Road doesn't get any easier for WVU moving ahead
After going from dismantling a top-ranked Baylor team a week ago to struggling against two below .500 teams and then falling to Oklahoma after holding a 15-point lead in the second half, some may be wondering what is wrong with West Virginia.
The problem with the Mountaineers this season has been generating some consistency. West Virginia exposed Baylor and Press Virginia forced 29 turnovers. Against Oklahoma, the Mountaineers lost the turnover battle and only forced 13 of them.
“We have 13 turnovers, they have 12, we’re not going to win,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said. “32 percent of our offense comes from our defense.”
One thing that sticks out most from West Virginia’s past two games against Texas and Oklahoma is that these two teams are the least-experienced teams in the Big 12. For a top-10 team to perform like that under those circumstances is almost inexcusable.
The good news is that it’s still early. Any college basketball team would rather lose now than in March.
The bad news is very simple; things don’t get easier for the Mountaineers from here on out.
Each game is critical for West Virginia from now on, especially these next two against Kansas State and top-ranked Kansas.
Not that the Mountaineers are in danger of missing out on the NCAA Tournament this season but each game will be important in progression and building up to the postseason but no one can be fooled when looking at an opponent’s record as it seemed irrelevant against Texas and Oklahoma.
That being said, the road for WVU will become much tougher now that the Big 12 knows that they are vulnerable in certain areas. The Big 12 is loaded this season and dangerous teams like the Longhorns and Sooners who may not have winning records epitomize how competitive and grueling playing in the Big 12 really is.
There are two things that West Virginia must develop consistency on if they hope to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament this year and they are effort and free throws.
Huggins said it was a lack of effort that contributed to the Sooners overcoming a 15-point deficit and an upset win over the Mountaineers.
“Truth of the matter is we haven’t ran a ball down from behind in how long? Which is what we were really good at it,” Huggins said. “We haven’t made a steal below the foul line in how long? That’s effort. That’s not lack of energy. That’s lack of effort.”
It was the lack of effort and enjoying a what the Mountaineers thought was a comfortable lead that made way for the Oklahoma comeback. West Virginia or any team in fact can never take its foot off the gas because no lead is safe in basketball as displayed on Wednesday night.
Against Baylor, West Virginia arguably played their most complete game from start to finish. That is the effort the Mountaineers must consistently give as conference play rolls on especially when the No. 1 Jayhawks come to town next Tuesday because Kansas is a team that can rally at anytime.
Free throw shooting improvements are an absolute must for West Virginia as it played a vital role yet again. The Mountaineers actually shot 100% from the line in the first half against Oklahoma but only on five attempts. The team finished the game shooting 62 percent from the line.
“I think the most demoralizing thing in basketball is some guy to stand up there and miss two free throws,” Huggins said. “You can become a proficient free throw shooter with just work.”
In each of West Virginia’s three losses, free throws was one of the decisive factors. The Mountaineers must improve in this area as teams now know it’s a weakness and help send West Virginia to the line as a part of its strategy late in tight games.
In some ways, these past two rocky games may serve as blessings in disguise. They serve as a wake up call to the Mountaineers of what they must do in order to give themselves a shot for the Big 12 title and a run at the national title.