--West Virginia had chances again and Kansas kept the door open, but this team just couldn’t kick it down. It was many of the same issues that have plagued this team all year as they struggled to put the ball in the basket and were dominated on the glass -17 and with points in the paint -28. Finding a way to consistently score the basketball has largely been this team’s undoing this entire year and the fact the Mountaineers were 28-percent from the field essentially gave this team no shot. The ball just doesn’t move and spacing is awful at times. A lot of standing around on the offensive end with hardly no movement without the ball. This offense has been bad and there’s no way around it. That's the third time this year that West Virginia has shot under 30-percent and there have been only 23 other times that's happened since 1969.
--Yes, is there a possibility this team somehow magically wins a few games down the stretch? Sure, but it’s hard to believe that this group is going to have much left now sitting at 14-12 and losing 10 of their last 11. This team simply isn’t very good in some critical areas and it has meant losses against quality teams. The team is focused on winning four of their next five but that might be impossible.
--West Virginia was -28 in points in the paint. I know I just said it, but it bears repeating with just how poor that effort was. The edge was 40-12. Kansas had 40 of their 71 points at the rim, while the Mountaineers were 4-19 there. Yuck.
--Senior guards Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil combined for 34 points on 12-35 shooting, while the rest of the team managed just 24 points on 7-33 shooting. That pretty much tells you the story with this team and it’s inability to put the ball in the basket outside of those two consistently.
--West Virginia got 4 points out of 43 combined minutes out of the big men. That tells you the story.
--Redshirt freshman Isaiah Cottrell had 5 rebounds, which is good. But that was about it.
--Redshirt senior Gabe Osabuohien played with a ton of effort out there tonight. He kept plays alive on the glass and was welcomed addition.But he is no threat to score.
--Shot selection tonight made it even more difficult to try to mount a comeback in this one. Every time that the Mountaineers made a run, they seemed to shoot themselves out of it. It allowed for run outs and easy baskets for Kansas.
--I’ve said what I needed to say about this team right now and it’s frustrating all around. This team has three games in six days and the only thing keeping them afloat right now is the fact that the schedule has been so difficult. If this team can put the ball in the basket with the effort that they’re playing with would be a major boost, but right now it’s just hard to be optimistic.
--Yes, is there a possibility this team somehow magically wins a few games down the stretch? Sure, but it’s hard to believe that this group is going to have much left now sitting at 14-12 and losing 10 of their last 11. This team simply isn’t very good in some critical areas and it has meant losses against quality teams. The team is focused on winning four of their next five but that might be impossible.
--West Virginia was -28 in points in the paint. I know I just said it, but it bears repeating with just how poor that effort was. The edge was 40-12. Kansas had 40 of their 71 points at the rim, while the Mountaineers were 4-19 there. Yuck.
--Senior guards Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil combined for 34 points on 12-35 shooting, while the rest of the team managed just 24 points on 7-33 shooting. That pretty much tells you the story with this team and it’s inability to put the ball in the basket outside of those two consistently.
--West Virginia got 4 points out of 43 combined minutes out of the big men. That tells you the story.
--Redshirt freshman Isaiah Cottrell had 5 rebounds, which is good. But that was about it.
--Redshirt senior Gabe Osabuohien played with a ton of effort out there tonight. He kept plays alive on the glass and was welcomed addition.But he is no threat to score.
--Shot selection tonight made it even more difficult to try to mount a comeback in this one. Every time that the Mountaineers made a run, they seemed to shoot themselves out of it. It allowed for run outs and easy baskets for Kansas.
--I’ve said what I needed to say about this team right now and it’s frustrating all around. This team has three games in six days and the only thing keeping them afloat right now is the fact that the schedule has been so difficult. If this team can put the ball in the basket with the effort that they’re playing with would be a major boost, but right now it’s just hard to be optimistic.
