West Virginia finds a win, confidence moving forward
West Virginia just needed a win. Any type of win.
After losing four straight, some in lopsided fashion, the confidence of the Mountaineers was teetering on the wrong side of things prior to the matchup against UCF.
That made the 77-67 win over the Knights just what this club needed after a season full of challenges especially considering that West Virginia lost the first meeting between the two.
“It’s critical to get that confidence,” head coach Josh Eilert said.
By now it’s been well documented the roller coaster that this West Virginia basketball team has dealt with when it comes to all the changes to the roster since head coach Bob Huggins resigned. There have been injuries, players being ineligible for various reasons and everything in between.
But the encouraging thing is that despite the 9-17 overall record and 4-9 mark in the Big 12, this group is hoping that they’ve saved their best for the stretch run.
“You love your life, it’s tough losing. I’m not going to sugar coat it, we come together and we try and we bust our ass every single game,” forward Quinn Slazinski said. “We try and we want to win as much as you guys want us to win, we want it ten times more but the league is so hard.”
There is no question that the Big 12 Conference isn’t the easiest place to turn things around with a roster that is just starting to develop chemistry and a first-year head coach. Not only is there quality spread throughout the league but so many different styles that makes the matchups challenging.
“The amount of good teams is crazy, week after week when you're playing the best teams in the country,” center Jesse Edwards said.
That is why when you get those repeat meetings like the Mountaineers had with UCF it is critical to make adjustments and look for better results than the first time.
But still, with a losing regular season guaranteed at this stage, the focus is simply on trying to leave a strong impression heading into the league tournament where the goals of an NCAA Tournament berth could still be reached.
“Staying mentally tough and trusting each other,” guard RaeQuan Battle said.
But building momentum off this most recent win isn’t going to be an easy task as difficult road trips to Iowa State and Kansas State lie ahead. That’s especially true when you consider the fact that the Mountaineers have yet to win a game away from Morgantown this season.
“Have a few days of prep before we head out. Need to win one away from home,” Eilert said. “To see one go down on the road that would be even more critical for our confidence.”
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