3. After being minuses in the box score in the last three losses, Derek Culver must be effective against MSU
West Virginia’s last three defeats – the overtime loss to Baylor and the back-to-back setbacks to Oklahoma State – have featured a number of trends, but amongst the most glaring has been the ineffectiveness of star post player Derek Culver – and a repeat of that could spell doom for the Mountaineers.
In those three games, Culver was negative in the box score, finishing as a minus-2 and minus-6 in the games against Oklahoma State – and an overwhelming minus-26 in the setback to Baylor. He has not been nearly as effective scoring in those games, as well, averaging 11.3 points on 44.4% (8-18) shooting – but a solid 18-25 (72.0%) from the charity stripe.
In Culver’s stead, Bob Huggins was forced to rely on defensive specialist and glue guy Gabe Osabuohien, who scored just seven points in the first loss to the Cowboys and did not take a shot in the other games – but finished as a plus-4, a neutral 0, and a plus-15 against Oklahoma State and Baylor – with the last of the three coming against the Bears.
Neither sees time on the floor together, meaning the issue, obviously, arises when Osabuohien is off the floor and Culver is on – which considering Osabuohien has fouled out in two of those three games, has created several problems for West Virginia. Games and momentum have shifted considerably in those tilts, most notably against Baylor.
Culver cannot be ineffective this time around, especially when lining up against Morehead State’s Johni Broome. Broome is the Eagles’ leading scorer and rebounder at 13.9 points and 9.0 caroms, ranks 80th in the nation in percentage of shots taken, and has reached double-digits in 17 of Morehead State’s 19 games this calendar year – including averaging 19.3 points on clips of 58.5% (2PT, 24-41) and 83.3% (FT, 10-12) to go with 12.0 boards in the Eagles’ three wins in the OVC Tournament.
If anything, this game is more of a test for West Virginia’s offense than its defense – and that success begins with Culver. This is an exceptionally dangerous game for the Mountaineers, as the Mountaineers’ greatest weaknesses are Morehead State’s biggest strengths – and with West Virginia’s inconsistency as of late, there is no telling which Mountaineer squad will show up. To avoid the first-round upset, the Mountaineers must follow these keys – or their stellar season may come to an abrupt, early end.