Through today, they're the 2nd most efficient defense in the nation. They're doing it by playing aggressive, pressing defense. They hold opponents to an effective fg% of 46.4, 59th overall. Teams only shoot 27.3% from 3. That's the best defense in the nation against the 3. They force turnovers in bunches. Teams turn it over 28.3% of the time, tops in America. Their defensive steal % is an insane 15.4%, also tops. The national average is 8.8%.
They also crash the glass. Opponents only get 25.1% of boards, 25th. They do have a bugaboo, with aggressive defense comes a lot of fouling. Opponents have a 58.4 FTA/FGA. That puts West Virginia at 351st! Opponents get 30% of their scoring at the line.
Offense tells a similar story. 27th overall in efficiency, they have an effective fg% of 51.8%, 87th. They force turnovers and turn it over. Their turnover % is 19.4%, 235th. The Mountaineers excel crashing the offensive glass. They have an offensive rebounding% of 43.9, 2nd best. The aggressiveness on defense continues on offense. They get to the line a lot. They have a FTA/FGA rate of 49.6, 5th. They scored 33 points at the line against Kansas last night.
It's worth noting they only shoot 66.3% from the line. For a team that relies on scoring at the line, this could be an issue in one and done format.
West Virginia won a tough game at Kansas State, who is a very good team. That was their best win prior to last night's win over Kansas. The non-conference schedule wasn't that great. The best game was a lopsided loss to Virginia. Their best win was Richmond. Despite that, last night proved this is a pretty tough team.
West Virginia is a fascinating team. They play an aggressive style on both sides. The game at Oklahoma this Saturday should be a real battle. Big XII has another contender.
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