WVU basketball managed a huge upset on national television on Saturday as they knocked off the No. 22 Kansas Jayhawks 86-75 in their most impressive win of the season in front of a raucous crowd at Hope Coliseum. Here are three initial takeaways from the gigantic victory as the Mountaineers move to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play.
The Mountaineer Earn A Much-Needed Statement Win
I wrote after the win against Cincinnati earlier this week that every win from here on out is about as important can be, considering that the Mountaineers are behind the 8-ball when it comes to building a resume worthy of a postseason opportunity.
Now, that doesn't change at this point. WVU still needs to be holding their breath during every close game. I'm not sure sure if that's something that will change at this point, unless we look back at this point in a month and they haven't lost since the conference opener. But there's also something different, and more important, about this Kansas win.
Every team WVU has beaten this season, they either were definitive favorites, or entering at a comparable level of talent. Kansas is a program that is a perennial powerhouse and blue blood that can historically recruit at a much higher-level. They entered Saturday ranked No. 22 nationally with their only four losses coming to current Top 25 teams. This is the first true upset win this season for the Mountaineers, and the first victory that you can really call a statement win – and West Virginia needed it.
This Is The Team We Heard About In The Preseason
You remember all that preseason hype about this team's potential? The dominant secret scrimmage win against Maryland and the eyewitness accounts this year's squad may be better than last year's? Well, that all certainly feels like a long time ago, and two months of a season marked by a handful of losses in winnable games have dulled that hype.
But on Saturday, this looked like the team we heard about in the preseason. Four players hit double figures in scoring, with Jasper Floyd one point away from making that five players. The Mountaineers shot 48 percent from the field and 42 percent from three-point range, outrebounded Kansas by six boards, and committed fewer than 10 turnovers. Harlan Obioha had a double-double. And it all came against a premier Big 12 opponent. If you sold your stock on the preseason hype, maybe buy some back – the Mountaineers may have it in them after all.
Big Performances In All The Right Places
There have been a couple things missing from the Mountaineers in their Power 5 losses this season – mainly, a second consistent scoring threat, and a formidable post presence at center. Tonight, Brenen Lorient stepped up with his best scoring performance since the double-overtime loss to Ohio State on December 13, scoring 18 points – which is also tied for his second-best effort this season. Combined with Honor Huff's 23-point offensive explosion in the win, it was a difference maker in the game.
Also coming in with a massive effort was Harlan Obioha. Obioha was a double-digit scorer in three of his first four games this year, including the Backyard Brawl win in November. But since, he hit 10-or-more points just once in the 11 games he had played before Saturday's showdown with Kansas. He also had earned 10-or-more rebounds just once this year. But against arguably the stiffest competition he's faced this season (well, maybe aside from undefeated Iowa State, I suppose), he went off for his second double-double of the season as he tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds, providing an absolutely dominant presence in the post that they jayhawks had no answer for as the game wore on.