It was the “Week of Reckoning” for the West Virginia University Mountaineers.
Facing Kansas — ranked third in the NCAA — on Wednesday in Morgantown, and then top-ranked Baylor on the road Saturday, we were to discover so much more about where the Mountaineers stood on the national stage. So, I guess we’ll have to plead stage fright at this point. They were stoned off that stage in what turned out to be the Weak of Reckoning, or, truth be told, the “Reek of Reckoning.”
It was ghastly.
WVU wrapped up its brutally humbling four-day stretch yesterday, falling at Baylor 70-59 in a game that wasn’t nearly as competitive as the final score would suggest. And that came after basically choking in the second half to Kansas, falling 58-49 in that one.
Offensive woes were the mounting theme this week, and that’s putting it mildly.
WVU didn’t score in the last five-plus minutes against Kansas — a game the Mountaineers led by nine at one juncture — and was equally impotent at Baylor, not scoring a field goal after halftime until 10:05. Ten minutes without a bucket! Baylor had seven players with a field goal in that span.
Fortune smiled, though, in one regard: These two games were hidden on ESPN+, where the big games go to die.
Where to Start
So, where does WVU go from here? There are six regular-season games left, all in conference play where WVU is now 6-6. Two — Oklahoma and Baylor — are home games against teams that have already beaten the Mountaineers. Three others are on the road, where WVU is now 3-19 in Big 12 play over the last two seasons. Egads.
Where to start? How about in the paint, which is where Bob Huggins wants the majority of his offense to start, featuring talented big men Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe. Huggins is steadfast in pounding the post and working the inside-out game plan. And that’s good, basic, old-school coaching, especially with guys like Culver and Tshiebwe.
Except that WVU can’t get through a crucial game without one or both of its bigs getting into early foul trouble. And then what? Blame the officials? Social media seems to think so. But understand this: Not every crew in the Big 12 is out to get WVU — it just seems that way if you’re a jaundiced WVU fan.
But when this happens EVERY GAME maybe there’s something more to it. Maybe Culver and Tshiebwe pick up the occassional silly foul, and it adds up. You get only five. Maybe both are still young, learning on the job, and need to be coached-up.
Well Officiated
Stay with me here.
The Baylor game Saturday was well officiated.
There. I said it. The referees didn’t beat WVU Saturday at Baylor, and not Wednesday in Morgantown, either. Maybe a call missed here and there — on BOTH teams — but that’s not the problem here, folks. If you think it is, you’ve just been ejected from this story (by John Higgins, because I make the rules) and remanded to a homer blog or message board. See ya.
Besides, if the Mountaineers got ALL THE CALLS, would it matter if the free throws keep clanking off the iron?
Back to “in the paint” … WVU was outscored 40-8 inside against Baylor. Nuff said.
Moving on, let’s take a quick glance at the guard play, but first get the women and children off the streets. Against Baylor, WVU had double-digit turnovers before it had double-digit points scored. Mull that one over for a moment. Final stats: WVU had 22 turnovers, 19 field goals. Amazing.
If this was a TV show, we could call it Saturday Afternoon Live, with the Mountaineers as the Not Ready For Primetime Players.
Huggins tried it all in the first half, starting at point guard as always with Jordan McCabe, then going with Miles McBride, Brandon Knapper, and Jermaine Haley. The offense actually ran smoother with Haley, a natural forward at 6-foot-7, at the helm. But the standards had been set pretty low by then, to be honest.
Where Does the Blame Lie?
At some point, Bob Huggins* has to shoulder some of the blame here. And I know the team is young — famously now 300th in the nation (out of 350) and youngest of all Power 5 schools. But we’re 25 games into the season. Is the team regressing? Well, I’m not sure I see much improvement, development, and refinement as the Big 12 tournament looms. Are we to blame the kids?
(*There is nobody in the world I’d rather see coaching WVU basketball than Bob Huggins. It’s his destiny. And it’s a travesty that he’s not in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, but by all means let’s vote on Barbara Stevens this year.)
Yet the same problems present themselves time and again: Poor spacing, not enough movement without the ball, and when in the world will somebody cut to the bucket? The backcourt weave that WVU used against Kansas was, uhhh, different, but nobody really looked to score off of it. And three-point shooting is spotty, although Taz Sherman flashed a glimmer of hope yesterday.
I like the skinny triangle the Mountaineers have unleashed from time to time, with the offense run through the high post with either Culver, Chase Harler or Gabe Osabouhien dishing low to a cutter. For some reason we haven’t seen much of that lately.
What’s to Lose Mountaineers?
And the press! An offensively challenged team can lean on its defense. Huggins doesn’t think he can go full-throttle Press Virginia for 40 minutes like the 2015 and 2016 teams, but he’s got the depth and, really, what’s he got to lose right now? WVU pressed in the last three minutes of the first half Saturday and clearly rattled a better team with an 8-0 run to close the half. I still picture Osabouhien in the crucial Holton/Adrian role at the point of the press.
If not, just shorten the bench. He’s already trimmed the minutes for Logan Routt — a quick shoutout to the Cameron grad on his 100th game played Saturday — and for Brandon Knapper. Case in point: Baylor looks like a powerhouse, and the Bears had four players with over 30 minutes played in a blowout.
Get your best guys on the floor and have at it. Time is running out.
