Two stripped-down rosters. Two teams languishing at the bottom of the conference. Yet whenever Derek Culver and Yor Anei scrapped in the lane Saturday, both programs could dream of wait-until-next-year.
“I think you saw a battle of the future of our league,” said Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton.
Despite Culver producing 16 points and 21 rebounds, Anei’s 16 points and eight blocks proved just as pivotal to the Cowboys winning the regular-season finale 85-77 in Stillwater, Okla.
The 6-foot-10 Anei set a Cowboys freshman single-game record for blocks.
“We had probably 12 points that he took away from us,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins.