Culver and Tshiebwe lead West Virginia to 1,800th all-time win in 73-51 rout of Northeastern

The ninth-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers (8-2, 1-1 Big 12) reached a milestone 1,800th all-time win on Tuesday afternoon in the WVU Coliseum with a dominating 73-51 win over the Northeastern Huskies (1-5). The victory also marked the 889th career win for head coach Bob Huggins — leaving him one game away from tying UNC’s Roy Williams.

Derek Culver started hot with 10 points to start the game, but offensive struggles allowed the Huskies to keep the game close throughout the bulk of the first half until a 9-0 run would give the Mountaineers their first comfortable lead of the game with a 13 point advantage. West Virginia led at the half, 34-26.

West Virginia’s offense began to roll in the second half and the Mountaineers used multiple six and seven point runs to build their lead, shutting the door on Northeastern and allowing Huggins to substitute in some of his freshman for valuable playing time before the Big 12 conference schedule gets rolling.

Culver led the Mountaineers with 18 points, four rebounds. Oscar Tshiebwe turned in a double-double of 12 points, 15 rebounds. Emmitt Matthews Jr. finished with 13 points, and Deuce McBride chipped in nine points, five assists.

The Mountaineers will return to conference play on Saturday at Oklahoma — kicking off a two-game stint in the Sooner State. That game is scheduled to tip-off at 4PM ET and will be broadcast on ESPN2.