West Virginia Basketball: 3 takeaways from comeback win at Oklahoma State

2. After his worst game of the season, Derek Culver rebounded – literally – with his best performance of the year

One of the issues with Oscar Tshiebwe’s sophomore campaign was his inability to produce inside – and how much that ailed Derek Culver‘s play.  That much was visible in West Virginia’s blowout loss at Kansas, where Tshiebwe’s 1-5 shooting performance allowed the Jayhawks to double-team – and often triple-team – Culver inside, which resulted in Culver going 4-9 from the floor in 34 minutes.

It is no coincidence that in West Virginia’s next game against Northeastern, where Tshiebwe had his best game of the season with 12 points (6-9 FG), Culver also had a stand-out performance with 18 points (8-11 FG).  Likewise, it is also no coincidence that in Tshiebwe’s first game out, Culver struggled mightily, scoring two points (1-4 FG, 0-2 FT) while committing seven turnovers in 22 minutes against Oklahoma.

But Culver quelled any and all worries in his performance against the Cowboys and did so in dominating fashion – largely because of the change to the four-guard lineup.  With Tshiebwe out of the post, the paint was so much more open for Culver to operate in, allowing him to both drive and/or take fadeaway jumpers – and he made Oklahoma State pay in both ways.

In 36 minutes, Culver poured in a team-best 22 points on 10-19 shooting from the floor, while going 2-6 from the line.  He hauled in seven offensive caroms, which was instrumental in West Virginia out-performing the Cowboys in second-chance points.  He also brought down 12 defensive rebounds to finish with 19 boards, the most he has recorded since his 21-rebound performance against TCU on February 26th, 2019.

Culver’s play against the Cowboys was the difference between West Virginia’s performance against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State – and, as much as the Mountaineer need scoring from the perimeter, they also need Culver to come through and provide from inside the arc.  With more room to operate, he has the ability to be a bit more crafty with his moves – and that was on full display against the Cowboys.