Takeaways: WVU Basketball Still Working Against Limited Rotation

WVU basketball has improved to 2-0 despite only having only eight players take the court in both games. This is a result of fifth-year guard Chance Moore missing the first five games due to the NCAA transfer rules and senior forward Jackson Fields being out with an injury.

Here are some takeaways from WVU’s 73-65 win over Campbell.

Balanced Scoring

While senior guard Honor Huff led the way with 23 points on 5-10 shooting, four other Mountaineers finished in with double-digits. Senior forward Brenen Lorient, senior center Harlan Obioha and senior guard Treysen Eaglestaff had 12 while freshman forward  DJ Thomas added 10 points.

Eaglestaff provided a scoring spark that was missed in the team’s opening win, as he only scored one point.

The team’s performance took pressure off of senior guard Jasper Floyd, who had 25 points in the team’s opening game. With a limited rotation of players, scoring depth has become all the more important for WVU’s success.

Rebound Struggles Continue

While the deficit was smaller than the game against Mount St. Mary’s, WVU once again out rebounded against Campbell, 40-36. The Mountaineers allowed 15 rebounds to sophomore guard Chris Fields Jr. of the Camels.

WVU gave up 14 offensive rebounds, which led to 13 second chance points for Campbell.

Obioha found himself in foul trouble again, limiting his availability in the later stages of the game. Lorient managed to grab nine boards while Eaglestaff had an additional six alongside Obioha.

The absence of Fields and Moore is felt in the rebounding phase of the team as well. Moore averaged 6.5 rebounds per game last year at St. Bonaventure while Fields averaged 4.8. The return of those two could see a change in WVU’s rebounding efforts.

DJ Thomas Rises to the Occasion

Thomas was a key rotational piece in the win, stepping up as a freshman in the front court. He contributed at crucial times, scoring the team’s first three-pointer of the night and extending WVU’s lead in the second half with a second chance layup.

Head coach Ross Hodge mentioned the moment in the postgame press conference, offering high praise for Thomas.

“DJ has such a calm demeanor and he’s not really rattled and, like I said that was a huge play and I think we, I think they maybe cut it to four and we were sputtering a little bit and we were pressing and missing easy shots and he went and got that rebound and stuck it back in. I thought that was a big play, man. Probably the play of the game,” Hodge said.

WVU basketball will take the court again at 3 p.m. Sunday when it hosts Lehigh at the Hope Coliseum.

Find more coverage of WVU basketball at WV Sports Now.