Following arguably their best game of the season, West Virginia might have turned in their worst on Tuesday night against Arizona State.
The Mountaineer went almost 10 minutes of game time stretching between the end of the first half and the start of the second half without a made basket. That would be the trend for West Virginia as their offense slowed and Arizona took advantage, handing No. 23 WVU a 65-57 loss at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers shot 31 percent from the field, going 4-for-29 from beyond the arc, while they turned the ball over six times. It was WVU's worst performance from both the field and from three this season.
It was probably a sign that it was going to be one of those nights for West Virginia (13-5, 4-3 Big 12) as they did not make a basket until the 16:16 mark of the first half as the Mountaineers missed their first six field goals. Arizona State (11-7, 2-5 Big 12) ed 10-2, before West Virginia went on a 15-1 run, taking a 17-11 lead with 8:27 to play in the first half.
The only offense that would be easy for the Mountaineers would be their success at forcing turnovers. WVU forced nine turnovers in the first half, leading to 19 points, while they shot 28 percent from the field yet only trailed 24-23 at the break.
To start the second half West Virginia couldn’t do anything to buy a bucket. They scored the first six points of the half at the free throw line as they missed their first six shots of the second half.
Arizona State extended their halftime lead to 10 points with 16:37 to play as they went on a 9-0 run to open the half and forced West Virginia to use two timeouts early on.
West Virginia’s first basket of the second half came at the 12:52 mark, as Eduardo Andre made a layup, trying to ignite life into their offense as well as the home crowd.
That would help some but it would not be enough. WVU cut the Arizona State lead to six at multiple points, but could not get any closer. Arizona State would extend their lead back to double digits, leading by 11 with 6:07 to play.
Still trailing and struggling from the field, West Virginia seemed to have one final run in them, until they didn't.
WVU trailed by seven and forced another turnover in the backcourt. Javon Small then had the ball in his hands, but turned it over, leading to an easy outlet for the Sun Devils, who extended their lead to nine with 4:32 to play.
Small would struggle the most he had all season. After scoring 27 points in a win over No. 2 Iowa State on Saturday, Small did not record a field goal until the 8:55 mark of the second half. Small finished the game with 14 points, going 2-for-11 percent from the field, but 10 of his points came from the free throw line.
West Virginia cut the Arizona State lead to four with 2:32 to play, but Arizona State would answer, just like they had all night. The Sun Devils scored 36 points in the paint, none bigger than a dunk and layup from Jay Quaintance to keep Arizona State comfortably in front in the closing minutes.
Quaintance was a big reason for Arizona State's lead on the boards. The Mountaineers were out-rebounded 46-28, as Quaintance had 12 of them.
Arizona State broke multiple losing streaks on Tuesday, breaking a seven-game losing streak as well as a four-game losing streak in Big 12 play.
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