This One Adjustment May Be the Reason West Virginia’s Season Still Has Life

Last night, West Virginia changed up something on offense, and it resulted in a 39-point output in the second half that helped them come from behind and take down Cincinnati.

The change? Putting Honor Huff on the ball a whole heck of a lot more.

It's something that WVU has done here and there throughout the season to help get the ball in his hands earlier in the shot clock. It hadn't been anything like we saw last night, however. He was on the ball for the majority of the second half, and what do you know? He got red-hot, drew even more attention his way, which then opened up things for his teammates.

“Honor got us going and got us back into that game with that stretch of shotmaking," WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. "And then I thought just did a good job the rest of the way, making the simple play. He’s been obviously seeing a lot of attention, putting two on the ball a lot, and part of his growth and maturation through this process is trusting his teammates and trusting that the game will open up. I thought he did a tremendous job of that.”

Feb 5, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) attempts a 3-point shot against Cincinnati Bearcats guard Day Day Thomas (1) in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Honor has primarily been an off-ball guard throughout his career. In the Big 12, though, he may need to play the point more often for West Virginia's offense to have a chance. If opposing teams are just going to smother him like a blanket and deny him the basketball, the one way to get around it is by putting him on the ball and letting him run the offense. By doing so, it also decreases the number of high difficulty shots he takes because he's going to draw two defenders just about anytime he has it on the perimeter. He recognized the difference and discussed it in his postgame press conference.

“I did a better job today of just letting the game come to me. Sometimes, this season in particular, there’s time where I try to force it or try to make the one play that I feel like is a 16-point play if I make the three-pointer, but that’s not the case. To be able to chip away at it and just see some go through the basket, it opens up my game and then the rest of the team.”

If last night was a snapshot of how WVU will play offensively moving forward, they may have something with Huff orchestrating it all.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI