No Doubt West Virginia Is for Real as Slump Ends with Another Big Win vs. Kansas

Bob Huggins and his Press Virginia Mountaineers are more than just a gimmick.

Three times this season, No. 18 West Virginia has played teams currently ranked in the Top 12—top nine if you prefer computers and KenPom.com—and each time West Virginia has won.

The latest took place Tuesday night in Morgantown as No. 2 Kansas walked in with its glitzy 18-game winning streak and left with an 85-69 loss.

The last week—and a two-game losing streak—had given reason to doubt the Mountaineers.

In some ways, the system that Huggins adopted three years ago is a gimmick. The Mountaineers press for 40 minutes and try to wear opponents down with their pressure and depth.

It's a style that can be an equalizer against more talented rosters, such as Kansas'. Huggs finds guys who will win with effort and toughness, and pressing for 40 minutes is just one way to encourage such principles.

But eventually gimmicks get figured out, and West Virginia is experiencing some of that right now in the Big 12.

Over the last three games, opponents are turning the ball over on only 18.6 percent of their possessions. That's below the national average (18.9) and well below WVU's season-long average (30.6), according to KenPom.com.

But here's the difference between this team and the last two years: It is effective and efficient on both ends.

	AdjO	Rank	AdjD	Rank
2014-15	110.5	45	92.8	29
2015-16	114.2	27	89.8	6
2016-17	121.7	6	91.0	9

Even with the back-to-back losses, the advanced numbers love the Mountaineers. They were ranked fourth on KenPom.com going into Tuesday's game and climbed to third with the win.

And they didn't out-gimmick the Jayhawks. They lined up and beat them at their own game.

The success of Kansas—12 straight Big 12 titles and counting—is usually built on great offenses and great defenses.

But the Jayhawks have slipped mightily on the defensive end this year, so much so that head coach Bill Self went to a zone defense for much of the second half on Tuesday night. It was the second game he'd done so this season—the other being a win over Georgia back in November.

And Self hates zone defenses. He's played more possessions of 2-3 zone in two games this year than I've seen in the other 13 years of his Kansas tenure combined. 

For some reason, these Jayhawks—who ranked third in adjusted defensive efficiency last season and landed Scout's top-ranked recruit with a reputation as a lockdown defender—have slipped to 38th this season, per KenPom.com. They simply cannot guard...and sometimes the effort just isn't there. 

KU's offense and Allen Fieldhouse could still be enough to win the Big 12. But it'll be worrisome come March when executing on both ends wins out.

That's why it might be a good time to buy stock in West Virginia.

This night was about half-court execution and effort. West Virginia's press did not matter. It didn't really even bug Kansas. The Mountaineers got the shots they wanted, hit the boards when they missed (13 offensive rebounds) and contained KU in the half court.

That's classic Huggs.

A Bob Huggins team is scared to make mistakes, and it rarely does—you do not want to upset Huggy Bear. It crashes the glass harder than anyone else and defends.

The only difference with the current era is Huggins has extended his pressure defense to 94 feet.

Justin Berl/Getty Images

The trap the Mountaineers had fallen in lately, particularly in a surprising overtime loss to Oklahoma, was they let their energy slip when the turnovers didn't happen.

That's why Tuesday's win was so significant. Their energy did not suffer when Kansas beat the press.

So maybe it's time to start talking about West Virginia as more than just a gimmick.

Press Virginia is not going away. The Mountaineers are still going to have nights when they make guards tremble and big men fumble and the turnovers pile up (see: Jan. 10 beatdown of Baylor).

Only now they have confidence that the old-school Huggs formula works just as well even when they're unable to force endless turnovers.

This is one they should store in the memory bank for March in case they meet another team like Kansas with the guards equipped to handle pressure.

Should they abandon the press then?

No. But it's not always the reason why they win.

C.J. Moore covers college basketball and football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @CJMooreBR.