MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -Bob Huggins has his first signature victory at West Virginia.
Alex Ruoff hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points to lead the Mountaineers to a 79-64 rout of No. 10 Marquette, giving Huggins his 601st career win in his first season since returning to his alma mater.
Joe Alexander added 19 points and Da’Sean Butler hit three 3s and had 13 points for West Virginia, which cruised to a 10-1 start before dropping a pair of games to Oklahoma and Notre Dame. The losses seemed to give credence to Huggins’ claim that the hot start was merely “fool’s gold.”
Nothing looked foolish about West Virginia’s 13th straight home win, and sixth straight in Big East openers. It was West Virginia’s first victory over a top-10 team since beating No. 2 UCLA, 70-65, last Feb. 10.
The Mountaineers, employing a seldom-used 1-3-1 zone defense most of the game, surprised Marquette and coach Tom Crean, who appeared to be expecting Huggins’ trademark, physical man-to-man defense.
Lazar Hayward and Wesley Matthews scored 13 each to lead Marquette (11-2, 1-1), which had won seven straight since a four-point loss to No. 9 Duke in late November. But the Golden Eagles’ sensation backcourt of Jerel McNeal and Dominic James was held to a combined 20 points on just 8-of-20 shooting, and 2-of-8 from beyond the arc.
Huggins’ defensive gameplan created 14 turnovers, nine of them coming in the first nine minutes, as West Virginia sprinted to a 21-11 lead.
Marquette got within 29-28 at the break, then used an 8-0 run capped by Hayward’s two free throws with 14:50 left to take a 43-40 lead. But West Virginia immediately answered with 11 of the next 13 points, taking control of the game with about 10 minutes to go.
The Mountaineers were 22-of-29 on foul shots, and made 13 straight over the final 1:51 to seal the win. Darris Nichols scored six of his 12 points from the line during that stretch.
The more physical Mountaineers also had a healthy rebounding advantage (38-26), taking advantage of the three- and sometimes four-guard offense that Marquette employs.
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