WVU pressures, pushes Marshall out of the tournament
Marshall started fast, but West Virginia certainly finished things in the Round of 32 match up between the only two division one teams in the state.
The Thundering Herd made three of its first four shots and raced out to a 16-8 lead in the first 6:04 of the game playing mistake free basketball and moving it for open looks.
But that would serve as the high-mark for Marshall against a Mountaineers defense that frustrated and choked the life out of what fight the Thundering Herd had in the tank.
West Virginia would outscore Marshall 34-9 over the remainder of the first half, forcing 11 turnovers in the process to take a commanding halftime edge on the heels of a decision to switch up the defense to a zone look instead of the traditional press.
The Mountaineers swarmed to the ball and challenged things at the rim in an effort that was as focused as perhaps any point this season not allowing Marshall to get in any sort of rhythm and holding them scoreless for over six minutes in the opening half as the lead continued to grow.
The Herd finished the game 6-15 on layup attempts.
It wouldn’t get better in the second frame either as the No. 5 seed ended any hopes of another upset bid for Marshall in San Diego with much of the same.
“Well, our ball movement wasn't good enough. We weren't cutting hard enough. This team, when you're setting up, some teams you can kind of jog over where you want to be. Can't do that with this team,” Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni said. “This team you have to sprint every second all the time. I think what we learned is that in order to get ball movement you have to space faster.”
Forcing a total of 18 turnovers, the Mountaineers did what they normally do by pressuring the ball and speeding them up. Marshall didn’t have any answers.
“Make one guy handle it, deny the playmakers and make one guy try to beat us,” senior guard Jevon Carter said.
After eliminating the impact that Murray State guard Jonathan Stark had in the first match up of the tournament allowing only 9 points on 1-12 shooting it was Thundering Herd guard Jon Elmore’s turn.
Hounded by relentless defense that made him work for everything he got, the junior finished with only 15 points, many of those late in the game, on 4-12 shooting with a season-high 8 turnovers. He had a total of three points in the first half against the Mountaineers pressure.
Elmore came into the game averaging 23 points and had 24 games this year where he eclipsed the 20-point barrier but it was clear that the physical, relentless style of defense got the best of him.
“They get after it. I think their physicality got to us a little bit. They’ve got quick hands, handshake, ride you up the floor. They defend, trap and run all different kinds of guys at you,” Elmore said.
But it wasn’t just him. As a team, Marshall connected on only 39-percent of their attempts and junior CJ Burks, who with Elmore round out the only pair of players to each average over 20-points per game on the same team, scored only 12 points on 3-15 from the floor.
Combine that total together between the two it was 27 or one less than Carter scored for West Virginia.
It wasn’t just there either, as the Mountaineers shot over 50-percent from the floor for the second straight game and dominated the glass to the tune of grabbing 16 more rebounds including 15 of those coming on the offensive end. It was exactly what West Virginia wants to do.
And they did it.
Now West Virginia will travel to Boston for its third Sweet 16 in the last four years, against the No. 1 overall seed remaining in the tournament in Villanova.
Survive and advance.
