Mountaineers Now Postgame Show: WVU Stuns No. 3 Kansas
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 Hello everybody, welcome in to the Mountaineers now country roads air duct
00:13 cleaning postgame show West Virginia winners over number three Kansas 91 to 85,
00:17 a complete stunner in Morgantown today.
00:21 And with no return turn trip to Kansas, Josh Eilert is gonna have that one or
00:25 no record against Bill self heading into the offseason.
00:28 So quick look here at the numbers Pat Sumnick once again has a career day 20
00:32 points six rebounds Rayquan battle seems like he couldn't miss in the first half.
00:37 23 points and nine boards Kevin McCullough Jr.
00:40 One of the nation's top players goes for 24 points that kept Hunter Dickinson
00:44 fairly quiet you only had one rebound in the first half.
00:47 And look at some of the team stats here West Virginia was nine of 11 from three
00:51 point range.
00:52 They cooled off a little bit but they finished 12 of 21.
00:55 They out rebounded the Jayhawks 31 to 22.
00:59 But if you were to tell me Chris that West Virginia turned the ball over 13 times it
01:03 was outscored in the paint 44 to 26.
01:05 I would have said that is not a good sign for things to come in the result.
01:10 But here it was.
01:12 This is exactly what I said they would have to do in our score prediction article
01:16 is just pretty much make everything they hoist up and that's basically what happened.
01:20 >> Yeah, they made shots kind of crazy.
01:23 >> Yeah.
01:24 >> It's insane. I think it actually shocked Kansas.
01:26 I don't think they came in with the same juice maybe in years past with West
01:31 Virginia teams on the brink of top 25 or ranked whatever it is.
01:35 They definitely come on the same juice.
01:36 I know they had to come in a day earlier than usual due to the weather that was
01:41 coming into Morgantown.
01:42 And maybe that kind of took out some of their bite but
01:45 they didn't have that dog in them.
01:47 I haven't really got to watch that much Kansas this year was a little
01:49 disappointed how they played.
01:50 Even though they shot the ball really well as well.
01:52 And just defensively the effort wasn't there.
01:55 West Virginia took advantage of it on both ends of the floor.
01:57 They got the extra rebounds, the 50/50 balls.
01:59 We've talked about that so many times.
02:01 Decided about how they didn't do that against Oklahoma.
02:03 They did it today.
02:04 And defensively I thought Kansas was a little odd how they attacked West Virginia.
02:09 But I just think that they thought that their talent would trump West Virginia's
02:14 and that West Virginia would qualify in the second half.
02:16 And West Virginia, they shot close to 60% in that first half.
02:20 And I think the second half they were down, but I think they shot 44%,
02:25 which is crazy.
02:26 >> Still pretty damn good.
02:27 >> It isn't even that bad.
02:29 It's about average, but they shot the same percentage.
02:32 West Virginia just shot better from three point range.
02:34 So that's what it takes sometimes.
02:36 When two teams are scoring, it's always gonna come down to those little extra
02:40 things.
02:40 You can credit that offensive rebound Pat got and
02:45 kicked it back out to Raekwon and put him up seven.
02:48 Stuff like that is a big difference.
02:50 We've talked about getting those extra possessions in this league and
02:52 Quinn did it off his Miss free throw.
02:54 So that's what you gotta do.
02:56 You gotta fight for it.
02:57 You gotta battle for it.
02:58 And that's what they did tonight.
03:00 >> Yeah, I mean, the game was tied at 51 at the half.
03:02 And it really did feel like the first to 100 was gonna win this thing.
03:06 Cuz it did not seem like either team was gonna miss shots or get a stop either way.
03:12 Jesse Edwards actually went through the pregame warm ups, did not play, but
03:16 he was dressed.
03:17 But so that's good news at least.
03:19 You feel like he's inching closer to his return.
03:21 But again, man, it's every single night Patrick Somnick finds a way to make a play.
03:27 And I think going into this one, I would have thought that would have been
03:31 probably the key of this game was to kind of limit Hunter Dickinson.
03:34 He's one of the best bigs in the country.
03:36 He's seven foot two, but it didn't feel like it.
03:39 I mean, he absolutely outworked Hunter Dickinson and Pat Somnick.
