West Virginia’s ball pressure made it tough for Utah to get into its actions constantly and forced the Utes into some tough shots. Utah shot just 41.1% from the field and 26.1% from 3, and while the Utes turned the ball over just 10 times compared to 15 earlier this week against Colorado, those turnovers led to 16 West Virginia points.

Saturday evening, the West Virginia Mountaineers got back in the win column with a 72-61 victory over the Utah Utes, lifting their record back up to .500 in Big 12 Conference play. Here are a few of my initial thoughts from today's game.

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West Virginia still has a lot of work to do before it can feel really good about its NCAA Tournament chances, but through the first 23 games of the season, they've put themselves in a good spot sitting at 15-8 and 6-6 in Big 12 Conference play.

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West Virginia (14-8, 5-6) returns home to the WVU Coliseum to square off with the Utah Utes (13-9, 5-6) Saturday evening for the annual 'Coal Rush' game. DeVrie

More exclusive images from West Virginia's 72-61 win over Utah at the WVU Coliseum. WVU took control of the contest with a 12-3 run over the final

West Virginia sophomore forward Amani Hansberry led all scorers with 17 points and senior guard Javon Small and Joseph Yesufu put in 14 points