AS IF WE HAVEN’T BEEN TESTED ENOUGH THIS YEAR. Kansas has constantly been a thorn in our side since we joined the Big 12. Bill Self has another elite squad this year, and even if most people don’t think that they are National Championship threats, they have the one guy who makes them that dangerous: Darryn Peterson.
I alluded to him the last time we talked, but Peterson is one of those guys. He’s averaging 22 PPG as a true freshman, shoots 40% from 3, and is going to be AT WORST a top 3 pick in this year’s NBA draft. Kansas has a history of bringing in these guys and getting the best out of them and that seems to be the case yet again this year. We have our hands full today with this team, but thankfully they have to play at Hope Coliseum and not at The Phog. If we can contain Darryn Peterson, we have a shot at another upset of the mighty Kansas Jayhawks.
The first ten minutes of the game were very much a feeling out process. Neither team shot well, both teams were in foul trouble, and no one could gain an advantage on the other. That is especially dangerous for us because if we can’t get Honor or Eaglestaff going, it may be a long night for us. Kansas is just a more fleshed out team at this point in the season; they have multiple ways to win a basketball game and if Peterson isn’t going off, they just play through Bryson Tiller and win that way. I’ve seen too many Kansas games this year to think that just because they’re not doing that well to start out, that it means they won’t flip the switch eventually.
Basketball is a game of runs, and sometimes everything just goes your way. That was the case for the good guys for about 5 minutes. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Honor Huff has hit two threes, but what if I told you that Brenen Lorient, Chance Moore, AND DJ Thomas all hit a 3 as well? That’s the kind of hot streak we went on, and honestly, it was a spiritual experience. I’ve come to expect that when any of the later 3 shoot, it probably won’t end as a make, but you know what they say about broken clocks. All of that being said, we were unable to extend any kind of lead during that run. Every time we hit a big shot, Kansas came right back and hit one of their own. If I could remove my fandom for a second, this is shaping out to be an incredible game regardless of the outcome.
Water found its level as we inched closer to the halftime horn. Both teams were able to showcase their offensive talent and the Jayhawks end the half up 43–39. Darryn Peterson, as I unfortunately predicted earlier, had himself a half to remember. He’s heading into intermission with 16 points and 2 steals, including a buzzer beating 3 to send us to the break. Brenen Lorient, not to be outdone, finished the half with 16 points, 1 block, and he’s 2/2 from deep.
There are obviously things that we need to work on in the 2nd, like our turnover rate, but honestly there’s not a lot to complain about. Bill Self is a Hall of Fame coach with multiple NCAA Championships under his belt, and Ross Hodge, who never got a real shot at this high of a level until this year, is going band for band with him. We’re really witnessing a battle of Titans between the two. Every time Self switched coverages or ran a particular set, it seemed like Coach Hodge had an answer. I’m not sure that WVU will ever be able to have the top of the line basketball talent that Bill Self, John Calipari, or Dan Hurley can attract, but to be able to be on this big of a stage and not shrink in the moment against a Hall of Fame coach is really encouraging to see from our guy.
Kansas came out aggressive as ever after the break, and Ross Hodge was none too pleased. They had a break in the action at some point and got to go inside the huddle for WVU, and I think that you would have gotten a kick out of it. I know that you really loved the Bob Huggins style of coaching where you held players accountable for their mistakes. I also know that you haven’t seen a lot of that in the college landscape over the last few years, but Coach Hodge brought it back, at least for that timeout. He lit into the guys and had to remind them that Darryn Peterson is just one guy, and they should not be afraid of him as players. Will that little “pep talk” work? I guess we’ll have to find out.
I’ve been critical of him this season, but I will still applaud his successes; Harlan Obioha was a real difference maker in this game. He came in with winning energy, he rebounded well (not as well as I would like a 7 footer to, but I digress), and offensively just looked like a different player than we usually get. I don’t expect him to ever be the leading scorer, obviously. I do think that he’s probably the most important glue guy that we have. He’s such a connective piece to our offense, and when he plays like this, he allows our team to have extra opportunities to thrive. You can’t teach hustle, and while I wish he would perform this way every game, it seems like Ohbioha shows out when the lights are the brightest as he was THE key factor in our 16–0 run.
I didn’t expect Kansas to roll over and die after that run, and they certainly didn’t do that. Like I said before, this is a very good team, and they are coached by one of the greatest to ever do it. They were calm, collected, and understood what they needed to do to chip away at the lead that the good guys built. They turned up the defensive pressure, started to press full court, and they also put their head down to get to the rim. In doing so, it also slowed the game down and changed our rhythm. I didn’t expect anything less from Bill Self and this Kansas crew.
I won’t sit here and pretend like I wasn’t nervous for a bit. Darryn Peterson, while he’s been incredible this year, has had an issue with staying on the floor. He’s been dealing with a lot of cramping issues that have kept him from playing the minutes that he, and probably Bill Self, would like him to. He stepped on the floor with two minutes left in this game, hit a big 3 to silence the crowd, and from that point on I couldn’t relax. A player of his caliber ALWAYS has the ability to change the game in an instant.
BUT IT DIDN’T MATTER TODAY BABY. THE MOUTAINEERS TAKE DOWN THE JAYHAWKS 86–75 FOR THE BEST WIN OF THIS YOUNG SEASON. God, what a fucking game. Our guys came out with a fire in their heart and secured one of the biggest wins of Coach Hodge’s career. Honestly, this game completely changed the perspective that I have for this team this year. I’ve had, justifiably I believe, A LOT of reasons to think that this team couldn’t win the Big 12 title or make some noise in March Madness. I’m still not 100% convinced that we could do those things, but I now know that we’ll be able to compete with anyone. The only question I even have after a game like this is if Coach Hodge has the incentive in his contract to beat Kansas like Bob Huggins did.
After the HUGE win, The Roundball Big 3 of the Game:
Honor Huff — 23 points, 7 rebounds
Brenen Lorient — 18 points, 6 assists, 2 stocks
Harlan Obioha — 11 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks
Just an incredible game all around. The coaching battle was worth the price of admission, the players came to play, and the crowd was sent home happy. I really wish you would have been able to be here to see it. We don’t have a ton of time to celebrate this win because we’re going up against #7 Houston on Tuesday, but I’ll certainly enjoy this one until then. I love you, Dad. I miss you. See you soon.
Round The Game 
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