March Madness: West Virginia Defeats Morehead State in Round of 64

West Virginia and Bob Huggins take care of Morehead State to advance to the round of 32.

West Virginia pulled away from Morehead State in the second half to win 84-67 and give Bob Huggins his 900th career victory. Morehead State hung around and challenged the Mountaineers but ultimately, Miles McBride and the Mountaineers were too much for the Eagles.

Miles McBride led all scorers in the game with 30 points six rebounds, and six assists. McBride shot 11-of-17 from the field in arguably one of his best games of the season. Jalen Bridges finished with 15 points for the Mountaineers and Sean McNeil added 13 points. Derek Culver added 12 points after a slow first half.

Morehead State was outmanned in this contest but gave everything they had to walk off the courts with their heads held high. DeVon Cooper led all Eagles with 21 points. Skyelar Potter finished with 18 points and Johni Broome added 10 points despite being riddled with foul trouble.

Controlling the Pace

West Virginia likes to play fast and they did just that tonight as they defeated Morehead State. Pushing the tempo and forcing turnovers led to West Virginia getting easy baskets in transition which was ultimately too much for Morehead State. Entering the game Morehead State was holding its opponents to under 65 points per game, but because of the up-tempo game and the plethora of opportunities for West Virginia, the outcome for Morehead State seemed inevitable. Morehead State remained in reach but with foul trouble and the pace of the game couldn’t put together one final run to pull off the upset.

Getting to the Line

A key factor entering the game was if Morehead State could defend without fouling. West Virginia makes the referees apart of the game and gets to the foul line 17 times a game. Morehead State has had a successful season when they defended well and only allowed their opponents to shoot about nine free throws a game. West Virginia forced the issue against the Eagles and got to the foul line. The Mountaineers took 15 free throws and converted at the line making 11 of those 15. West Virginia was also able to defend Morehead State without fouling sending the eagles to the line only seven times in the game.

Miles “Deuce” McBride

It was a special night for West Virginia and Miles McBride showed he was still a baller. McBride finished with 30 points in Bob Huggins 900th career victory. McBride can do it from everywhere. He got deflections on defense, shot the ball from deep, pilled up for the mid-range jumper, and got to the rim. This is nothing new for McBride but for him to have this type of performance on the biggest stage in college basketball shows everyone once more just how special this man can be.

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