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If Sherman Starts, Who Sits for West Virginia?

West Virginia may have a new starting lineup tonight

Tonight, the West Virginia Mountaineers look to end a three-game skid as they welcome in the Cowboys of Oklahoma State. Although Oklahoma State is 13-12 and 3-9 on the season, don't let that fool you. Mike Boynton has this team playing well and are coming off of a huge win over No. 24 Texas Tech. They've won three of their last four, while West Virginia has lost three of its last four.

With the Mountaineers trending downward as of late and the Cowboys trending up, this makes for an important game for both teams. 

West Virginia has what I like to call SSD (severe scoring disease). They lack consistency on the offensive end and haven't had someone step up and make big shots when they need them. Will that change with the sudden emergence of bench player Taz Sherman? In the loss vs Baylor, Sherman exploded for a career-high 20 points and made the score look much more respectable than it really was. 

Yesterday, head coach Bob Huggins discussed the possibility of "tinkering" with the starting lineup, noting that it might be a time for a change. 

“I mean, we’ve pretty much had the same starting lineup all year,” said Huggins, “It could be time for a change. See if that helps. We’re probably playing guys too much that shouldn’t play as much as their playing and probably not playing guys enough that should be playing more.”

Huggins also stated that Taz Sherman deserves more time on the floor and has deserved it. If Sherman can provide the Mountaineers with a boost offensively, it changes the entire dynamic of the offense. Teams are starting to figure West Virginia out and they need a guy like Sherman to knock down shots and spread the defense out.

Huggins did not say whether or not Sherman would start, but if that's the case, who sits? 

This could go a million different ways. 

Not that it's the most ideal option and probably the least likely, but maybe sitting one of the bigs and going with a smaller lineup could spread the floor more and provide better production from the bench. Perhaps the best option is bringing Emmitt Matthews off the bench and start McCabe, Haley and Sherman along with Culver and Tshiebwe. This would be a change of pace for Matthews and maybe coming off the bench is what gets him back into his groove. Just because someone gets replaced in the starting lineup doesn't mean their role has completely diminished. Jaysean Paige and Tarik Philip made a living by doing just that.

With things not going West Virginia's way, it might be time to shake things up and that means inserting Taz Sherman into the lineup.

West Virginia and Oklahoma State are set to tip at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

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