By Brant Daughtry
John Denver Appreciation Weekend
The Mountaineers of WVU are coached by legend Bob Huggins. He’s been in Morgantown since 2007, and has set several program records in his time. He’s a West Virginia lifer, having played there before beginning his coaching career. He never spent more than a few years anywhere during the beginnings of his coaching career, but is more or less living his dream coaching West Virginia. Last year, he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame for his work.
This season, West Virginia is hard to figure out. They have a winning record at 12-8, but they have a very poor conference record at 2-6. Not a great record in either side, but their ranked 25th in the NET Rankings. Of the 20 games they’ve played, 12 have been against Quad 1 opponents. They have one of the toughest schedules in the country, and while they haven’t won every game, they have four Quad 1 wins, more than al but 10 teams in college basketball. To say this team is battle tested would be an understatement.
Another thing to note about this squad is how absurdly tall they are. The shortest player on the roster is 6’0″, and he’s an outlier. Most players that get regular minutes are well above what Auburn will be throwing out there. Their center is the same height as Johni Broome, 6’10”, but he’s a good bit heavier, weighing in close to 300 pounds. Auburn will have a very physical battle on its hands.
Players to Watch For:
Guard Erik Stevenson, #10- Stevenson is a 5th year senior who is at his 4th school. That’s not for lack of playing time though. Stevenson is a sniper who’s put up good numbers everywhere he’s been. In fact, during his time with South Carolina, he put up a combined 38 points in two games, so Auburn fans should be familiar with him. He leads WVU in points per game with 13, and rebounds well for a guard, having 3.3 per game. He shoots an impressive 35% from deep, and 43.5% from the floor.
Center Jimmy Bell Jr, #15- Bell is a 6’10”, 285 lb. force on the inside. While he doesn’t score too much, only 6 points a game, he’s a very effective rebounder, grabbing 6.6 per game to lead the Mountaineers. Something Auburn has had trouble with this year is defensive rebounding, and Bell grabs an average of three of the offensive glass per game. If he’s allowed to attack the offensive glass, Auburn could have a rough time with him.
Boy that Texas A&M game was ugly. There’s really no sugar coating that. The offensive performance from A&M in the first half opened up a lead that Auburn just couldn’t come back from. The good news is, Auburn is still a top-half team in the conference. One loss doesn’t derail a so-far-so-good season, but you have to fix the issues before it gets out of hand. Someone other than Wendell Green and Johni Broome has to be on consistently.
Against WVU, I think Auburn will be up against a team that’s pretty similar to itself. A very deep team that focuses heavily on defense. Difference being two things; shooting ability and size. WVU is big, and they have some snipers. Auburn’s defense will have to play better than the sum of its parts to come out on top against a good, not great, WVU team.
