The No. 4 West Virginia Mountaineers opened the NCAA Tournament in impressive fashion, cruising to a 28-point victory against the Miami (OH) RedHawks. Here are some of our observations from the victory.
'Stress Virginia' is real, but WVU's offensive efficiency is crucial
WVU's defense has been coined 'Stress Virginia' for how it's intense defense and full-court pressure can stress out opposing offenses, and it was on point again on Saturday, forcing 15 turnovers and scoring 21 points off those turnovers.
But in previous years, Kellogg's WVU teams have feature one or two strong scorers, but have mostly relied on their defensive abilities to kee games close. That's no longer the case, as the Mountaineers can score with the best of them.
In an NCAA Tournament game on Saturday, WVU had four scorers hit double-digits. All eight players who played more than thre minutes scored at least once. Half of the WVU's made field goals were assisted, and they shot 51% from the field and 50% from three-point range. That's the type of offense that can cause some chaos in March.
West Virginia just doesn't give up
A lot of teams might respond to a lower-seeded opponent like Miami (OH) punching them in the mouth and taking an early lead with a bit of sulking or trepidation. Instead, the Mountaineers sucked it up, went to work, and cranked out a 17-0 run to re-take the lead and begin to stretch the game beyond r
With three minutes left in the game and the Mountaineers up by 33 points, starter Gia Cooke was still driving to the hoop the drawing hard enough fouls to get knocked to thethe floor. On the ensuing Miami (OH) possession, the Mountaineers stole the ball from the RedHawks and immediately went after a fastbreak scoring opportunity.
This is a team that is hungry, and doesn't show any quit – whether they're facing adversity and trailing or up by 30 points, they don't have an off switch. That's going to be important during this NCAA Tournament run.
The home crowd advantage was real and will likely play an even bigger factor in the second round
The Mountaineers had a sellout crowd at Hope Coliseum for the win, and the energy was off the charts. It was loud in Morgantown, and the Mountaineers used the crowd to their advantage.
On their 17-0 run that encompassed the close of the first quarter and beginning of the second quarter, every turnover forced and bucket made by WVU brought the decibel level louder in the Coliseum, and it was clearly playing a role in rattling the RedHawks.
The Mountaineers fans in attendance on Saturday should be proud of themselves, and the team will need them to pack out the arena again on Monday to help WVU get past a tough match-up with No. 5 seed Kentucky in the Round of 32.