MORGANTOWN - When folks argue that the Big 12 is the nation's best basketball conference, they probably won't point to No. 9 WVU's 70-55 win over Kansas State on Tuesday at the Coliseum.
The victorious Mountaineers, now a stellar 17-3 overall, shot but 42.6 percent from the floor - and took down the Wildcats by 15.
Kansas State was 1 of 18 (5.6 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc. WVU turned the Wildcats over 19 times.
Meanwhile, the Mountaineers hit but 19 of 32 free throws (59.4 percent) and turned the ball over 18 times themselves.
At times one felt bad for former WVU and state legend Willie Akers, who made the trip all the way from Logan to see, well, that.
Yet there were a few points of interest, and most had to do with West Virginia's post players. Cue Mountaineer assistant coach Erik Martin, whose job it is to work with them.
First, there's the good news for WVU. And his name is Jon Holton.
Yes, guard Jaysean Paige has been the surprising scoring leader so far this season. But if you follow WVU closely you can't help but notice the improvement of the 6-foot-7 senior forward. If Paige has been the team MVP, Holton is close behind.
On Tuesday, Holton once tried to whip a pass to a teammate that went out of bounds in the left corner. But on the next trip down, with WVU coach Bob Huggins still screaming at him, Holton split the lane via his dribble and laid the ball in to make it 55-40. On the next trip he earned two free throws and converted. He finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
"Jon always plays with energy," Martin said. "He's more determined. He's more determined now. And he's staying out of foul trouble. Jon can play a lot of minutes if he stays out of foul trouble."
Bingo. This season, Holton is averaging 2.65 fouls per game. And on a very deep team, he's averaging 23.2 minutes.
Check out Holton's stats. He's second in field goal percentage (54) to Elijah Macon (60). But Holton has taken 62 more shots than Macon. Holton is converting 73.6 percent of his free throws on a team struggling mightily there. He's only 14 rebounds behind team leader Devin Williams. And Holton has 22 steals.
"I don't like putting ceilings on our guys' talent level, but he's gotten better this year," Martin said. "His work ethic has improved. He's getting in [to practice] on days off and getting in shots."
The stats reflect it.
"He's high energy," Martin said. "He just has a knack for getting to the ball. We just have to work on finishing around the basket. That's with all of our big men, not just Jonathan."
Bringing us to Williams, WVU's leader who had just an awful night Tuesday. In the first minute alone, the 6-9 junior had a turnover, a blown defensive assignment and a travel. It didn't get much better. He finished with six turnovers and but six points.
"Here's the good and the bad about Devin Williams," Martin said. "He wants to do well so bad. Sometimes he wants it too bad. I'm like 'Dev, you're pressing. Let it come to you. Let it come to you.' And when in doubt, go get it off the glass. If we don't throw you the ball, go get it off the glass. Go get 10 rebounds.
"He can get 10, 12 points. Hugs and I have both told him, 'Dev, if you have any chance of making a living playing basketball, they're going to want you to rebound. They really don't want you shooting jumpers.'
"We're not saying he can't take those shots because he puts in the time. Hugs always says if you put in the time, you can take those shots. But if you don't get in the gym, you're not getting those shots.
"Dev lives in the gym. I just think he's pressing. I have no doubt he'll be ready for Saturday [at Florida]. I have no doubt he'll play well on Saturday."
That would certainly help in what will be a hostile environment. And a little shooting touch from Nate Adrian would help as well. On Tuesday, Adrian started for Esa Ahmad, who had a strained knee, and played well. Huggins called it the "best game of his career."
If not, it was close. Adrian hit a trey from the left corner to end a drought and put WVU up 44-34. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 2 of 2 from the 3-point line. He accounted for WVU's first five points.
"It gives you great confidence," Adrian said. "Anytime you make your first two then you're feeling it a little bit that night. It feels good."
"If you look at Nate's numbers, he's always played well when he starts," Martin said. "We have team players. When everyone is healthy, we don't need Nate to start. That's the beauty of having a team with depth.
"Esa [Ahmad] was a little banged up tonight, so Nate stepped up. Esa went through practice, but, at this point, he's young. If he was a junior or senior he might know how to push through it. He was real tender on [the knee], though, and we just decided to give him rest. Nate did a great job."
On Saturday, Martin will need all his big men to play well.
The good news for him: WVU hasn't played its best of late - and still stands at 17-3.