No. 8 West Virginia began their March journey on Wednesday, in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament.
The first taste of March left WVU with a bad taste in their mouth. The Mountaineers led by as many as 13 in the first half and nine in the second half, as WVU fell to No. 16 Colorado 67-60 in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament.
West Virginia turned the ball over 15 times on the night, leading to 17 Colorado points. In addition, Colorado shot 61 percent in the second half, while WVU didn't make a 3-pointer in the second until the final minute of the game, as the Mountaineers.
To not much surprise, Javon Small got the Mountaineers going in the first half. The All-Big 12 First Team selection, Small scored 13 points, almost outpacing the Buffaloes at one point in the first half. WVU led 27-14 as Small had 13 points for WVU within the first 12 minutes of the first half.
West Virginia’s offense was flowing freely until that point, and then once they suffered their first turnover, the wheels started to fall off. Defensively, Colorado switched to zone near the end of the first half, and it gave the Mountaineers problems. WVU made one of their final 11 shots from the field in the first half, and they had four turnovers in the final 8:02 of the period. Colorado closed the half on a 9-2 run, as WVU’s lead dwindled to 29-23 at halftime.
The second half had a similar feel for WVU as they started sluggish on the offensive end. That’s until the Mountaineers started to go to Eduardo Andre as starting big Amani Hansberry dealt with foul trouble.
Andre would go to the rim on three straight possessions, scoring six points as WVU maintained their lead, leading 39-32 with 12:44 to play in the game. The Mountaineers led by six at the under 12 media timeout, but out of the timeout, the Mountaineers sparked their offense through their defense.
Jonathan Powell made an and-one following a steal, before Small was fouled, making two free throws, his first points since the 8:30 mark of the first half, as WVU led 44-35 with 10:37 to play.
Colorado cut WVU’s lead back to four with just under nine minutes to play. The Mountaineers turned the ball over on offense and then Andre was whistled for a foul on the defensive end. Felix Kossaras made the first of two free throws, missing the second but he grabbed his own rebound, making an open layup as WVU’s lead was cut to 46-42.
Part of the issue for WVU offensively was their inability to hold on to the basketball. After turning the ball over four total times in the first half, WVU had five turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the second.
Colorado would force a West Virginia timeout as after the under eight media timeout, the Buffaloes scored four points in less than a minute, as the game was tied at 46-46 with 6:52 to play as they were on a 9-0 run.
Colorado went back to their zone defense out of the timeout that had given WVU problems in the first half and it was a turnover on the first possession out of the timeout for the Mountaineers. Colorado made WVU pay with a 3-pointer, marking their first lead since it was 4-3.
West Virginia wouldn't get the ball across half court on their next two possessions as CU extended their lead to 52-46 as they were on a 15-0 run in less than five minutes.
West Virginia trailed 54-49 at the under four media timeout, as Colorado had made nine of their last 10 shots from the field, while the Mountaineers had attempted just four shots in the same span.
West Virginia would cut the deficit to three, but Colorado was not fazed. The Buffaloes scored the next five points as they led by eight with about a minute to go. Small hit a 3-pointer for WVU, and then the Mountaineers turned up the pressure on defense, before Joe Yesufu was called for a foul with 46 seconds to play. Colorado made both free throws before Small hit another 3-pointer, but it was more trips to the line and the Buffaloes wouldn't miss.
Colorado finished the game going 18-for-22 from the free throw line, shooting 45 percent from the field, going 5-for-13 from beyond the arc. WVU finished the game going 41 percent from the field, 6-for-19 from beyond the arc, and 12-for-18 from the free throw line.
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