West Virginia ranks fifth nationally in scoring offense at 91.8 points per game, but the Mountaineers get there in a very different way than the rest of the teams in the top 10.
In a season where Kentucky's Malik Monk exploded for 47 points against North Carolina and Central Michigan's Marcus Keene is flirting with the first 30-point season scoring average since Long Island's Charles Jones in 1996-97, West Virginia is bucking the trend of needing a big scorer.
The Mountaineers are all about balance.
Their leading scorer, Esa Ahmad, averages just 12.6 points and he never has scored more than 19 points in a game this season.
Daxter Miles (10.7), Nathan Adrian (10.4), and Jevon Carter (10.2) round out their scorers averaging double figures.
West Virginia's 92-75 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday marked the third straight year it has had a 12-1 record to start the season.
Can the Mountaineers continue to win big without a bona fide scorer?
Or is balance overrated?
Why it's working
Part of the reason for the Mountaineers' balanced scoring has to do with their "Press Virginia" style of play.
It wasn't too long ago that Bob Huggins' team was very much known for trudging through the shot clock in its half-court offense. On the Mountaineers' 2010 Final Four team, its average possession length of 19.5 seconds ranked 311th nationally according to KenPom.
Thanks in part to the turnovers they're forcing, the Mountaineers play much faster now. Their average possession time on offense is down to 16.5 seconds and they rank just a step behind Kansas and TCU in tempo.
West Virginia averages 32.6 points off turnovers, which accounts for 35.5 percent of its overall scoring. That means about a third of the time, it has opportunities to score to where it doesn't have to set up and run a play on offense. As a byproduct, that has eliminated the need of focusing on having a go-to scorer.
There have been snapshots of players with that potential. Ahmad erupted for 17 points in the second half of an 81-77 loss to Temple. Miles, their only player to reach 20 this season, might be their most versatile scorer. Against VMI he made five 3-pointers and punished Oklahoma State for a career-high 22 by shooting 8-for-12 inside the arc.
When West Virginia does have to run its offense, the ball keeps moving. It is telling that reserve forward Sagaba Konate touches the ball on a higher percentage of possessions when he's in the lineup than any of the starters.
The Mountaineers also rank fifth nationally with 18.9 assists per game and they really don't mind who gets to shine.
In snapping Virginia's 24-game home win streak, freshman Lamont West came off the bench for two key 3-pointers and finished with eight points in only nine minutes of play.
The case against balance
Of the past 10 national champions, only three teams cut down the nets with a leading scorer who averaged less than 15 points per game. The good news for West Virginia is it has been done before, but what it can't replicate is the talent level of those previous teams.
Kentucky had five starters average between 10 and 14 points on its 2012 national title team. The Wildcats were led by Anthony Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft that year, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was No. 2 and the other three players (Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, Marquis Teague) in double figures were all drafted.
Kansas in 2008 had a similar talent-packed lineup with four double-figures scorers led by Brandon Rush's 13.3 points per game. Rush was a lottery pick in 2008, Darrell Arthur, who averaged 12.8 points, was a first-rounder and both Mario Chalmers and Darnell Jackson went in the second round.
The second of Florida's back-to-back titles in 2007, it had five players average between 10 and 13 points. But the Gators also had three NBA lottery picks in Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah.
Even the greatest scoring team in West Virginia history, the one whose record it's currently on pace to beat, had the NBA logo on its team. Jerry West led the Mountaineers during the 1959-60 season to average 89.5 points per game.
When the turnovers aren't leading to easy baskets, who among the Mountaineers is most likely to score?
In their lone loss of the season to Temple, the question was left unanswered when they forced only eight turnovers in the first half and fell behind by 20 points in shooting just 32 percent from the field.
What West Virginia doesn't want this season is to be in a situation like the 2015 Sweet 16.
The Mountaineers were the top-ranked team in turnover percentage that season, too. When Kentucky had only 10 turnovers in their NCAA tournament matchup, the Mountaineers couldn't score. The 72-39 loss was their lowest scoring output since a 62-39 loss to Cincinnati on Jan. 30, 2008.
Championship balance
2017 West Virginia Mountaineers
Esa Ahmad 12.6 PPG
Daxter Miles 10.7 PPG
Nathan Adrian 10.4 PPG
Jevon Carter 10.2 PPG
2012 Kentucky Wildcats
Anthony Davis 14.2 PPG
Doron Lamb 13.7 PPG
Terrence Jones 12.3 PPG
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 11.9 PPG
Marquis Teague 10.0 PPG
2008 Kansas Jayhawks
Brandon Rush 13.3 PPG
Mario Chalmers 12.8 PPG
Darrell Arthur 12.8 PPG
Darnell Jackson 11.2 PPG
2007 Florida Gators
Taurean Green 13.3 PPG
Al Horford 13.2 PPG
Corey Brewer 13.2 PPG
Joakim Noah 12.0 PPG
Lee Humphrey 10.3 PPG