Surging Cougars to Visit WVU Coliseum on Wednesday Night – West Virginia University Athletics

Tale of the Tape
Points Per Game	76.7	71.2
Scoring Margin	+21.1	+6.8
Field Goal Percentage	.459	.423
OPP Field Goal Percentage	.360	.401
3-PT Field Goal Percentage	.395	.330
Opp 3-PT Field Goal Percentage	.302	.285
Free Throw Percentage	.722	.757
Rebounds Per Game	38.2	34.6
Assists Per Game	13.4	13.5
Turnovers Per Game	8.7	10.7
Steals Per Game	8.5	8.1
Blocks Per Game	5.5	4.7
Streak	W12	L2

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia will try and snap its first losing streak of the Darian DeVries era on Wednesday night against one of the hottest teams in the country.
 
The Mountaineers, losers of two straight to Arizona State and Kansas State, will try and right things against a surging 16-3 Houston team that is ranked sixth in this week’s polls and has won 12 straight games following last Saturday’s 92-86 double-overtime victory at Kansas.
 
Among Houston’s recent wins is a 70-54 triumph against West Virginia in its arena on Jan. 15.
 
In that game, Houston sent multiple defenders at Mountaineer guard Javon Small after he scored nine early points, which led to Amani Hansberry contributing a team-best 16, including 12 in a row during one point in the second half. The Mountaineers actually had it to a one-possession game with 12:36 remaining before going ice cold.
 
Frigid 3-point shooting has also plagued West Virginia in its recent two-game slide. 
 
WVU connected on only 19% of its 21 tries from behind the arc in a 73-60 loss at Kansas State last Saturday, four days after misfiring on 25 of its 29 triples in a 65-57 home defeat to Arizona State.
 
That’s eight for the last 50 from behind the 3-point line, but DeVries maintains his bigger concern is a defense that allowed Kansas State to score on nearly 56% of its offensive possessions one game after allowing Arizona State to grab 14 offensive rebounds and hold a commanding 46-to-28 advantage on the glass.
 
Those are things his team managed to avoid up through its 64-57 upset victory over then-second-ranked Iowa State on Jan. 18.
 
“We had a bad week of shooting, for sure, but it ultimately is still about our defense,” DeVries noted. “On both of those nights, when we didn’t shoot it well, our defense wasn’t what it has been either. Our main issue was those breakdowns defensively, and when we weren’t shooting well, we couldn’t keep up, and that hurt us in both of those.”
 
Small was terrific against the Cyclones, scoring a game-high 27 points while grabbing seven rebounds, handing out five assists and making four steals. Since then, teams have made stopping him their primary focus while taking their chances with other players with open shots.
 
“For us, it’s about getting him off the ball some,” DeVries said. “We still need him with the ball in his hands making plays, but they are going to bring two guys to the ball when he has it. Now the one side to that is we have a numbers game on the backside of that. If we get it out of there, which we have, that’s where some of those 3-point opportunities come. You make that one extra pass then you are shooting a wide-open 3, and then it’s a matter of making them.
 
“And we’re going to do that,” he added. “We didn’t last week, but I have all of the confidence in the world that we will make those shots more than we won’t.”
 
In both losses, West Virginia (13-6 overall and 4-4 in Big 12 play) dug itself an early hole it couldn’t climb out of, including a 19-2 deficit to begin at Kansas State.
 
Despite the heavy level of attention, Small was still West Virginia’s leading scorer in both games, including 22 against Kansas State.
 
“We can’t put it all on Javon,” DeVries pointed out. “We’ve got to continue to get that second scorer and that third scorer on most nights.”
 
Houston, meanwhile, is getting balanced production across the board. Forward J’Wan Roberts tallied 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting and guard LJ Cryer connected on half of his 10 3-point tries for 18 points the first time these two teams met in Houston.
 
Last Saturday at Kansas, Roberts hit for 24, while grabbing nine rebounds and handing out five assists.
 
Cryer was held in check, which opened things up for 6-foot-4 guard Milos Uzan, who just missed a triple-double with 17 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to earn Big 12 Player of the Week honors.
 
Giving the Cougars a big boost off the bench was 6-foot-1 guard Mylik Wilson, a non-factor in the West Virginia win but a big factor against the Jayhawks. He finished with 18 points on eight-of-11 shooting, including a pair of triples.
 
Houston’s guards, Cryer, Uzan, Wilson and Emanual Sharp, are basically interchangeable, just like its 6-foot-8 bigs, Roberts, Joseph Tugler and Ja’Vier Francis.
 
Throw in 6-foot-8 wing Terrance Arceneaux, averaging 8.2 points per game, and you are looking at one of the best eight-man rotations in the country right now.
 
“Across the board, both offensively and defensively, they have great versatility,” DeVries said. “Then, they go to the bench, and they have another guy who comes in at 6-foot-8 or 6-foot-9 who can run, jump, shoot or whatever it may be.
 
“They all complement each other really well in the way they play. They can come out and trap a ball screen and really blitz it and be aggressive and get into rotations, or they can just come out and switch it, and they’re fine with that either way,” DeVries continued. “On the offensive end, same type of deal. Their three guards each shoot it at a high, high level, and then they can post it with Roberts, or they bring in offensive rebounders, which is why they are where they are right now.”
 
Houston’s balanced attack ranges from Cryer’s team-leading 13.5 points per game down to Francis’ 5.4 points per contest coming off the bench. Sharp (13.4 ppg.) and Roberts (11.3 ppg.) are also averaging double figures.
 
The Cougars have yet to lose in eight Big 12 outings, including comfortable victories over BYU, TCU, Kansas State, West Virginia and Utah.
 
Wednesday night will be Houston’s first-ever visit to the WVU Coliseum.
 
The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+ (Eric Rothman and Tim Welsh).
 
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will get things started at 6 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the popular Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
 
Tickets remain and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800-WVU-GAME.