BYU Uses Big Second Half To Pull Away From West Virginia
In a challenging road matchup, the West Virginia Mountaineers suffered a 77-56 defeat to the BYU Cougars at Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. This was West Virginia’s first-ever road game in Provo. This game was a tale of two halves, with both offenses struggling in the first but BYU completely flipping the script in the second half. The Mountaineers’ shooting woes and second-half defensive lapses allowed BYU to pull off a dominant victory. Read more BYU uses big second half to pull away from West Virginia below.
Defense Dominates the First Half
BYU, a typically strong 3-point shooting team, saw 0 three pointers fall in the first half for the first time this season. BYU shot 0-for-4 from beyond the arc and only 40.9% from the field. This was an unusual performance, but West Virginia struggled to get anything going on the offensive end despite their strong defensive stand in the first 20 minutes.
West Virginia’s performance in the first half was highlighted by cold shooting and missed opportunities. The Mountaineers only converted eight field goals on 32 attempts, shooting a lackluster 25% from the field. Their struggles from beyond the arc were even more glaring, as they connected on just 2 of 13 3-point attempts in half number one.
Javon Small struggled to get things going in the first half, being face-guarded and game planned for in this matchup. The defense frustrated Small early, but he was able to tally 8 points on 7 attempts in the first half.
READ: WEST VIRGINIA SPOILC CINCY’S SENIOR NIGHT
BYU Dominates the Second Half
The Cougars shot 60.6% from the field in the second half, converting 20 of 33 attempts, and improved their 3-point shooting to 45.5%, knocking down 5-of-11 attempts. This shooting explosion led to three players finishing in double figures for the Cougars.
Fousseyni Traore, Richie Saunders and Egor Demin all poured in double figures. Fousseyni led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Egor Demin’s 15 and Richie Saunders 13 points. All night long, West Virginia struggled to keep the Cougars out of the paint and off the boards.
West Virginia Offensive Struggles
West Virginia finished the game shooting 21-of-63 from the field (33.3%) and 8-of-27 from beyond the arc (29.6%). These numbers aren’t going to win many Big 12 contests, and they have been the Achilles of this West Virginia team all year. Currently West Virginia ranks 15th of 16 Big 12 teams in points per game, scoring 68.6 points per game. Outside of Javon Small, who chipped in 15 points on the night, the Mountaineers struggle to create on the offensive end. This made it easier for BYU to send double teams and face guard Small all night long.
Points in the Paint and Rebounding Woes
One of the more noticeable statistics in the game came on the boards, where BYU dominated. The Cougars won the rebound battle 43-32, including a 12-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
BYU also dominated in the points in the paint category. The usually perimeter-heavy Cougars won the interior battle 46 points in contrast to West Virginia’s 22 points.
The Traore Show
Fousseyni Traore gave the Mountaineers fits all game long. Traore finished the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, shooting an impressive 9-of-13 from the field.
Looking Ahead for West Virginia
West Virginia was projected as a 10 seed by Joe Lunardi this week and still will likely be in for the NCAA tournament, but the Mountaineers must answer their offensive questions to improve their positioning and make a push in the Big 12 tournament. West Virginia will travel to Utah Tuesday, which looks more like a must-win after this loss to BYU.
