What Ross Hodge Said Following West Virginia's Comeback Win Over UCF

West Virginia moved to 16-9 (7-5) on the season following a 74-67 win over the UCF Knights on Saturday night. Shortly after, WVU head coach Ross Hodge met with the media to discuss what he saw in this one.

The message down 14 and what enabled the comeback

“It was we’re going to have to play with a lot more urgency on the defensive end of the floor. This group’s been in these positions before, and typically, we do a good job of not panicking. It was just hey, we don’t have to panic on offense, but our level of urgency and desperation on the defensive end of the floor is going to have to pick up and pick up right this second. I thought the level of urgency, desperation, and physicality on both ends of the floor…we started making some plays around the rim. Up until that point, I thought we were fairly soft.”

Only having four assists, battling through adversity

“It’s a resilient group. Unfortunately and fortunately, I guess we’ve found ourself in this situation quite often. I think in our seven league wins, we’ve trailed in the second half of every game that we’ve won. They’re a mature group and don’t have a lot of panic. They are bought in and believe that we can find ways to win the game in different ways.”

When he saw the momentum shift

“I thought it started when Lorient made some tough, physical plays around the basket. We were able to get some stops and then Honor (Huff) on the four-point play, and then he kind of starts getting going a little bit, and then you’re mirroring it with we’re getting stops and getting baskets and we’re giving them one shot only.”

How important Honor Huff was in the win

“We need Honor to play good and if you’re going to come on the road and beat an NCAA Tournament team, your best players got to play well. He puts a lot of pressure on himself, so to see him come through like he’s done so many times for us in a big moment, on the road, it was awesome to see.”

Strong showing from the WVU fans

“It was incredible. I am biased because I’m the head coach here, but it really is one of the best fanbases in the country. Tony Caridi is our radio guy, and he always says it. He’s like, ‘Hey man, we show up.’ It’s always nice when you can reward your fanbase for showing up like they do. It was 70/30 probably, 65/35 UCF to West Virginia, but on the road it was awesome.”

The message down 14 and what enabled the comeback

Only having four assists, battling through adversity

When he saw the momentum shift

How important Honor Huff was in the win

Strong showing from the WVU fans

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