Bob Huggins shares key to beating Maryland

In the opening round of the men’s NCAA tournament West Virginia will take on the Big Ten’s Maryland Terrapins. And Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins has a game plan that guarantees his squad victory on Thursday. In a recent press conference, Huggins revealed his major keys to beating Maryland.

“Make shots. They are — from everything I’ve watched, they do a great job of spreading and make shots. We have to make shots. If we make shots obviously we will be fine,” said Huggins.

A simple plan? Yes. But it can be challenging to execute. Maryland’s defense has been stingy, suffocating opposing offenses. On the season, the Terrapins have allowed an average of 63.2 points per game. Percentage-wise opposing teams are shooting just under 43 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from beyond the arc. And all of those averages are lower than West Virginia’s season averages.

Huggins’ Mountaineers do have shotmakers on their team that will give the Terrapins defense fits. Expect star guard Erik Stevenson and forward Tre Mitchell to be big contributors in West Virginia’s offense against Maryland on Thursday. Mitchell is averaging 11.6 points per game while shooting just over 47 percent from the field. At the same time, Stevenson is the teams leading score on the season, averaging 15.5 points per game.

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Huggins addresses if West Virginia’s approach to tournament changes as 9-seed

West Virginia earned a bid to participate in this year’s NCAA men’s tournament after a hard-fought year in the Big 12. Head coach Bob Huggins has been in his fair share of tournaments, and this time around, his team enters as a 9-seed. But does the seating make a difference in his approach? According to Huggins, the seating doesn’t make a difference; it’s the team’s desire to win.

“As I recall, my first NCAA tournament was at Akron. We played Michigan, and that was the Fab 5. That was the biggest frontline in college basketball,” said Huggins. “And we took him to the buzzer with the team that had three football players; I had a point guard who weighed about 135 pounds but was very good. But they played, competed, and they wanted to win. I think this team will. I think a lot of people wrote this team off a long time ago, but those people didn’t see the transformation in those guys in terms of their want to win. They’re playing together, looking out more for each other. I mean, I thought they really came together.”

West Virginia has fought all season valiantly. And had they not called the toughest conference in college basketball home, call the Mountaineers season live differently. Seven of West Virginia’s losses on the season came against the likes of Kansas and Baylor; all three of which are believed to be strong title contenders this season. Still, West Virginia was able to rattle off a 19-14 record. Huggins Mountaineers had it tough but fought all season long. And the West Virginia head man doesn’t expect that to change in the tournament.