WVU HC Bob Huggins in Win Over Iowa State: ‘Great Team Effort’

West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins was very happy with his team’s 72-69 win over Iowa State on the road on Monday night.

Huggins gave credit to many Mountaineers, including Joe Toussaint, Emmitt Matthews, Kobe Johnson and Seth Wilson.

“A great team effort,” Huggins told Tony Caridi on the radio. “I tell you what, Joe Toussaint was really, really good. I think Joe turned the game around for us.”

Toussaint finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The senior guard shot 4-of-6 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Toussaint’s performance came off a criticized final play against Kansas on Saturday, where the Iowa transfer traveled in the final seconds. Toussaint certainly made up for his play against ISU.

Behind Toussaint and Matthews, this team turned the game around with a 12-5 run in the final four minutes. Iowa State went three minutes without a single point.

“We went small. Offensively, I think that helped us. Kobe Johnson was terrific defensively,” Huggins said.

Johnson came into the game mid-way through the second half and gave Iowa State problems on the perimeter. The sophomore guard played 12 minutes and recorded three points and three rebounds.

Huggins sees this team improving at the right time, especially on the defensive end.

“I think we’re growing. Defensively is where we’ve made improvement,” Huggins said.

West Virginia will host No. 11 Kansas State on Saturday afternoon for Senior Day. WVU is currently 17-13 and is listed as one of the last four teams in Joe Lunardi’s field before Monday’s game. The Mountaineers should be comfortable but could use another win to solidify their NCAA Tournament hopes.

“We get that one [versus K-State], we’ll be in good shape,” Huggins said.