West Virginia Scouting Report

Syracuse and West Virginia will square off in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. What should the Orange expect from the Mountaineers?

BEST PLAYERS

G Miles McBride - 6-2, 200 lbs - McBride leads West Virginia in points (16.0), assists (4.8) and steals (1.9). He is a great point guard who can score at all three levels and is making 40.6% of his three point attempts.

C Derek Culver - 6-10, 255 lbs - Culver is a physical big who can score and rebound. He will cause problems for Syracuse in the middle with his size and strength. Culver averages 14.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. He is not a great shot blocker, however.

G Taz Sherman - 6-4, 190 lbs - Sherman is a great scoring spark off the bench. He averages more than 13 points per game and shoots 36.5% from beyond the arc.

G Sean McNeil - 6-3, 210 lbs - McNeil is a sharp shooter who takes most of his shots from beyond the arc. He attempts six threes per game and is making over 37% of his attempts. He averages 12 points per game.

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ROTATION

West Virginia typically plays two or three players significant minutes off the bench. Usually at least four of the starters play 30-plus minutes with Sherman getting the most bench run.

DEFENSE

West Virginia plays pressure defense and gets in the face of ball handlers. It is a very physical defensive squad that forces nearly 15 turnovers per game. Some of the stats do not seem elite. West Virginia is 226th in points allowed, 209th in field goal percentage defense, 96th in three point percentage defense and 65th in defensive efficiency. But the physical nature of its defense can wear opponents down and the turnovers it forces allows the Mountaineers to get out in transition.

REBOUNDING

West Virginia is a good not great rebounding team. It has a rebounding margin of +1.6 per game, which ranks 102nd in the country. The team's leading rebounder is Derek Culver at 9.7 rebounds per game.

SHOOTING

West Virginia shoots 42.8% from the floor as a team and 35.7% from beyond the arc. The Mountaineers have several quality outside shooters. McBride shoots 40.6% from beyond the arc, Sherman 36.5%, McNeil 37.6%, and reserve Jalen Bridges 42.2%. It has the ability to put three or four shooters on the floor at a time, which will stretch the zone.

EFFICIENCY

KenPom rates West Virginia as 10th in the nation in offensive efficiency and 65th in defensive efficiency. Also of note, per Anthony Dabbundo of the Daily Orange, West Virginia's offense was in the bottom five in the nation against zone defenses among the 262 teams that saw at least 75 possessions of zone.

TURNOVERS

West Virginia turns it over 12.1 times per game but forces nearly 15 for the opposition.