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Huggins basketball is, at times, down right grueling to watch. At the same time, it is hard to argue with it considering this was his 722nd win out of 1000. While we certainly congratulate Coach Huggins on such a long and successful career, we wouldn't mind seeing more of the shooting we saw today against the Horned Frogs. The Mountaineers shot 51% from the field today including going 7-10 from three. While 63 points isn't exactly an offensive eruption, it is nice to see the good guys move the ball well totaling 17 assists. While these numbers are nice, there were moments in the game when the outcome wasn't so clear.
The first half was just simply rough for anyone watching the game. At 16:00, the score was 2-0 and those two were Eron Harris foul shots. After both teams got the wheels turning, the score still remained close as the game went into the half 31-28 in favor of the Mountaineers. The second half continued at this pace until the good guys went on a 11-2 run in a matter of two minutes to bring the score to 42-34. As always, this lead did not hold, as the Horned Frogs cut it to three immediately after a timeout. After this showing of adversity, WVU displayed maturity with good ball movement, control, and decision-making pushing the lead to 11 again and keeping it there for the rest of the contest.
The story today is the same recurring theme throughout this whole season: Terry Henderson and Eron Harris are good and will be great down the road. Another meaningful point to make is that Deniz Kilicli and Aaric Murray both have strong performances today. While the Deniz debate has been a talking point on The Smoking Musket Podcast, he does deserve praise for the decision-making as of late.
The Mountaineer get to savor this win for a short few days and go back on the road to Texas to play Baylor. This Bears squad has been a little shaky recently including losing three of their last four, so the Mountaineers are coming into Waco at a good time. Stay tuned. As I keep putting on these recaps: March is still a possibility, people.