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West Virginia has been trying to get back to the basics on the basketball court.

Although it’s not as easy as it seems as the Mountaineers are sitting at 9-10 at this point and are trying to capture some of the things that have defined the success in the program of late. That has required getting the team on the same page and understanding what needs to be in order to accomplish goals.

“We are just trying to get back to the fundamentals of what we’ve built here, especially on the defensive end,” associate head coach Larry Harrison said.

The Mountaineers elected to go back to their trademark press defense against Baylor in the second half to positive results forcing 16 turnovers after only a pair in the first half.

That move was admittedly somewhat out of necessity due to the 15-point deficit but it’s an aspect they have been attempting to fine tune in practice as well in order to get the energy and enthusiasm to play that style.

Things won’t get any easier as West Virginia will now travel to Tennessee, winners of 13 straight, and the nation’s No. 1 team as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. While a setback at home like what unfolded against Baylor can sometimes be detrimental to a relatively young team, playing the nation’s top team in their building has a way of refocusing clubs on the task at hand.

“This season is not going the way we have anticipated but for the most part our spirits have been up, sometimes better than others,” Harrison said. “But stepping out of conference and playing the No. 1 ranked team in the country you can’t help but get excited for that.”

West Virginia already has one resume win by knocking off No. 7 Kansas and now could have the opportunity to score its biggest to date in Knoxville but accomplishing that won’t be easy. Tennessee forward Grant Williams is coming off a 43-point outburst in the overtime win against Vanderbilt and in that contest he converted all 23 of his free throw attempts. Finding a way to slow him down will be paramount.

“We know not to foul, that’s probably the first thought,” Harrison said. “We went over Tennessee yesterday, the scouting report and did some things in practice and he’s a talent. He can score the ball, he’s the heart and soul of that team and he’s going to be a handful as far as trying to contain him.”

The plan for the Mountaineers will be to rotate a number of players at him in order to see who could be the most effective when it comes to slowing Williams down.

“We had a spirited practice yesterday and the guys are excited about playing Tennessee,” he said.

Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.

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