--Boy, was I wrong. I felt that this West Virginia team had a major chance to go 2-0 this week and really cement their status as a potential NCAA Tournament team. I even predicted as much in my weekly 3-2-1 column, but it was about as bad as it could possibly go with the Mountaineers losing at home against Arizona State and then on the road at Kansas State who had lost six straight and hadn't even won a game in 2025. This game finished with just a 13-point deficit, but it never really felt that the Mountaineers were challenging in this game. The Wildcats used a 17-0 run to take a 19-2 lead as the Mountaineers didn't score for 6:46 and didn't make a field goal over a span of 7:41 in the first half and it never really got much closer. Anytime that West Virginia would find an answer, and they did play better in the second half at times, Kansas State found a way to punch back. There's no sugar coating this one it's a bad, bad loss and now leaves plenty of questions with Houston set to come to Morgantown next. This team seemed entirely flat in the first half and while the energy picked up in the second the damage had already been done.
--West Virginia has played their worst two defensive halves in the past two games with the second half against Arizona State and the first half of this one. Kansas State shot 53-percent in the first half and really had a lot of open looks and easy shots at the rim. The defense has really carried this team at times, but again it was a major issue.
--Javon Small is just getting so much attention right now and he was productive with 22 points and 5 assists, but he needs some help. The Mountaineers don't really have another player right now that is a reliable second scoring option and it's clear that teams know it. This was the first time I noticed some frustration out of Small and this team needs somebody else to step up.
--The last two games West Virginia has gone 8-50 from three or 16-percent. Yikes. The offense as a whole just seemed to bog down yet again and outside of Small making a play there seemed to be a lot of guys just standing around at times and the spacing seemed off as well. It's not a good recipe if you can't score or get stops.
--Toby Okani dealt with foul trouble but did get the ball to the rim and score some for West Virginia which helps. He had 13 points and 5 rebounds but was limited to just 21 minutes. He again had some tough assignments defensively and I felt held his own at times.
--Amani Hansberry was 2-11 from the field and scored just 5 points. He did have seven rebounds but this is a much better team when he is hitting shots and that didn't happen tonight.
--Jonathan Powell played 38 minutes and didn't score. He was 0-4 from the floor and West Virginia needs him to hit some shots. Same with KJ Tenner who now has played 33 minutes over the past two games and hasn't scored. It's tough to expect a lot out of true freshmen and they are being thrust into major roles with the current roster situation but they have to hit some shots and for Tenner's sake take them when he has them.
--Kansas State had 17 fast break points and some of them were just easy baskets. The Mountaineers have done a pretty solid job limiting that this year, but that wasn't the case tonight.
--Rebounding was just -4 at 40-36, but it felt like Kansas State got some massive ones in this game with some second chance baskets when West Virginia was trying to make a run.
--Sencire Harris was able to score some in this one with 12 points and 9 rebounds and it's clear he's at his best going to the rim and not shooting jump shots.
--I can't figure Joe Yesufu out. I feel like he's either a great player or almost non-existent depending on the game. He played 11 minutes in this one and was -13. His one sequence where he had his shot blocked and then fouled 40 feet from the basket pretty much summed it up.
--College basketball can change quickly and it was just a week ago that this team beat No. 2 Iowa State and we were planning NCAA Tournament destinations. Now, at 13-6 it's clear that this group has got to figure some things out with Houston coming to town. I felt this game was almost a must win even though I understand how difficult that can be on the road in this league. But now, the Mountaineers are entering a critical stretch to this schedule that could really shift where this team is at big picture wise. I think if they can get to 19 wins, this team is safely in the field but right now with the way this team is playing that's a tough ask. Darian DeVries has pushed the right buttons a lot this season but now has got to find a way to get the ship righted in a hurry. This league can make losing streaks stack up quickly as reference by Kansas State, but I'm not panicking yet. Still, with a short bench and the roster questions it's definitely got my attention because the way this team played the past two games they're going to struggle to beat most, if not all, the teams in this league.
--West Virginia has played their worst two defensive halves in the past two games with the second half against Arizona State and the first half of this one. Kansas State shot 53-percent in the first half and really had a lot of open looks and easy shots at the rim. The defense has really carried this team at times, but again it was a major issue.
--Javon Small is just getting so much attention right now and he was productive with 22 points and 5 assists, but he needs some help. The Mountaineers don't really have another player right now that is a reliable second scoring option and it's clear that teams know it. This was the first time I noticed some frustration out of Small and this team needs somebody else to step up.
--The last two games West Virginia has gone 8-50 from three or 16-percent. Yikes. The offense as a whole just seemed to bog down yet again and outside of Small making a play there seemed to be a lot of guys just standing around at times and the spacing seemed off as well. It's not a good recipe if you can't score or get stops.
--Toby Okani dealt with foul trouble but did get the ball to the rim and score some for West Virginia which helps. He had 13 points and 5 rebounds but was limited to just 21 minutes. He again had some tough assignments defensively and I felt held his own at times.
--Amani Hansberry was 2-11 from the field and scored just 5 points. He did have seven rebounds but this is a much better team when he is hitting shots and that didn't happen tonight.
--Jonathan Powell played 38 minutes and didn't score. He was 0-4 from the floor and West Virginia needs him to hit some shots. Same with KJ Tenner who now has played 33 minutes over the past two games and hasn't scored. It's tough to expect a lot out of true freshmen and they are being thrust into major roles with the current roster situation but they have to hit some shots and for Tenner's sake take them when he has them.
--Kansas State had 17 fast break points and some of them were just easy baskets. The Mountaineers have done a pretty solid job limiting that this year, but that wasn't the case tonight.
--Rebounding was just -4 at 40-36, but it felt like Kansas State got some massive ones in this game with some second chance baskets when West Virginia was trying to make a run.
--Sencire Harris was able to score some in this one with 12 points and 9 rebounds and it's clear he's at his best going to the rim and not shooting jump shots.
--I can't figure Joe Yesufu out. I feel like he's either a great player or almost non-existent depending on the game. He played 11 minutes in this one and was -13. His one sequence where he had his shot blocked and then fouled 40 feet from the basket pretty much summed it up.
--College basketball can change quickly and it was just a week ago that this team beat No. 2 Iowa State and we were planning NCAA Tournament destinations. Now, at 13-6 it's clear that this group has got to figure some things out with Houston coming to town. I felt this game was almost a must win even though I understand how difficult that can be on the road in this league. But now, the Mountaineers are entering a critical stretch to this schedule that could really shift where this team is at big picture wise. I think if they can get to 19 wins, this team is safely in the field but right now with the way this team is playing that's a tough ask. Darian DeVries has pushed the right buttons a lot this season but now has got to find a way to get the ship righted in a hurry. This league can make losing streaks stack up quickly as reference by Kansas State, but I'm not panicking yet. Still, with a short bench and the roster questions it's definitely got my attention because the way this team played the past two games they're going to struggle to beat most, if not all, the teams in this league.
