WVU routs Marshall 94-71, advances to Sweet 16
No. 5 seed West Virginia (26-10) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season by defeating No. 13 seed Marshall (25-11) Sunday night by a score of 94-71 in San Diego.
The Mountaineers trailed by as much as eight points early in the first half, but were sparked by a 19-0 run which swung the momentum over to West Virginia’s side for the remainder of the game. Overall, the Mountaineers shot 50 percent from the field and scored 26 points off 18 Marshall turnovers.
West Virginia senior guard Jevon Carter led the Mountaineers with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting and Ajdin Penava led Marshall with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
Carter got things started with a layup five seconds into the game to give West Virginia an early 2-0 lead, but Marshall quickly responded by hitting three straight three-pointers to take a 9-2 lead over the Mountaineers at the 17:55 mark.
Sophomore forward Sagaba Konate ended Marshall’s 9-0 run with a pair of free throws and Carter’s second field goal of the night narrowed the Thundering Herd’s lead to 9-6 with 16:24 left to play until halftime.
The Mountaineers then managed to hold Marshall without a field goal for over three minutes, but that drought ended when Penava made a layup which was followed by a three-pointer from Darius George to give Marshall a 16-8 lead.
A three-pointer from sophomore Lamont West and back-to-back jumpers from freshman Teddy Allen brought the Mountaineers within three points of the Thundering Herd. A layup from George then extended Marshall’s lead to five points, but West Virginia would respond with a 19-0 run which gave the Mountaineers a 34-20 lead with 5:18 left until halftime.
During this stretch, Marshall missed six straight field goals and were held scoreless for over six minutes.
A pair of free throws from C.J. Burks and a layup from Penava ended the run and cut West Virginia’s lead down to 10 points, but the Mountaineers would close out the first half on an 8-1 run which was capped off by Carter’s layup in the closing seconds of the half. The Mountaineers took a 42-25 lead into the locker room as Marshall ended the first half by missing six straight field goal attempts.
The Mountaineers shot 39 percent from the field in the first half to Marshall's 31 percent and took 12 more shots than the Thundering Herd. The Mountaineers also held a 27-11 advantage on the boards and 18-8 advantage in bench points.
West Virginia forced 11 Marshall turnovers in the first half after the Thundering Herd didn’t turn the ball over in the first 7:42 of the game. Carter led all scoring in the first 20 minutes with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
The two teams would trade baskets to start off the second half, but West Virginia would take a commanding 56-30 lead with back-to-back three’s from Carter and one from senior guard Daxter Miles Jr.
Both teams traded field goals and three-pointers over the next two minutes, but the Mountaineers continued to keep their distance from Marshall as the team went on an 8-2 run which was capped off by Miles’ third three-pointer of the night to give West Virginia a 69-40 lead with 12:09 left to play.
From there, West Virginia maintained its big lead and cruised to victory, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time under head coach Bob Huggins.
The Mountaineers will face top-seeded Villanova in the Sweet 16 next Friday in Boston for a 7:27 p.m. ET tipoff.
