Big 12 Basketball: 5 biggest questions for rest of 2019-20 season

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 21: Freddie Gillespie #33 and Mark Vital #11 of the Baylor Bears celebrate their 78-69 win over the Syracuse Orange in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 04: Logan Routt #31 of the West Virginia Mountaineers (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

1. Can West Virginia continue to win without a go-to scorer?

Mauro

My first answer was no. The Mountaineers don’t have that go-to do everything guy that are staples of Bob Huggins coached teams. I don’t want to overreact to one game, but Miles McBride absolutely torched Ohio State, who in my opinion, is the most complete team in the country. McBride is a true freshman that led West Virginia to a signature non-conference win on the road in Columbus. If he can build on that, the Mountaineers should be just fine.

Stearman

West Virginia has exceeded expectations this year, especially after defeating #2 Ohio State on a neutral floor. Miles McBride was huge off the bench in that game, but McBride being the main offensive weapon really did showcase the lack of a go-to scorer. The good news for the Mountaineers is that they rely much more on their aggressive defense than a high-powered offense. WVU is currently 6th in the nation in 3P% allowed, with opponents shooting only 25.4%.

They make life tough for their opponents, and they give themselves opportunities by dominating the offensive glass. This makes for a good recipe to continue being successful without a go-to scorer. Still, if WVU wants to compete with Kansas and Baylor, I think Jermaine Haley or Oscar Tshiebwe need to step up as the season moves on. They will need someone who can get a bucket when everything else breaks down.

Corn

West Virginia doesn’t have a single player averaging over 12 points per game, and only 3 with over 10 a game… but they’re 11-1 with wins over Wichita State and Ohio State with a 16th ranking in the country. Make sense? No, no it doesn’t. My personal opinion? Once they get into conference play, and into March, they’re going to need to find a go-to scorer they can play through to be successful.

Derek Culver may be their best all-around player. He’s averaging 11 points a game to go along with 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists a game. He’s had big games with stat lines like 25-11, 12-18, 16-16-3, 15-7-7 so far this season and him scoring, rebounding, AND dishing a few assists a game should be the team’s recipe to be successful come conference play.

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