WVU men’s basketball gets pummeled by No. 25 BYU as offensive woes are exploited
Coming off a massive win against TCU at home on Tuesday night, West Virginia men’s basketball was back on the road Saturday for the first two consecutive games in the state of Utah.
First up, WVU was set for a matchup with a red-hot No. 25 BYU — and the Cougars managed to remain hot against the Mountaineers.
BYU played close with the Mountaineers early before rallying late in the first-half to take a lead into the halftime break before running away with the game in the second half and picking up a 77-56 win.
The two predominant talking points from this one (before turning the page to the matchup with Utah on Tuesday night) are Fousseyni Traore’s dominant performance against WVU and the brutally sluggish offensive attack of the Mountaineers.
Fousseyni Traore
BYU big man Fousseyni Traore was basically prime Shaquille O’Neal on Saturday night in Provo.
The 6’6”, 240-pound senior finished the night with a 20 point, 10 rebound double-double. He went 9-of-13 from the field, with all his shots coming at the rim. Neither Amani Hansberry nor Eduardo Andre proved to be any contest for Traore, who had his way all night.
After WVU held the impressive BYU offense to just 25 points in the first half, they unleashed for a 52-point second half behind Traore’s humongous effort. The big man had his way all night, and West Virginia had absolutely no answer for his performance in the paint.
Offensive Woes
It has been said since conference play began, and will continue to be a theme throughout the remainder of West Virginia’s season — their offense struggles mightily at times.
Leading scorer Javon Small was smothered all night long, and his teammates were unable to step up to relieve some pressure. Small finished the night with 15 points, but no other Mountaineer reached double figures.
To put it bluntly, the offense was rather horrendous, scoring just 19 in the first half. This game ranks among the worst in Big 12 play for West Virginia, joining the likes of a 49-point performance against Houston and a 51-point performance against Texas Tech last Saturday.
