According to West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins, his team's offensive effort against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the semifinal round of the Las Vegas Invitational was the best of the season.
As a result, starting point guard Joe Mazzulla had his finest effort of the year to date. Playing with the same aggressiveness and intensity that he displayed in last season's NCAA tournament win over Duke, Mazzulla finished with 13 points, three rebounds and six assists before fouling out late in the second half.
NET BURNERS
The Mountaineers were nothing short of dominant in the first half, especially on defense. West Virginia forced 17 Iowa turnovers in the opening frame, resulting in 29 of WVU's 48 first-half points.
For the game, the Mountaineers forced 21 turnovers, which turned to 33 points. WVU also showed great balance, with six players finishing with at least 10 points.
John Flowers provided a spark off the bench for West Virginia, finishing with 14 points on 7-8 shooting. Flowers also snared a game-high eight rebounds, including four off of the offensive glass.
It wasn't all great for Flowers, however, as the sophomore from Waldorf, Md. did not sink a single one of his seven free throws.
In his defense, Flowers wasn't alone in his woes from the charity stripe. After making 10-12 from the line in the first half, WVU was just 5-22 in the second half.
Afterward, Huggins noted that when great foul shooters such as Alex Ruoff and Josh Sowards miss free throws, you just have to chalk it up to being one of those nights.
"It's like a disease," Huggins shrugged.