WVU set for battle with Zags
No. 4 seed West Virginia is going to have to deal with size if it wants to upend No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the West Regional Sweet 16 matchup in San Jose.
That’s because the Bulldogs have plenty of it.
“One of them is 7-foot-1, 300-pounds and he’s a load. He’s a block guy. Then they bring in another seven-footer that’s really got good footwork and is really agile and very skilled,” head coach Bob Huggins said. “Then they’ve got two 6-foot-10 guys they play at power forward. They’re really big.”
The load would be senior center Przemek Karnowksi, who averages 12.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a primary low-block option while freshman Zach Collins is the more skilled big man coming in at 10.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while hitting 65-percent of his shots.
As a team Gonzaga is averaging almost 41-rebounds per game but size is nothing new to the Mountaineers. It’s something they saw against Texas three times this year.
“You have to block out a little higher and do a better job of not letting them get under the basket where they can reach over top of you,” Huggins said.
But size isn’t the only concern as the Bulldogs also have great guard play with junior Nigel Williams-Goss leading the team at 16.7 points per game and 4.7 assists, while senior Jordan Matthews is also in double-figures at 10.7 points per game. Junior forward Johnathan Williams rounds out the Gonzaga players in double figures per game with 10 points and 6.6 rebounds.
“They’ve got great size and (Mark) Few has done a great job coaching. They’ll be prepared,” he said.
The Bulldogs are 34-1 on the season and sat in the top spot in the nation for a chunk of it. While Gonzaga will rely on its smarts and size, the Mountaineers will counter with its pressure and athleticism in hopes of one of the teams forcing the other to adjust to its style of play.
Gonzaga has had meetings with West Virginia in the last five years, but the Mountaineers were a much different team at the time and now have installed its trademark pressure defense. The same style that forced a Notre Dame team that only turns the ball over 9.3 times per game into 14 mistakes.
“They play hard and we’ve probably got better than average foot speed. We get to balls that maybe some other people couldn’t get to,” Huggins said.
The Mountaineers are back in the Sweet 16 after being bounced in the first round by No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin last year which has helped this team focus in preparation. The focus has been there throughout the first two rounds on the practice floor which has translated to the games beating Bucknell and Notre Dame.
Not to mention that the team is already seasoned going through the rigors of the Big 12 round-robin schedule.
Heading into the Sweet 16, the Big 12 Conference is tied at the top for most teams from one league still remaining with three with Kansas and Baylor also left.
It’s another clash of styles.
“You try to look at what people are playing defensively and what you to do combat it. And you try to game plan accordingly,” Huggins said.
Tipoff is set for 7:39 p.m. in San Jose with the winner set to take on the winner of No. 2 seed Arizona and No. 11 seed Xavier for a berth in the Final Four.