03:43 He's only like six, what, six, six, six, seven, and he out rebounded him.
03:47 Won the battle on the paint.
03:49 I think that was to me as good as Rayquan battle was Pat Somnick was to me
03:53 the player of the game.
03:54 >> Yeah, he's six eight by the way, but he's playing with a lot of confidence.
04:00 He's not afraid to attack.
04:01 He showed tonight, he took the most shots of anybody on the team.
04:04 He took 15 from the field.
04:06 And that's just confidence with him right now.
04:08 So if you continue with that, when you finally get Edwards back,
04:12 who said after the game his wrist is still tender when he was playing defense.
04:16 That's why he wasn't a go.
04:18 But if it was in need in the last five minutes,
04:20 if they were in foul trouble, Jesse said he'd be willing to play.
04:22 But basically he wasn't really to risk his future just to get a win for
04:28 Jesse that is so it's coming together.
04:33 It's gonna be interesting to see this team when it's actually at full strength.
04:37 Hopefully, full strength.
04:40 We don't wanna jinx it by any means.
04:42 But the way Pat's playing, man, it's gonna be huge if they can keep it rolling with
04:48 Jesse as well because Pat played 35 minutes tonight.
04:51 But you're not gonna need that from him or
04:53 Jesse if he continues to play the way he is.
04:56 >> I mean, everything that you wanna accomplish is still somewhat out there on
05:00 the table.
05:00 Like we said last week after the Texas win, if you find a way to win one of
05:04 the next two against Oklahoma or Kansas, you went to those three, feel really good.
05:09 Especially with Jesse Edwards on the cusp of coming back and
05:12 the schedule is starting to lighten up a little bit.
05:14 It is the Big 12, so there really is no off night or a gimme game if you will.
05:19 But I mean, you got UCF coming up on Tuesday,
05:22 then Oklahoma State a week from now, Cincinnati.
05:25 Those are some more winnable games or some easier games, I guess,
05:29 than what they've gone through here to start the Big 12, which has been a gauntlet.
05:33 If you get Jesse Edwards back, maybe not by Tuesday, but
05:36 let's just be more conservative, say by next Saturday.
05:40 I mean, you have a chance to still, there's a ton of road here for
05:44 West Virginia to make up some ground and get in position.
05:47 And I think I said this last week, again,
05:50 you're not really playing to get that at large bid.
05:52 But to make a run in Kansas City, you've gotta get high up in those Big 12
05:57 standings.
05:58 If you can finish in the top half of the league,
06:00 you're gonna set yourself up for a better first round matchup.
06:03 And I think they can do that here with a couple of wins here in the next few weeks.
06:07 But going to UCF on Tuesday, what do you feel like this team has to do to kind
06:12 of ride the highs here of this win?
06:15 I know we haven't really dived much into UCF yet, but can this team handle success?
06:22 >> That's the big thing.
06:25 It's easier just to say, hey, take this momentum onto the road.
06:28 But you get a different, obviously, you get a different energy in this building.
06:32 It's always been that way.
06:34 If they can find some way to capture it on the road, they might have some success.
06:39 So that's really a wait and see, cuz a lot of teams have just kinda,
06:43 they come out with all the energy and momentum and they cause havoc.
06:47 And West Virginia kinda gets down on themselves.
06:50 You see the shooting numbers on the road.
06:52 So they just need to stay, I think it's more about staying patient and
06:56 playing with the same energy.
06:57 Cuz I do think they play with energy at the beginning of the game.
07:00 But when things kinda fall apart, they kinda hang their heads.
07:03 So it's a matter of just staying patient and
07:04 staying in the course that you saw that tonight.
07:07 Again, it's at home, the way Kansas, they were popping threes right off the bat.
07:11 And that was kinda the game plan to make Kansas shoot from the outside to win
07:16 instead of pounding inside, which they got both, really.
07:18 So, I was just able to match it offensively.
07:22 And it really does show you the talent on this team.
07:25 When you're talking about a Kansas team that's got probably two first round draft
07:28 picks in that starting five.
07:31 They were able to hang with them on a night like tonight,
07:34 the way they were able to score.
07:36 And we've talked about how bad they've looked offensively.
07:39 They were fairly efficient tonight.
