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3 Takeaways from WVU’s Win Over Stony Brook

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WVU Basketball Mountaineer Madness

West Virginia limped their way through their final game before Christmas break, defeating Stony Brook 75-64 on Thursday night. Let’s take a look at three takeaways from the game.

Team Played Terrible… And They’ll Admit it

Thursday’s game against Stony Brook was West Virginia’s most performance this season. You can make excuses for it being the final game before Christmas break and the guys ready to go home but the fact is they played terrible. It was the first time since last season that the team looked lackluster. Will that continue to be a trend? Probably not.

Following the game, veteran guards Erik Stevenson and Joe Toussaint both admitted the team played bad. Stevenson went as far as to say it was pathetic and with all due respect to Stony Brook, they should’ve won by 40. Toussaint promised that the team would be ready for the Big 12 opener against Kansas State.

West Virginia struggled to get their offense consistent. WVU shot 42 percent from the field and 42 percent from three but had a few scoring droughts. Kedrian Johnson, Stevenson, Toussaint and Seth Wilson did well on the offensive end but performed in spurts.

Emmitt Matthews’ Absence Playing Part in Struggles

Matthews has missed the last week of action with a left knee injury. The fifth-year senior suffered the injury against UAB on Dec. 10 and his absence is showing. Matthews is averaging 10.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists through 10 games.

It seems at times that Matthews is the player that keeps everyone in place. Stevenson is a vocal leader but Matthews knows the system the best on the team. WVU doesn’t look totally lost without Matthews but they aren’t at what they were before his injury.

WVU head coach Bob Huggins is preparing to get Matthews ready for the Kansas State game on New Year’s Eve.

Seth Wilson Deserves More Playing Time

Wilson has continued to be one of the in-house players showing development as a sophomore. Last season, the Ohio native showed a couple of signs as a true freshman but now Wilson is starting to really show his improvement.

Wilson is averaging 5.0 points on 39 percent shooting from the field and 45 percent from three. Wilson has doubled his average minutes per game from last year but Huggins thinks Wilson deserves more playing time.

Against Stony Brook, Wilson came off the bench and gave WVU another spark with 3-three’s in the second half. Wilson finished with nine points. Wilson will have a big game off the bench when it’s much needed.

With a deep backcourt, it’s tough to find more minutes for Wilson but maybe Huggins and the coaching staff can make it work.

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