Honor Huff led West Virginia to an 89-82 overtime win against Oklahoma in the championship game of the College Basketball Crown at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 5. The senior guard scored a career-high 38 points and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Huff made nine of his nineteen shots from the field, including eight three-pointers, and converted all twelve free throw attempts. His performance surpassed Frank Young’s previous school record for three-pointers in a season with a total of 120. Young set his mark during West Virginia’s National Invitation Tournament championship run in 2007.
Reflecting on his team’s journey, Huff said afterward, “I am forever indebted to this group. We have the most camaraderie this year of any place I’ve ever been.”
The game saw several lead changes. West Virginia took an early fifteen-point advantage before Oklahoma rallied to lead by thirteen points with just over fourteen minutes left in regulation. The Mountaineers came back from seven down late to force overtime after Huff scored five straight points near the end of regulation.
In overtime, Oklahoma started strong but did not score again after leading by six with just over three minutes remaining. Key plays included Jasper Floyd and Huff making crucial three-pointers and Brenen Lorient blocking Nigel Pack’s layup attempt for Oklahoma.
Coach Ross Hodge praised his team’s resilience: “What this team has done, whether being down or having a tough loss, they’ve always found a way to fight back and they’re special,” Hodge said.
Chance Moore contributed nineteen points off the bench along with ten rebounds for West Virginia. Lorient added fifteen points and eight rebounds in his final game for the Mountaineers.
Oklahoma shot fifty-three percent from the field but struggled during overtime, converting only two out of eight attempts. Davis led Oklahoma with nineteen points while Brown added thirteen.
West Virginia capitalized at the free throw line and turned turnovers into twenty-six points compared to eleven for Oklahoma. The Mountaineers finished their first season under Coach Hodge with a record of twenty-one wins and fourteen losses after having four different coaches over four years.
Last year’s inaugural champion Nebraska reached this season’s NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen following its tournament victory last year. Players from this year’s winning team will share $300,000 in name-image-likeness money.
