Javon Small gets a little help from his friends as WVU spoils Utah's debut in Morgantown

West Virginia's Saturday night matchup with Utah was a big one for the Mountaineers for several reasons.

For starters, WVU entered the matchup as losers in 4 of their last 5 games, as they inched closer to the NCAA Tournament bubble with each loss. Secondly, both WVU and Utah entered play with identical records in conference play of 5-6, the winner of the matchup would secure a leg up in the Big 12 standings during the homestretch of the regular season.

And finally, West Virginia playing at home in front of an impressive sold-out atmosphere during a Coal Rush Night at the WVU Coliseum was a prime opportunity to re-establish homecourt supremacy, as the Mountaineers had dropped their previous 2 home games (Arizona State, Houston). It is of the utmost importance that West Virginia defends their home court in pursuit of an NCAA Tournament bid in March.

With all that said, this was about as big of a matchup that you could have in early February between two teams that entered bolstering their respective records and resumes, and it was WVU (15-8, 6-6) who was able to pull out the crucial "W" on Saturday in a 72-61 victory over the Utes (13-10, 5-7).

Total Team Effort

Javon Small has played at an All-American level all season long. While still leaving a solid imprint on the game himself, the guys around him stepped up in what is arguably the most complete game in months that WVU has put together this season from a “total team effort” standpoint. Javon Small only attempted 5 field goals, which is a season low for the team's leading scorer. But in a game where he wasn’t asked to carry the team from a scoring standpoint, Small still finished with a strong all-around effort of 14 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds -- scoring the majority of his points in a 9-for-9 effort at the charity stripe.

"All Javon [Small] cares about is winning, and tonight they put a pretty good focus on [Javon] and not letting him get a lot of clean opportunities," DeVries said in the postgame interview. "I though [Javon] did a terrific job of taking what the defense gave him and was able to capitalize."

Those other guys, I thought did a really good job stepping up. When we get [Jonathan Powell], Amani [Hansberry], and Joe [Yesufu] -- when they get involved in the scoring the way they did, Tobi [Okani] in the first half as well, that just gives us such a big spark as an offense. Like okay, you can take Javon away, but we got a lot of other guys that can step up and make shots too."

Joseph Yesufu

Senior guard "Sunday" Joe Yesufu is really starting to turn some heads with his play as of late -- though if he can continue his strong play during non-Sunday games like he did against Utah, his nickname is subject to change

After scoring 14 points against the Utes, Yesufu has now scored in double figures in each of the last 3 games while shooting 50% from 3-point territory during that time. Since senior Tucker DeVries went down with a season-ending injury in early December, WVU has been desperate to find an additonal scoring punch in order to relieve some of the pressure on Small.

Different players have stepped up in crucial wins, but as of late, Yesufu has fulfilled the role wonderfully while coming off the bench. He will continue to be a player to keep an eye on over the next month as the regular season winds down. 

Amani Hansberry 

Sophomore forward-center hybrid Amani Hansberry scored 17 points against Utah to lead the Mountaineers, resulting in a new season-high in conference play for the rising star. Hansberry’s play during the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in November was sensational, but a lower-body injury in late December clearly had an impact on his play when he returned after a brief absence.

While he scored 15 points on the road at Houston last month, this 17 point, 7 rebound, 4 assist performance against Utah is his most complete game since late November. Like Yesufu, Hansberry’s play down the stretch will be a strong indicator as to whether or not the Mountaineers end up on the bubble, or safely in the NCAA Tournament field -- and what they may be able to accomplish in terms of success if they make it.

Next Up

West Virginia will be at home again on Tuesday night as they host the BYU Cougars. 

BYU is coming off of an 84-66 loss on the road at Cincinnati on Saturday, who the Mountaineers handled easily in Cincy last weekend. Interestingly enough, West Virginia and BYU now have identical records of 15-8 overall and 6-6 in league play. West Virginia will take a visit to Provo on March 1st, but their first crack at the Cougars will come at home as they look to improve their standing in the Big 12 Conference race. 

The WVU Coliseum should be rocking on Tuesday night -- for the Mountaineers, the best way to get off the bubble is to beat other teams on it. In a few days, they will have an opportunity to do just that. 

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