07:42 So, 13 turnovers isn't horrendous.
07:46 That's usually about average around the country.
07:48 For some of the top teams, the way they play.
07:50 So it wasn't bad.
07:52 Curry's just gotta, he's gotta slow down a little bit.
07:55 Obviously with the point guard, trying to still mesh with everybody.
07:58 After missing those nine games, some of those guys are still aren't expecting
08:02 the ball, but much better offensively, better shots, step in shots,
08:07 open shots, and really created off the ball to get themselves open.
08:10 And that's what's really been struggling.
08:12 They've waited so much to play one on one and
08:15 I saw everybody that they worked off the ball to get better shots tonight.
08:18 >> Yeah, I mean, and UCF's not an easy place to play, I guess.
08:22 That's something we're figuring out.
08:23 I mean, they just beat Kansas last week.
08:25 Actually, they went on the road to beat Texas.
08:26 So this is a team you don't wanna overlook by any means.
08:30 They're definitely capable of beating anyone on any given night.
08:33 I just really think this team's starting to figure out itself and
08:36 figure out its identity.
08:38 Because, I mean, Pat Sumnick,
08:39 I think he's kinda actually elevating some of the players around him.
08:44 I mean, you're seeing a cook play better.
08:46 You're seeing both wings in the game whenever they're in, that they're playing
08:50 well, I think the guard play is starting to improve more consistent.
08:55 Kobe Johnson's playing really well, Noah Farrakhan.
08:58 Kirk Reese is starting to come into his own.
09:00 Do you feel like this team's starting to find itself a little bit here?
09:04 Because, I mean, you think about it, it still hasn't got to a full game yet,
09:09 or to a game where they've had the full compliment.
09:12 But this has been about a two week spell now where they've had
09:17 the bulk of this team together.
09:18 So does it feel like that to you as well?
09:21 >> Yeah, they just gotta keep together on the road.
09:25 If they can do it at home,
09:26 they gotta find a way to keep it together on the road.
09:28 So we'll see.
09:29 It still really feels like it should be November for
09:33 what we're seeing right now, and not almost towards the end of January.
09:37 So it's a wait and see for me right now.
09:40 It's still so early.
09:41 Get two good home wins and see how they can play on the road.
09:46 You don't have to shoot.
09:48 I think the biggest fear right now is they just saw themselves outscore Kansas.
09:53 >> Yeah.
09:53 >> So they still had to rebound.
09:56 They still had to rebound.
09:58 They still had to get to those 50/50 balls.
10:00 So if they go out and start shooting 25, 30% from the field,
10:05 how do they handle that adversity early?
10:08 So there's a lot more questions that they have to answer than have been answered,
10:13 to be quite honest.
10:14 Because just because you have one good shooting night,
10:16 you need to see them win on an off shooting night.
10:19 >> Yeah, you gotta step up and play defense.
10:21 That's one thing Josh Hallert's been kind of irritated about over the last few
10:25 weeks, really all season long, and you can't really blame him for it.
10:28 So I think too, rebounding is a big thing, and he said it in his post game pressure,
10:33 or maybe it was with Tony Caridi down on the court.
10:35 But if they come out and rebound, this team's a whole different animal.
10:39 If they don't, and they don't show that aggression, they don't show that
10:42 willingness or the eagerness to go grab the ball, it's gonna make life tough.
10:46 You have to be hungry to rebound the ball, obviously,
10:49 no matter what kind of roster that you have.
10:51 But with this personnel, you're severely undersized, you're severely overmatched.
10:56 You've gotta be showing that willingness to go get the ball.
10:59 When they do, nights like this can happen.
11:01 So again, West Virginia winners over Kansas, 91 to 85.
11:07 They'll be back in action on Tuesday on the road in Orlando,
11:09 taking on the 11 and 6 UCF Knights.
11:13 That one's tipping off at 7 o'clock on ESPN+.
11:17 And that'll do it for us here on the Mountaineers Now post game show presented
11:20 by Country Roads AirDug Cleaning, take me home to comfort.
11:23 For Christopher Hall, I'm Skylar Callum.
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11:32 Thank you guys for watching.
11:33 We'll see you back here Tuesday night.
11:34 [MUSIC]
11:42 (upbeat music)