West Virginia Cruises Past Northeastern
West Virginia got back into the win column on Tuesday afternoon with a 73-51 win over the Northeastern Huskies in the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers came out a bit flat defensively in the first five minutes of the game or so and left some guys wide open for some easy looks. Just a couple of minutes into the game, WVU head coach Bob Huggins pulled Oscar Tshiebwe after yet another sluggish start for Gabe Osabuohien. Tshiebwe returned a few minutes later and would go on to have one of his best games of the season.
West Virginia hit seven of their first eight shots but followed that up with a 1-8 dry spell. Derek Culver had 10 points in the first five minutes of the game and 10 of the first 15 points for the Mountaineers.
Northeastern hung with West Virginia on the boards in the first half which displeased Huggins and his staff. They were not crashing the glass like they're known to do and the Huskies took advantage. What hurt West Virginia in the first half was the number of offensive fouls that were called, thus putting all three of West Virginia's bigs (Derek Culver, Oscar Tshiebwe, and Gabe Osabuohien) in foul trouble.
True freshman forward Isaiah Cottrell entered the game to help clean things up underneath on the boards but exited the game with roughly five minutes to go in the first half with a leg injury. He hobbled off the court with some assistance and did not return.
Emmitt Matthews Jr. had the only three in the half for the Mountaineers while the rest of the team combined to go 0-9 beyond the arc. Despite it not being the best half of basketball, the Mountaineers claimed a 34-26 lead at the break.
The Huskies scored the first five points of the 2nd half but the West Virginia defense tightened up shortly after and forced six turnovers over the next ten minutes.
On the offensive end, the Mountaineers started attacking the paint where they had a clear advantage and found more success inside than shooting the three-ball. They outscored the Huskies in the paint 30-10 in the 2nd half and 50-20 in the game.
Oscar Tshiebwe finished the game with 12 points and 15 rebounds while Derek Culver went for 18 points and 4 rebounds as the Mountaineers cruised to a 73-51 victory.
West Virginia will be back in action this Saturday when they travel to Norman to take on the Oklahoma Sooners at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.
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