Transition game key for Mountaineers
West Virginial is back in the NCAA tournament after missing the Big Dance last season. The Mountaineers will face off against No. 8 seed Maryland on Thursday in Birmingham, Ala. Tipoff is set for 12:15 p.m. on CBS.
Maryland finished fifth in the Big Ten with wins over Miami, Illinois, Penn State, Purdue and Northwestern — all team that made the 68team tournament field. The Terrapins started the season 8-0, despite having a new head coach in Kevin Willard.
West Virginia finished eighth in the Big 12 this season and was the last team from the conference to sneak into the tournament. It proved it deserved a spot with impressive wins over TCU, Auburn, Iowa State, Pitt and Kansas State.
Top storyline
The winner of this game is going to come down to who can execute the game plan better. The Mountaineers have one of the better scoring offenses in the tournament averaging 76.3 points per game. However, they’ll be matched up against one of the best scoring defenses in Maryland who holds opponents to 63.2 points per game.
West Virginia has a balanced offensive approach with four players averaging double figure points. It’s a tough team with strong rebounding ability and capitalizes on second-chance opportunities. The Mountaineers average 11.1 offensive rebounds per game.
West Virginia relied on transition offense for a lot of its baskets. Maryland’s transition defense hasn’t been the best in recent weeks, most notably showing in its latest loss to Indiana.
Both teams bring in a lot of maturity. Maryland has a combination of returning upperclassmen and impactful transfers that helped Willard to a tournament appearance in his first year at the helm. All five of West Virginia’s starters are seniors, three of which joined the
team through the transfer portal in the offseason. Needless to say, there won’t be many rookie mistakes in this game.
Players to watch Erik Stevenson:
Stevenson is West Virginia’s leading scorer at 15.5 points per game, with many of his points coming beyond the arc. He’s shooting 43.8% from the field and 38.1% from 3-point range, making him a difficult guard to cover.
The fifth-year senior is coming off a poor offensive performance against Kansas — 13 points, 6 of 14 overall and 1 of 7 from 3-point range — in the Big 12 tournament. Stevenson did have a standout stretch of games in February, scoring 20 or more points against Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Iowa State and Kansas State.
Tre Mitchell: Mitchell is West Virginia’s second-leading scorer with 11.6 points per game and also leads the team with 5.5 rebounds per game. He’s a versatile forward who has shown a penchant for scoring inside and beyond the arc.
Behind enemy lines
The Terrapins are led by senior guard All-Big Ten second-team mention Jahmir Young. He transferred in this season but has stepped up as the team’s leading scorer averaging 16.1 points as well as 4.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
Maryland, similarly to West Virginia, has a lot of scoring options. The Terrapins have three additional players scoring 10 or more points — Hakim Hart, Donta Scott and Julian Reese, who average, 11.5, 11.5 and 11.2 points, respectively.
The Terrapins aren’t the best shooting team, connecting on just 44.9% of attempts overall and 33.0% from long range. But they are an elite rebounding team, averaging 33.8 rebounds per game, which could be helpful with West Virginia’s strong offensive rebounding efforts.