The West Virginia men’s basketball team delivered a dominant performance Tuesday night, defeating TCU 73-55 to avenge an earlier loss to the Horned Frogs. After falling behind 0-5 to start the game, the Mountaineers quickly found their rhythm, using strong defense and timely scoring runs to control the pace. A key 18-0 run, where they held TCU scoreless for eight minutes, was a highlight of their defensive effort. Javon Small led the charge with 23 points and 10 assists, steering WVU to a well-rounded victory. With this win, the Mountaineers demonstrated their resilience and took a crucial step forward in their push for an NCAA tournament bid.
West Virginia (17-11, 8-9 Big 12) bounced back from a tough 73-51 loss at then-No. 9 Texas Tech on Saturday, avenging a 65-60 defeat at TCU on February 5. In what many described as a must-win game the Mountaineers did not disappoint.
“I thought our guys did a much better job on them,” WVU coach Darian DeVries said after the game. “At their place, we were being aggressive, but almost too aggressive at times. They were getting downhill, our gap-help wasn’t where it needed to be, and they got to the free throw line a lot. I thought the bigs were good, too, of giving us good support on a lot of their ball screens.”
Javon Small led the way with a stellar performance, shooting 6-of-11 from beyond the arc and finishing 8-of-16 overall to score 23 points. Joseph Yesufu contributed 14 points, while Sencire Harris added 13 to help secure the victory.
“I thought he was terrific,” DeVries said about Small. “We’ve got to continue to have him be aggressive, whether it be scoring or assisting. He has 23 (points) and 10 (assists), and we’re putting a lot on him. And we’re also going to ask him to guard one of their best players. That’s the type of player he is.”
For TCU (15-13, 8-9), Trazarien White was the lone player in double figures, finishing with 11 points. Meanwhile, West Virginia showcased its top 25 ranked scoring defense, limiting the rest of the Horned Frogs to single-digit scoring and keeping them in check throughout the game.
Small was a key factor in the first half, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 11 points, along with five assists, to help WVU build a 42-27 lead at the break. The Mountaineers shot an impressive 57% (17-of-29) from the field in the first half.
West Virginia continued its strong play to start the second half, extending its lead to as much as 20 points. Although TCU managed to close the gap to 62-53 with 5:33 left, they couldn’t get any closer as the Mountaineers held firm.
“I was really pleased, especially defensively,” DeVries said. “We put a full 40 minutes together that I thought was really good. In that first half, I thought that looked like us earlier this year. We were getting stops and getting out and running.”
Next up, TCU will host UCF on Saturday, while West Virginia travels to No. 25 BYU. This victory was crucial for the Mountaineers’ NCAA tournament hopes, as a home loss to a Quad 2 school would have been a devastating blow to their chances.
