–If you want to make the NCAA Tournament you can’t lose games like this at home. West Virginia had a chance to really take a step toward improving their resume but simply couldn’t find a way to get it done at home. It was keystone cops at times in the second half with turnovers and really bad possessions that allowed the Red Raiders to erase an eight point lead in less than 2 minutes. This game was there for the taking and West Virginia just couldn't take it. The Mountaineers hadn’t had a bad loss all season but this is definitely one and essentially has allowed Texas Tech to leap them in the pecking order in the league and sends West Virginia on a collision course toward the basement in the league. There’s no way around it now this team is 15-12 and 4-10 in the league. It doesn’t matter how many good teams or quality teams you play if you can’t win. The Mountaineers now are left searching for answers with not a lot of time left.
–West Virginia just allowed Texas Tech to score too many easy baskets (a theme?) and control the glass. The Red Raiders had a +11 edge on the glass and had 15 total offensive rebounds, several of which turned into points when the defense did manage a stop. The Red Raiders had 42 points in the paint and absolutely dominated the game from that perspective. Texas Tech was 21-36 on layups and dunks in this game. Think about that. The Red Raiders made 29 shots and all but 8 were right at the rim. It is hard to win a basketball game when you can’t stop a layup line.
–Turnovers continue to be a massive issue for this team and at times they’re just simply bad basketball, not anything that the defense is doing. How many times did West Virginia just throw the ball away or to a Texas Tech defender to allow them to score in transition? The Red Raiders had 23 points in transition and 15 points off turnovers. It’s hard to beat the other team when you’re spending so much time beating yourself.
–West Virginia was only able to get to the foul line 9 times compared to 19 to Texas Tech. Some of that was relying on jump shots, but the Mountaineers have to make up points in other places.
–West Virginia had much better spacing in the second half and Erik Stevenson was particularly effective. He finished the game with 27 points and hit 6-14 from three. I thought he was extremely impressive in this game especially with the attention he was getting and was the major source of offense for large stretches. He couldn’t hit some down the stretch, but it’s hard to fault him when he carried the offense but his turnover on the break did prove costly when he tried to do a little too much.
–Kedrian Johnson has improved so much on the offensive end. He had 20 points in this one on 8-13 and while he wasn’t as good defensively as he typically is outside Stevenson he was the only player that was able to consistently hit shots in this game.
–Tre Mitchell and Emmitt Matthews really struggled in this one. Shot selection, rebounding, defense – you can name it. The pair combined for 7 points in 57 combined minutes and were 3-12 from the floor. Mitchell did rebound the ball at times in this one, but struggled late. The Mountaineers have to get more out of these two and more often than not it just hasn’t happened.
–At this point, I’m not sure how much you can play Jimmy Bell. He just hasn’t given this team much in the past several games and really seems to be struggling. There’s certain match ups that this can work and it’s been shown but right now it’s hard to see why he’s playing over some of the other bigs. He’s really struggled on the defensive end and isn't offering anything offensively either. Both Mohamed Wague and James Okonkwo are giving the Mountaineers better minutes.
–Seth Wilson is now 6-14 from three in two games against Texas Tech. When he gets some space, he’s letting it fly and more often than not he’s making it. It was nice to see him take the ball off the bounce to the rim as well. This is another player that needs more minutes.
–Next up for the Mountaineers is Oklahoma State and at this stage losing isn’t an option. Unfortunately, this team hasn’t been able to show consistency at any point this season so who knows what team shows up for that one. This loss is either going to galvanize this team or start to show that the end is near. You hope the second one isn’t creeping into their minds.
–West Virginia just allowed Texas Tech to score too many easy baskets (a theme?) and control the glass. The Red Raiders had a +11 edge on the glass and had 15 total offensive rebounds, several of which turned into points when the defense did manage a stop. The Red Raiders had 42 points in the paint and absolutely dominated the game from that perspective. Texas Tech was 21-36 on layups and dunks in this game. Think about that. The Red Raiders made 29 shots and all but 8 were right at the rim. It is hard to win a basketball game when you can’t stop a layup line.
–Turnovers continue to be a massive issue for this team and at times they’re just simply bad basketball, not anything that the defense is doing. How many times did West Virginia just throw the ball away or to a Texas Tech defender to allow them to score in transition? The Red Raiders had 23 points in transition and 15 points off turnovers. It’s hard to beat the other team when you’re spending so much time beating yourself.
–West Virginia was only able to get to the foul line 9 times compared to 19 to Texas Tech. Some of that was relying on jump shots, but the Mountaineers have to make up points in other places.
–West Virginia had much better spacing in the second half and Erik Stevenson was particularly effective. He finished the game with 27 points and hit 6-14 from three. I thought he was extremely impressive in this game especially with the attention he was getting and was the major source of offense for large stretches. He couldn’t hit some down the stretch, but it’s hard to fault him when he carried the offense but his turnover on the break did prove costly when he tried to do a little too much.
–Kedrian Johnson has improved so much on the offensive end. He had 20 points in this one on 8-13 and while he wasn’t as good defensively as he typically is outside Stevenson he was the only player that was able to consistently hit shots in this game.
–Tre Mitchell and Emmitt Matthews really struggled in this one. Shot selection, rebounding, defense – you can name it. The pair combined for 7 points in 57 combined minutes and were 3-12 from the floor. Mitchell did rebound the ball at times in this one, but struggled late. The Mountaineers have to get more out of these two and more often than not it just hasn’t happened.
–At this point, I’m not sure how much you can play Jimmy Bell. He just hasn’t given this team much in the past several games and really seems to be struggling. There’s certain match ups that this can work and it’s been shown but right now it’s hard to see why he’s playing over some of the other bigs. He’s really struggled on the defensive end and isn't offering anything offensively either. Both Mohamed Wague and James Okonkwo are giving the Mountaineers better minutes.
–Seth Wilson is now 6-14 from three in two games against Texas Tech. When he gets some space, he’s letting it fly and more often than not he’s making it. It was nice to see him take the ball off the bounce to the rim as well. This is another player that needs more minutes.
–Next up for the Mountaineers is Oklahoma State and at this stage losing isn’t an option. Unfortunately, this team hasn’t been able to show consistency at any point this season so who knows what team shows up for that one. This loss is either going to galvanize this team or start to show that the end is near. You hope the second one isn’t creeping into their minds.
