No. 2 WVU Welcomes Baylor to Town
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MORGANTOWN -- Opponents of newly crowned No. 2 West Virginia (14-1 overall, 3-0 Big 12) are discovering one important fact as the 2017-18 season progresses -- the Mountaineers are going to play their style of game with or without standout senior guard Jevon Carter.
"When (Carter) is not in there, that doesn't change what they do," Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said following his Sooners' 89-76 loss in the Coliseum on Saturday night. "And, I thought they continued to do what they wanted to do and did it well."
Carter, the national and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, found himself relegated to watching the Top-10 battle from the sideline when he picked up fouls Nos. 2, 3, and 4 in rapid succession early in the second half.
With their floor leader on the bench with 13:30 remaining and trailing by a 53-51 margin, the Mountaineers rallied around the play of freshman Teddy Allen and sophomores James 'Beetle' Bolden and Sagaba Konate to forge a 76-68 lead when Carter returned to the court for the final 3:43.
"Beetle is getting better," Huggins said. "We've kind of played that way all year, really, if you think about it. It hasn't been all J.C. I mean, certainly what he does on the defensive end is special, but it hasn't been all him. Dax (Miles) has had his moments. Teddy (Allen) has had moments. Beetle has had moments."
Now, WVU will look to continue its longest winning streak (14) since the Atlantic 10 days back in 1989 when unranked Baylor (11-4, 1-2 Big 12) returns to the Coliseum for a 7 p.m. tipoff tonight.
The last time coach Scott Drew brought his Bears to Morgantown they were ranked No. 1 in the country only to return to the Lone Star State on the wrong end of an 89-68 score.
Baylor is coming off a 69-60 victory over Texas and will be looking for a little revenge when they face a Mountaineers squad still celebrating its win over then-No. 7 Oklahoma.
The Bears have five players averaging double figures led by seniors Manu Lecomte (16.8 ppg) and JO Lual-Acuil Jr. (16.1 ppg, 9.8 rpg).
Joining that duo are seniors Terry Maston and Nuni Omot at 10.4 points per game, and junior King McClure (10.3). Freshmen Tristan Clark (8.1), and Mark Vital (7.7) and junior Jake Lindsey (5.5) are other major contributors to the Bears attack.
Huggins will counter with his normal lineup of seniors Carter and Miles Jr. at the guards with sophomores Lamont West, Wesley Harris and Konate at the forwards.
Despite missing more than 10 minutes of action against the Sooners, Carter continues to lead the Mountaineers in scoring (16.7 ppg), assists (103), steals (55), and free-throw shooting (84.6 percent).
Miles Jr. leads three other players in double figures with a 13.9 points per-game norm. West (12.9) and Bolden (10.5) round out the group.
Konate, who is among the nation's leaders with 40 blocked shots, chips in 9.1 points and a team-leading 7.2 rebounds per game while Allen -- the team's hottest scorer in the month of January -- has seen his average increase to 9.7 points.
Fans can also expect to see Moundsville's Chase Harler (2.6), Maciej Bender (1.9) and Cameron's Logan Routt (1.8) on the court.
"(Jevon) Carter is terrific, of course, but when he's out, the other guys picked up the slack and did a good job for them," Kruger added. "Again, their style and identity, they do a great job with it, and Carter is the heart of it."
NOTE
Allen has been named the Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Week.
The freshman from Mesa, Ariz., is the first WVU player to earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors since Jonathan Holton did so Dec. 14, 2014.
Allen averaged 21.0 points in 21.5 minutes off the bench in West Virginia's wins at Kansas State and versus No. 7 Oklahoma. He shot 73.9 percent from the field and 88.9 percent from the free-throw line.