in the 67-59 win in Cleveland.

Every player on the roster had a role and the deck was certainly stacked as the Mountaineers dealt with foul trouble, missed free throws and being a little too loose with the ball to outlast Ohio State.

After starting the game 6-8 from the field, the Buckeyes made only 9-40 from the field over the remaining 32:26 of the game. In the second half, things were particularly impressive as Ohio State made only 5-24 field goals good for 20-percent, while hitting only 27-percent from deep.

Coming into the game, Ohio State was shooting around 49-percent from the floor and has already generated three dominating wins over top ten teams. But this was a different story altogether.

Couple that with West Virginia forcing 12 turnovers in that second frame after 10 in first and it’s a recipe for pulling off the first win over a team ranked at No. 2 since the 2017 season.

Even with the Mountaineers struggling to put the ball in the basket over the late stretches of the second half, time after time they generated stops.

It was a throwback of sorts to some of Huggins best clubs during his tenure in Morgantown, far removed from what unfolded last season when defense was optional at best. It’s a different year, obviously, but this effort only emphatically drove that home.

“We played awfully hard in the second half. I wasn’t real pleased with our effort in the first half but the second half was kind of what I’m used to seeing from my guys. And it wasn’t just a few guys,” Huggins said.

And he’s right.

This was a total team win, as the Mountaineers had only two players in double figures led by a career effort from freshman Deuce McBride with 21 points and senior guard Chase Harler with 10. With a bulk of the starters in foul trouble, West Virginia scored 45 of its 67 points off the bench showcasing the depth of this team even against a high-level opponent.

That was especially true in the post where Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe combined for only 7 points and 13 rebounds, playing only 33 minutes due to foul trouble. That forced Gabe Osabuohien into 31 minutes along with 11 more minutes for Logan Routt to help address the inside.

“We fought through foul trouble that most teams couldn’t do,” Huggins said.

The Mountaineers now sit at 11-1 with a real opportunity to move up the rankings even more than the No. 22 they are currently perched at with the resume building win over the Buckeyes. West Virginia had several good wins this year, but this will serve as the one that will hang as the banner victory.

It was a tough-nosed, hard-fought effort that has been a trademark of Huggins teams over the years. And it’s clear that any inkling that this year could be like the last should be thrown out the window.

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