Houston forward Jawan Roberts (13) and guard Emmanuel protect West Virginia forward Amani Hansberry (13) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Houston.・Sharp (right). (AP Photo) /Ashley Landis)
MORGANTOWN — West Virginia has become the latest victim of Houston’s blitzed defense.
To make matters worse, the 10th-ranked Cougars also proved they can play offensively.
The Mountaineers’ two-game road winning streak came to a screeching halt inside the Fertitta Center on Wednesday, as Houston forced WVU into a 70-54 victory by forcing a barrage of tough shots and the odd turnover.
The Mountaineers (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) scored one point in the first half and one in the second half.
Javon Small, who entered the game as the Big 12’s leading scorer, scored all 13 of his points in the first half. He also added eight assists in the game.
WVU center Amani Hansberry scored all 16 of her points in the second half, but Small was held to just three shots after halftime, all of which missed.
“Looking at the flow of the game, I thought we did a lot of really good things.” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said on his postgame radio show. “We knew turnovers were going to be a big key. We only had 12, but it seemed like they all led to points. We had 12 turnovers and they converted 24 off those turnovers. They were scoring points. When we gave them loose balls, they took advantage of them really efficiently.”
Small made three early 3-pointers, followed by a 3-pointer from freshman Jonathan Powell to give WVU an 18-13 lead seven minutes into the game.
That’s when Houston (13-3, 5-0) just took over.
Defensively, the Cougars began consistently running double teams on small whenever WVU tried to run small screens.
The Mountaineers also couldn’t find space when the ball left Small’s hands, typically having to force tough shots seconds before the shot clock expired.
Turnovers started to increase (seven in the first half led to Houston’s 14 points), including miscues where passes were bounced away by Cougars defenders who had their backs on the play.
On offense, Houston had Mr. Outside in Emmanuel Sharp and Mr. Inside in Jawan Roberts.
The two combined for 29 points in the first half, and Houston led 40-27 at intermission.
Sharp made 3-of-5 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, including one from at least 8 feet away. He entered the game as a 48% shooter from beyond the arc.
Inside, Roberts dominated one-on-one possessions in the post, finding Banks low and wide open.
He also finished off the Mountaineers on pick-and-roll plays, where he was one-on-one near the rim.
“Our game plan was to play (Roberts) one-on-one.” DeVries said. “He made us pay for it. We doubled him twice and they both hit threes. He’s a really good passer, so that puts you in a really tough position. Become.”
All of this led to a second half that saw WVU face off against the Cougars before running out of gas.
The Mountaineers opened the game with an 8-0 run, with Toby Okani and Powell hitting 3-pointers.
Houston responded with two open threes from L.J. Cryer, pushing Houston’s lead back to 49-36 with 15:54 remaining.
WVU used Hansberry on the perimeter for one final run. The 6-foot-8 center hit three 3-pointers to cut Houston’s lead to 51-48 with 12:34 left, but picked up his fourth foul four minutes later.
“I thought we were more aggressive in the second half and did some good things defensively.” DeVries said. “That led to an improved attack and Amani provided a big spark in the second half.
“It seemed like every time we got back there, we had a big turnover where we didn’t even have a chance to get the ball to the rim. When you play a team like this on your home floor, those are just killers. It’s a thing.”
Even before Hanberry picked up his fourth foul, Houston had regained the lead to 60-48.
Javier Francis got the start, followed by a dunk that sparked a 14-0 run, and Milos Uzan made a classic 3-point play.
WVU’s shaky offense was halted as Terrence Arsenault added a 3-pointer and Uzan scored as well.
The Mountaineers scored twice in the game, remaining scoreless until 5:24 of the first half, then scoreless until 6:34 of the second half.
Roberts led Houston with 22 points, Cryer added 18 points and Sharpe finished with 14 points.
WVU will find its schedule even easier when it returns to Morgantown. The Mountaineers will play No. 2 Iowa State on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Precautions
-WVU guard Tucker DeVries has missed eight straight games due to injury. If he plays the remainder of the season, he will not be eligible to apply for a medical redshirt.
• Houston has won 32 consecutive games at Fertitta Center, the longest home winning streak in the country.
• WVU’s 54 points were a season low.
• WVU freshman guard KJ Tenner returns to the rotation after missing two games with injury.
• WVU is 3-1 against AP Top 25 opponents this season.
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