West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins has not been all too pleased with his Mountaineers this season. Earlier this week, Huggins sounded off on his team, expressing an apologetic voice to their fans for their poor play and start to the season.
Well, maybe that message was received by the Mountaineers because on Wednesday night, West Virginia rode a career game from freshman guard Eron Harris en route to a 21-point victory over TCU.
Harris, who entered the contest averaging 6.4 points per game, finished Wednesday night with 19 points. Jabarie Hinds (10 points) and Deniz Kilicli (11 points) joined him in double figures while Huggins’ bench provided the team with 29 total points.
A strong balance throughout the game kept the Mountaineers in front of a struggling TCU team in a game that marked the first of two such match-ups between the Big 12 Conference‘s newcomers.
While the win on Wednesday night certainly isn’t a resume-boosting victory of any kind for the Mountaineers, we will find out soon enough if it could potentially mark a turnaround. At 9-9 on the season and 2-3 within the Big 12, West Virginia faces the increasing pressure to win and win in bunches as conference play progresses.
The victory over TCU snapped a three-game losing streak while a trip to Oklahoma State is up next on the docket. A road win this weekend would be crucial, especially with Kansas coming to Morgantown next Monday.
Huggins knows his team has issues, but most of them were hidden by the fact that they built up and blow out the Horned Frogs early.
Tip-off between West Virginia and Oklahoma State this Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m. Eastern.
Follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS