PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - Darryl Bryant returned to form and so too did West Virginia.
Bryant scored 29 points as the Mountaineers easily defeated Rutgers 85-64 on Wednesday night for their seventh straight win in the series. .
Bryant shot just 3 of 16 in a loss to Seton Hall on Friday and his 11 points were six below his average of 17.2 points per game.
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West Virginia's Kevin Jones, right, tries to grab the ball in front of Rutgers’ Austin Johnson.
Against the Scarlet Knights the senior guard made 7 of 13 and 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
"I couldn't get a look the other night," Bryant said. "I just had 34 against Villanova the game before, so they knew not to give me a look. Every open look I got, I didn't make it.
"I think (the Seton Hall loss) was just a lack of focus by our whole team, and especially me coming out not ready to play. Tonight, we came out ready to play."
Fact Box
WEST VIRGINIA 85, RUTGERS 64
WEST VIRGINIA (11-4)
Jones 5-9 4-4 14, Kilicli 5-6 6-12 16, Miles 0-0 0-0 0, Hinds 2-5 6-6 11, Bryant 7-13 11-13 29, Rutledge 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 4-5 1-2 11, Browne 2-5 0-0 4, McCune 0-1 0-0 0, Williamson 0-0 0-0 0, Noreen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-44 28-37 85.
RUTGERS (8-7)
Randall 1-1 0-2 2, Biruta 3-5 2-6 8, Seagears 4-9 0-0 10, Carter 6-14 5-7 19, Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Mack 1-4 3-5 5, Poole 4-9 0-0 8, Johnson 3-3 0-1 6, Jack 1-2 0-0 2, Rigoglioso 0-0 0-0 0, Kone 1-1 2-4 4, Lewis 0-1 0-0 0, Kuhn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-52 12-25 64.
Halftime-West Virginia 51-26. 3-Point Goals-West Virginia 7-13 (Bryant 4-5, Brown 2-2, Hinds 1-3, McCune 0-1, Browne 0-1, Jones 0-1), Rutgers 4-16 (Seagears 2-4, Carter 2-7, Miller 0-1, Mack 0-2, Biruta 0-2). Fouled Out-Seagears. Rebounds-West Virginia 34 (Jones 14), Rutgers 25 (Biruta, Carter, Seagears 4). Assists-West Virginia 17 (Hinds 7), Rutgers 13 (Carter 4). Total Fouls-West Virginia 20, Rutgers 31. Technical-Miles. A-4,815.
Bryant, who had 16 points in the decisive first half, hopes he can start stringing together some solid efforts.
"Consistency (in scoring) is definitely something I'm striving for because that's something my team needs me to do," he said. "If my team didn't need it, I wouldn't be striving for it, but they need me to score."
Recovering from a sprained ankle in the second half against Seton Hall, Big East leading scorer and rebounder Kevin Jones had his 10th double-double of the season with 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Mountaineers (11-4, 2-1 Big East) in the win against Rutgers.
"We held him for two days which is kind of unusual for us, and he went yesterday," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "I thought he was fine. He made some big shots for us on the baseline."
Deniz Kilicli added 16 points, and Jabarie Hinds and Aaron Brown had 11 each as West Virginia shot 25-for-44 (56.8 percent) and made 7 of 13 from 3-point range.
Eli Carter had 19 and Jerome Seagears added 10 for the Scarlet Knights (8-7, 0-2), who lost their second straight since upsetting then-No. 10 Florida.
When asked how far off the Florida win felt, Rutgers coach Mike Rice had a one-word reply.
"Far."
With the game tied at 13-13, the Mountaineers scored nine straight en route to a 15-1 run that opened a 28-14 advantage. West Virginia never led by less than double figures after that and its largest lead was 51-24.
In a half that featured a combined 30 fouls and 41 free throws by both teams, Rutgers impeded itself by making just 12 of 23 (35.3 percent) from the foul line.
