MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Three days removed from perhaps their most disappointing loss of the season at Kansas State, West Virginia’s all-senior starting lineup authored one more memory on their home court as the Mountaineers pulled away from UCF, 77-62 on Senior Night at Hope Coliseum.
After defeating the Knights in Orlando three weeks earlier, the Mountaineers secured a regular season sweep of UCF, a team that looks to be on the good side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.
With the win, West Virginia (18-13, 9-9 Big 12) secured an opening-round bye in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. WVU will open play in Kansas City on Wednesday. If Cincinnati loses to TCU Saturday, West Virginia will be the No. 7 seed. If the Bearcats win in Fort Worth, WVU will be the No. 8 seed. West Virginia’s Big 12 Tournament seeding and potential opponents will be finalized Saturday night following the last seven games on the regular season schedule.
“Now it is 0-0 for everybody. And we’re just trying to get as many wins as we can,” said WVU senior forward Brenen Lorient.
WVU’s senior class of six players combined for 74 of WVU’s 77 points.
“It has been, obviously a bumpy road as all things are in life. It is a special moment,” said WVU senior guard Honor Huff. “I have been in college for a minute and there is not a better feeling than what you do after a win here, singing and being able to evoke yourself in emotion in a positive way.”
“It was a very emotional day for us after the ceremony and whatnot,” said WVU senior forward Chance Moore. “We just tried to get a win for the fans, get a win for the guys and execute. Just go out swinging as best as possible.”
“Be able to hear Country Roads with their families in attendance, it will be a moment they will never forget as a family unit for the rest of their lives,” said WVU head coach Ross Hodge.
Slow starts have cost the Mountaineers in many of their losses. On this night, West Virginia built a double-digit first-half lead (22-10) on the strength of a 9-0 run. WVU led 32-23 at intermission.
“Jasper [Floyd] got us off to a good start and finished some baskets around and close to the basket. Trey [Eaglestaff] made a tough three,” Hodge said.
UCF pulled within four points (44-40) midway through the second half before the Mountaineers rebuilt their sizable lead with a 15-4 run and they kept a double-digit advantage the rest of the way. West Virginia turned the ball over just seven times and UCF was held to four fast break points.
“They are so explosive in transition and [Themus] Fulks is such a good passer,” Hodge said. “They have such good athleticism, if you are going to give them live-ball turnovers, they are going to convert.
“I thought we just did a little bit of a better job condensing the open spaces. Harlan [Obioha] did a really good job with his ball screen coverage and he made them play in tighter space.”
Huff led the Mountaineers with 24 points. He went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
“He has grown so much as a player, he has seen just about every defense you can imagine,” Hodge said. “He has been the focal point of every team’s defense that we have played.”
The Mountaineers made 21 of their 25 attempts from the charity stripe.
“If Honor is shooting 10 of your 20 free throws, you are probably going to have a good night at the foul stripe,” Hodge said.
Lorient scored 14 points while Moore chipped in with 13 and Floyd added 10.
UCF (20-10, 9-9 Big 12) was led by Fulks and Riley Kugel. Both players scored 16 points.
West Virginia has their work cut out for them at the Big 12 Tournament, likely facing one of the league’s top two teams in the quarterfinal round if they win their opening game on Wednesday.
“If you have hopes of winning a tournament, you want to play the fewest amount of days possible,” Hodge said.
“Yeah, you are fighting to keep playing games, but if you really care about each other, you are fighting for one more film session, one more plane ride, one more bus trip.
“We put this team together with the belief that we could win games in March and make a run in the NCAA Tournament. I still believe that this team can do that.”