West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Topper_Hopper]

Dragas, wow. Hope he can stay hot, especially heading to Vegas.

[Scrub]

That looked like WLU basketball for a nice stretch in the middle (end of the first half / beginning of the second). But the frigid start and end just about blew that one. Lucky to survive after going about 9 straight empty possessions down the stretch.

[boatcapt]

Well...10-0 is better than 9-1.

Showing some ability to shoot the 3 but way too streaky to say we are back to playing "Topper ball."

Very nervous about the next two in Vegas. IF we play the way we played at the end of the first/early in the second we should be OK...but will we????

[Columbuseer]

FYI

A Dummy’s Observations on WLU at WV State 12/14/24

WV State (WVSU) Game Plan
WVSU has a group of tall, talented, athletic 1-on-1 scorers. They had barely lost of Fairmont State 92-89.

The WVSU strategy seemed to be:

• PASSED – Play deliberately in the half court to slow the pace of the game. They often did not attempt to score
until 15 seconds or less remained on the shot clock.
• PASSED – Win the rebounding battle. WVSU outrebounded WLU 51 to 34.
• PASSED –Attack the rim on offense, both in half court and when breaking the press in transition.
• PASSED – Keep WLU off the offensive glass. WLU got a poor 15% of potential offensive rebounds.
• PASSED – Get as many FG attempts as WLU. WVSU got 73 FGA to 70 for WLU, which is a rare feat.
• PASSED – Draw fouls and get to the FT line. WVSU. WVSU shot 20-24 (83%), much above their average of
70%. Their ability to make free throws in the 2nd half kept them in the game.
• PASSED – Shoot at their average from three. WVSU shot 33% from three, above their average of 28%.
• FAILED – Defend the 3pt shot from WLU. WLU averaged 41% for both halves.
• FAILED – Take care of the ball and avoid getting sped up in their game. WVSU had 19 turnovers, which led to
22 WLU points.

Keys to the WLU 92-89 victory
WLU shooting was elite from three at over 41% in both halves. WLU’s offensive rating was 107, which was reduced by the poor rebounding and spate of turnovers late in the second half. (1.07 points per possession) compared to 103 for WVSU.

WLU showed that they have the versatility to win even when the opponent:
• Dominates WLU on the boards, and limits second shots by WLU
• Has more FG attempts than WLU
• Has a significant height and athletic advantage.

WLU offset these deficiencies by:

• Creating fatigue and turnovers due to lack of depth by WVSU, leading to 26 fast-break points. When WLU
went on their patented runs in the first half and in the second half, widening the lead to 17 points, WVSU was
clearly tired. The lead was 17 points with 8:30 left in the game, when WLU hit a very cold spell and committed
turnovers and fouls, which allowed WVSU to get back into the game.
• Tremendous effort and pressure on WVSU, forcing 19 WVSU turnovers, of which 6 were steals, resulting in 22
points from turnovers, compared to 18 for WVSU.
• Taking care of the basketball, committing only 8 turnovers, until the last 6:36 minutes of the game, when they
committed 5 more turnovers for the remainder of the game.
• Great interior passing, especially during their runs in the 1st and 2nd halves.
• Younger players showing more composure and better decision making. Tinsley played 31 minutes, establishing himself as first big man off the bench. Dragas scored 21 points in 21 minutes of play.
• Tinsley (2-6 33%), Harper (2-3 67%), Clanet (1-2 50%) and Dragas (5-7 71%) shot well.

Areas for Improvement for WLU
• They remain inconsistent, where they have not put a full game together.
• WLU has to remain focused and continue to play smart at high intensity late in the game with commanding
leads, and avoid fouls that put opponents on the FT line late in the game.

[Columbuseer]

FYI
wlu #3

https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...p-25-poll.aspx

[Topper_Hopper]

Is there a video feed for the games in Las Vegas?

[Scrub]

Is there a video feed for the games in Las Vegas?

It's pay per view . . . and I didn't pay. Glad to see the box score, though. Nice win for the Toppers. If anyone paid to watch, let us know how it looked.

[Topper_Hopper]

From looking at the box score, it seems that Free Throws and Turnovers were the difference.

Btw, is Shull hurt? I didn't see his name in the box score.

[Scrub]

From looking at the box score, it seems that Free Throws and Turnovers were the difference.

Btw, is Shull hurt? I didn't see his name in the box score.

In regard to Shull, I'm not sure. But I did notice that he didn't play yesterday.

Along the same lines of roster management, there are two other things to notice: 1. I also noticed that Kisner has logged a few minutes in the past two games. Not sure if that's due to limiting others' minutes due to injury or just an improvement to his own comfort-level in the system. 2. Jaylen Stewart--seemingly injured with a taped up knee at the beginning of the year--appears to have stopped attending games altogether. And due to the "coincidental" timing of his no longer attending games right around the time final exams wrapped up, I would wager a guess that Stewart is transferring mid-year. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he's not enrolled at WLU for the Spring semester.

[boatcapt]

From the Box Score...less than stellar first half...EXCELLENT second.

At least we are seeing periods of "Topper ball" in every game. That's an improvement from earlier in the season when we seemed to be winning on guts alone. Still a long way to go but at least it's trending in the right direction.

[Columbuseer]

In regard to Shull, I'm not sure. But I did notice that he didn't play yesterday.

Along the same lines of roster management, there are two other things to notice: 1. I also noticed that Kisner has logged a few minutes in the past two games. Not sure if that's due to limiting others' minutes due to injury or just an improvement to his own comfort-level in the system. 2. Jaylen Stewart--seemingly injured with a taped up knee at the beginning of the year--appears to have stopped attending games altogether. And due to the "coincidental" timing of his no longer attending games right around the time final exams wrapped up, I would wager a guess that Stewart is transferring mid-year. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he's not enrolled at WLU for the Spring semester.

No first hand knowledge, but after finals would be a good time for an injured player to have surgery, if it were needed.

[Columbuseer]

Fyi post game interview after school of mines game

https://youtu.be/0kekQJZ09yc?feature=shared

[boatcapt]

Well...Undefeated season is over. WLU 78 Missouri S&T 89.

We lost in almost every statistical category. After taking a one point lead with about 6 to play, we got obliterated down the stretch. Looks like we got schooled inside and had no answers for Young.

We have 18 days off to figure it out before playing Frostburg then followed by TOUGH Fairmont.

[Columbuseer]

FYI

Select top 50 National Ranking as of Thursday Dec 19 - West Liberty

3rd - Assists per game 21.6
6th - 3pt attempts per game 32.4
6th – Assist to Turnover Ratio 1.85
7th – Scoring Offense 95.1
8th – Fast Break Points 22.40

10th – Turnover Margin 6.9
20th – Turnovers forced per game 18.6
20th – 3pt made per game 10.4
34th – Scoring Margin 11
42nd – Steals 9.5

Individuals in top 100

13th - Assist to Turnover Ratio - Dante Spadafora 3.44
62nd - Assist to Turnover Ratio - Finley Woodward 2.27
68th - Steals per game - Kyler D'Augustino 2.10
74th - fg % - JJ Harper 55.66

[Columbuseer]

Looking at wlu roster, it looks like Andrew Shull is no longer there.
After injuries and redshirts, only 10 players are active.