West Virginia Mountaineers (Overall: 26-8, Conf: 12-6 )
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Team Strengths:
Led by bonafide two-way players Jevon Carter and Esa Ahmad, the team is an undeniably athletic bunch, and it’s a big key as to why Mountaineers (+3,000) basketball own one of the most refreshing styles today. Forget about run-and-offense, every other squad is operating that scheme. Coach Bob Huggins and bis boys are about the run-and-gun DEFENSE.
Through Carter, who aside from headlining the team in points (12.9 PPG) and assists (4.0 APG), also paced the Big 12 in steals (2.7 SPG) and steal percentage, West Virginia finished the regular season leading the nation in steals and turnovers forced. That, along with only allowing 66.8 PPG on a 42.3 percent shooting, has WVU currently placing fifth in Kenpom.com’s defensive efficiency rankings.
To top it all of nicely, they aren’t your classic “all defense and no offense” squad. In fact, their 83.8 PPG and 17.1 APG are both top 16 in all of Division I ball.
Team Weaknesses:
The Mountaineers’ problems root on being consistently inconsistent shooting the ball, both on field goals and free throws. Although they shot decent overall, their difficulties on the area were highlighted during the conference games, where they only made 44.9 percent from the field. The same goes on their foul shots, as they ended the regular season with a 68.7 shooting clip from the charity stripe.
Team Stats:
| CATEGORY | STAT / G | NCAA RANK |
| Points | 83.8 | 15th |
| Rebounds | 37.2 | 101st |
| Assists | 17.1 | 16th |
| Steals | 10.8 | 1st |
| Blocks | 4.5 | 51st |
| Field goal percentage | 46.3 | 81st |
| Three-point percentage | 36.0 | 141st |
| Free throw percentage | 68.7 | 227th |
| Turnovers | 12.3 | 112th |
Starting Lineup:
| POSITION | NAME | PPG |
| C | Nathan Adrian | 10.3 |
| F | Esa Ahmad | 11.4 |
| F | Daxter Miles | 9.1 |
| G | Tarik Philip | 9.3 |
| G | Jevon Carter | 12.9 |
Writer’s Prediction:
The Mountaineers (+3,000) will reach the Sweet 16.
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