--West Virginia is now 5-10 on the season and 0-2 in Big 12 play. It’s been a difficult stretch for this team but it’s many of the same issues from game to game with stopping the ball and preventing teams from getting into the paint on defense along with shot selection and consistent scoring on offense. This team doesn’t quit but right now, it’s just not working and there’s too many players trying to do things on their own instead of moving the ball, playing as a team and communicating on both ends.
--The Mountaineers put together a strong first half with a 42-40 lead, while shooting 48-percent from the floor but it was a much different story in the second getting outscored 41-25. The Mountaineers shot just 31-percent and was 2-11 from three. Live ball turnovers were an issue in this one as Kansas State scored 17 off 13 West Virginia miscues and was +12 in that area on the floor. Second chance points also were an issue with the Mountaineers finishing -7 there although it really felt like more as the Wildcats were +13 on the glass.
--Credit to Kansas State in the second half too because their defensive effort was strong.
--West Virginia was again dominated in the paint as the Wildcats held a +22 edge there with 44 of their 81 total points coming in that department. Kansas State was 22-27 on layups and dunks in this game with so much of their output coming right around the rim. Not having Jesse Edwards in there has really killed the defense in the paint and the Mountaineers continue to struggle mightily with the pick and roll.
--Too many times West Virginia is trying to dribble into shots instead of moving the ball and reversing it to get some open shots. When they did make some extra passes, it usually ended well but right now it seems on offense that it’s five players out there at times instead of a team.
--Kobe Johnson made the most of his minutes tonight and finished with 9 points on 4-5 shooting. He kept the offense afloat for a stretch there in the second half.
--It was a tale of two halves for RaeQuan Battle who scored 18 in the first half but mustered just 3 in the second on 1-7 from the floor. The Wildcats weren’t going to let Battle beat them in this one and there simply wasn’t enough from the others on the roster to make up for that. It mirrored the team. He was -18 overall despite the scoring effort.
--Noah Farrakhan can score the ball but makes things really challenging on himself at times. He also seems to take a lot of difficult shots, which he can make, but it doesn’t need to be that hard. He was 2-9 from the floor in this one and finished -16.
--Thought Kerr Kriisa showed up in this one for much of the game and had some nice passes. West Virginia is going to try to need to get more out of him, but he was 4-10 with 5 assists and 11 points.
--On the plus side, West Virginia was 19-23 from the line, but Kansas State had identical numbers.
--Things aren’t going to get any easier next time with a ranked Texas team coming to town. West Virginia might not have a fix, but this team really needs Jesse Edwards back in a bad way for a lot of reasons.
--The Mountaineers put together a strong first half with a 42-40 lead, while shooting 48-percent from the floor but it was a much different story in the second getting outscored 41-25. The Mountaineers shot just 31-percent and was 2-11 from three. Live ball turnovers were an issue in this one as Kansas State scored 17 off 13 West Virginia miscues and was +12 in that area on the floor. Second chance points also were an issue with the Mountaineers finishing -7 there although it really felt like more as the Wildcats were +13 on the glass.
--Credit to Kansas State in the second half too because their defensive effort was strong.
--West Virginia was again dominated in the paint as the Wildcats held a +22 edge there with 44 of their 81 total points coming in that department. Kansas State was 22-27 on layups and dunks in this game with so much of their output coming right around the rim. Not having Jesse Edwards in there has really killed the defense in the paint and the Mountaineers continue to struggle mightily with the pick and roll.
--Too many times West Virginia is trying to dribble into shots instead of moving the ball and reversing it to get some open shots. When they did make some extra passes, it usually ended well but right now it seems on offense that it’s five players out there at times instead of a team.
--Kobe Johnson made the most of his minutes tonight and finished with 9 points on 4-5 shooting. He kept the offense afloat for a stretch there in the second half.
--It was a tale of two halves for RaeQuan Battle who scored 18 in the first half but mustered just 3 in the second on 1-7 from the floor. The Wildcats weren’t going to let Battle beat them in this one and there simply wasn’t enough from the others on the roster to make up for that. It mirrored the team. He was -18 overall despite the scoring effort.
--Noah Farrakhan can score the ball but makes things really challenging on himself at times. He also seems to take a lot of difficult shots, which he can make, but it doesn’t need to be that hard. He was 2-9 from the floor in this one and finished -16.
--Thought Kerr Kriisa showed up in this one for much of the game and had some nice passes. West Virginia is going to try to need to get more out of him, but he was 4-10 with 5 assists and 11 points.
--On the plus side, West Virginia was 19-23 from the line, but Kansas State had identical numbers.
--Things aren’t going to get any easier next time with a ranked Texas team coming to town. West Virginia might not have a fix, but this team really needs Jesse Edwards back in a bad way for a lot of reasons.
