The NCAA Tournament hopes of the West Virginia Mountaineers couldn't afford a loss to a team as woeful as the DePaul Blue Demons, so it should come as no surprise that Bob Huggins' crew took care of business in a 92-75 win. The victory brings the Mountaineers to 18-12 overall and 8-9 in the Big East, while DePaul falls to 11-18, 2-15.
Guard Darryl Bryant and forward Kevin Jones handled much of the scoring load for West Virginia. Bryant went 7-of-13 from the field and 12-of-15 from the foul line to finish with a game-high 28 points. Jones' performance may have been even more impressive: 22 points and 16 rebounds on 9-of-17 shooting.
Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young each scored 21 points for the Blue Demons. Forward Moses Morgan added 15 points for DePaul off the bench.
West Virginia out-rebounded DePaul 43-24 on the night.
The Blue Demons are in West Virginia trying to snap an 0-for-February streak, but so far the Mountaineers have had the upper hand, and WVU holds a 47-31 lead at the break. It's a critical game for West Virginia's NCAA tournament prospects, and the team is playing like it so far.
Brandon Young and Cleveland Melvin are in double figures for DePaul with 13 points and 11 points, respectively. DePaul shot just 34.4% from the field in the half.
Darryl Bryant leads WVU with 15 points, and Kevin Jones has 13. The Mountaineers shot 46.9% in the half, including a 4-6 effort from beyond the arc.
