MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) No. 14 West Virginia’s inside dominance turned a close game into a rout and moved coach Bob Huggins another notch higher on the all-time wins list.
Jermaine Haley had 15 points and nine rebounds, Miles McBride scored 15 points and No. 14 West Virginia broke open a close game with a huge run early in the second half to beat cold-shooting Missouri 74-51 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday.
Freshman Oscar Tshiebwe added 14 points and eight rebounds, Gabe Osabuohien grabbed 12 rebounds and Derek Culver had 11 rebounds for the Mountaineers (16-3).
Huggins earned his 876th win to tie Adolph Rupp for seventh place on the NCAA Division I coaching list.
With Missouri’s Jeremiah Tillman missing his sixth straight game because of a stress fracture in his left foot, the Tigers had no answer for the Mountaineers’ inside game and were outrebounded 50-30.
Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin came away impressed with West Virginia’s tandem of Tshiebwe and Culver.
Huggins said he didn’t believe Tshiebwe and Culver had their best games. Culver was just 2 of 10 from the floor.
West Virginia used its rebounding and several Missouri turnovers to pull away.
Haley scored six points during a 20-0 run that started just after halftime. McBride’s 3-pointer capped the big rally for a 47-25 lead with 12:28 remaining.
Torrence Watson scored 19 points to lead Missouri (9-10).
Missouri missed 18 of its first 20 shots of the game to fall behind 20-6, but the Tigers’ speed started causing problems for the bigger Mountaineers. Missouri got numerous baskets in its transition offense to close the half on a 17-4 run and trailed 24-23 at halftime.
BIG PICTURE
Missouri: Leading scorer Dru Smith had five turnovers and was held to two points, 10 under his scoring average. He missed both of his field-goal attempts.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers entered the game third in the nation in field-goal defense at 36.2% and held Missouri to 28% (15 of 53) shooting.
FREE THROW CLANKS
West Virginia shot 57% (16-28) from the free-throw line, and that could make the difference between a quick exit and a deep run in postseason play. Culver was 0-6. The Mountaineers are second-worst in the Big 12 for the season, making 64% of their free throws.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Mountaineers should move up in the AP Top 25 poll after two convincing wins, including a 97-59 victory over Texas on Monday.
UP NEXT
Missouri: Hosts Georgia on Tuesday.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI