Porter Moser shares how Erik Stevenson caused Oklahoma problems

Oklahoma coach Porter Moser watched Saturday night as his team was helpless to stop West Virginia‘s Erik Stevenson. The Mountaineers guard torched the Sooners for a career-high 34 points as WVU cruised to a 93-61 victory in Morgantown.

It was the second time in the past week that Stevenson set his career best, as he scored 31 points in a victory against Auburn on Jan. 28. Speaking postgame, Moser explained what it is about the sharpshooter that makes him so difficult to guard.

“He works really hard without the ball,” the coach said. “He can shoot off the move. Some guys can’t shoot off the move. He can come flying around, catch, rise up and shoot off the move. Outstanding. He is strong. He has extreme confidence. We showed our guys the seven threes he hit against Auburn. We showed ’em how hard he works on the flex action against TCU. How he’d pop back. It wasn’t for a lack of not showing our guys everything he did.”

Even though Porter Moser felt like he prepared his team for Erik Stevenson, it didn’t matter. The guard scored 11 of the Mountaineers first 15 points, ending the first half with 23 as WVU took a commanding 56-30 lead into halftime.

Stevenson has been one of the best 3-point shooters in the Big 12 this season, and that was on display Saturday as he shot 6-of-11 on his long-range attempts. A transfer from South Carolina, he is having the best season of his career and leads West Virginia with 14.9 points per game.

“Going into (the game), he was a complete focus and there just was none on him,” Moser said of Stevenson. “I shouldn’t say that. You’ve got to give him a lot of credit, too. He can really shoot off the move. He works hard, he cuts hard. He has a beautiful high release on his shot that he can make contested shots. When he’s in a groove the way he’s in right now, he’s really hard to guard.”

The win improved West Virginia to 14-9 (3-7 Big 12), while Oklahoma fell to 14-9 (5-5). Stevenson and the Mountaineers will hope to keep their hot streak going when they next face Iowa State on Wednesday. As for the Sooners, they have now lost two straight and have a chance to snap out of their slump against Baylor on Wednesday.