WVU searches for rebound against quality Texas club
There was no secret formula as to why West Virginia struggled down the stretch on the offensive end in a 71-66 loss to Kansas. A loss, where the Mountaineers led by as many as 12-points in the second half.
“We just got stagnant. Too many guys trying to make plays on their own,” he said.
The Mountaineers are 0-2 since the return of junior forward Esa Ahmad despite averaging 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game but according to Huggins the record is nothing more than a coincidence.
“I honestly don’t think that had anything to do with it because he’s been practicing with us,” Huggins said. “He hasn’t really practiced with the so called first team but he’s been practicing.”
Once the only unbeaten team left standing in the Big 12, the Mountaineers now find themselves in a three-way tie for second place behind the Jayhawks. And things won’t get any easier as West Virginia continues to navigate the toughest league that Huggins has ever coached in when a Texas team that is fresh off knocking off a top ten Texas Tech team travels to Morgantown.
While it’s only been one day, Huggins believes his team has responded to the consecutive losses with the best practice he has seen in a while. The explanation isn’t hard to piece together either.
“Every time you lose it’s not a very good feeling and you don’t want it to happen again,” he said. “I think it’s more that than anything and all honesty this league is hard.”
While the Mountaineers have been on the opposite side of close defeats to Kansas and Texas Tech, they were able to score tight victories over Oklahoma State and Baylor. The back and forth will likely continue throughout the rest of the conference slate given the difficulty and the fact there is no bottom to it.
Texas currently sits at 12-6, 3-3 overall in the Big 12 and like West Virginia has been on both sides of the coin through the early stages of the season.
The Longhorns are led by Tulane transfer Dylan Osetkowski who averages just under 15 points and 8 rebounds per game, while freshman Mo Bamba chips in with a double-double at just under 12 points and 10 rebounds per contest.
He is also one of the most prolific shot blockers in college basketball setting up an interesting matchup between him and West Virginia sophomore Sagaba Konate.
However, Huggins isn’t focused on it too much.
“It’s two different kind of players, they both block shots but they’re different,” he said.
Overall, Huggins believes that Texas is a very good club that has grown up over the course of the season with the new pieces they’ve had to work into the machine. The starting lineup is one of the biggest in college basketball and the Longhorns make it difficult to score at the rim.
But it’s their back court and the development there that has helped push this team over the top.
“It’s a matter of those guys getting some experience and kind of getting a feel for what it’s like to play in this league,” Huggins said.
Safe to say they’ve found it.
