Bob Huggins shares how West Virginia battled through Erik Stevenson injury

West Virginia got a real scare on Wednesday night when an Erik Stevenson injury briefly sidelined the team’s leading scorer.

Stevenson hit the deck hard while trying to take a charge late in the first half against Iowa State. He was immediately taken into the locker room to be evaluated. But the Mountaineers managed to get by just fine in his absence.

“Well we’ve got good players,” coach Bob Huggins said. “I thought (Kedrian Johnson) played really well. Joe (Toussaint) came in and played really well. Our frontline I thought was good.”

Stevenson would return to the game in the second half, and he didn’t appear to be overly limited. West Virginia just kept on trucking, piling up more and more momentum as the team heats up during a pivotal stretch in conference play. Huggins saw the team just leaning on its stars.

“That three-headed monster, you know,” Huggins said. “Put that in and we’ve got a couple shot-blockers and then Jimmy (Bell) can score it pretty good. James (Okonkwo), for that matter, can score it as well.

“Got to play the cards that are dealt you.”

Another hand, another win for West Virginia, with the Erik Stevenson injury ending up inconsequential.

West Virginia has started making shots

West Virginia has won four of its last five games and is positioning itself well for an NCAA Tournament bid in the process. But what has led to West Virginia’s recent turnaround? For Huggins, it’s pretty straightforward.

“We didn’t make shots. We had one- and two-footers and we didn’t make them,” Huggins said, highlighting some missed opportunities earlier in the season. “We had two or three chances where all we had to do was make a free throw and we win, and we didn’t. We not just missed one but missed several that would have won the game for us. We shot ourselves in the foot.”

In the most recent five-game stretch there’s been an obvious pattern from beyond the 3-point line, at least. The Mountaineers hit at least eight 3-pointers in each of the last four wins, while the lone loss in that stretch saw West Virginia make only six 3-pointers.

Sometimes it is just that simple. West Virginia’s turnaround is, anyway.