WVU tops Dixon’s Horned Frogs
Mountaineers rally in 2nd half to beat former Pitt coach in his return to area
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — No. 7 West Virginia got lazy on defense and kept letting TCU come back.
The up-and-down effort changed for the Mountaineers when the Horned Frogs threatened to take the lead midway through the second half.
Jevon Carter scored nine of his 13 points during a decisive 16-4 run that sent West Virginia to an 82-70 victory on Saturday.
“I think we picked our energy level up,” said West Virginia’s Daxter Miles, who tied a season high with 22 points.
“The Big 12 is a tough league. Every night is going to be a good game. [You’ve] just got to do what you can do to try to get the best outcome.”
West Virginia (13-2, 2-1) bounced back from an overtime loss at Texas Tech and improved to 10-0 against TCU since the schools joined the Big 12 in 2012.
“We came out with no enthusiasm [at Texas Tech],” Miles said. “We’ve got to play with energy. And when we play with a lot of energy, good things happen for us.”
Miles had his third 20point effort of the season. West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said he received a text message from Miles on Friday night from the hotel where he put the players to allow them to rest up for the game.
“He’s texting me saying ‘I got to go get shots, I got to go get shots, I got to go get shots’ when usually he’s saying ‘Why is practice so long?’” Huggins said.
Still, the coach said Miles’ has shown an improved work ethic, “so I thought he’d have a great game.”
TCU didn’t have much trouble moving up court against West Virginia’s relentless pressure defense, but the Horned Frogs were sloppy and hesitant with their ball movement and tied a season high with 18 turnovers.
“We came here expecting to win,” said TCU coach Jamie Dixon, the former Pitt coach. “You have to finish against [the press]. We need to do a better job of it.”