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R-E-L-A-X

WVU2001

Senior
Aug 29, 2009
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Just my opinion here. Feel free to disagree. We’re all Mountaineers.

I have told myself to take Aaron Rodgers’ advice and R-E-L-A-X. This basketball team lost in rough fashion at the #8 team in the country by one point and to the #10 team in the country by five in a borderline sports miracle. We are right at the top of the Big 12 race, and we have 12 conference games left. We were so close to an Elite Eight or Final Four last year, and we’ve got a great canvas on which to paint a special run this year. I disagree with people who say we’re not a national championship contender this year. We are. If we learn the lessons those two self-inflicted top-10 losses teach, we’re a damn good basketball team. Elite, in fact.

R-E-L-A-X and enjoy this. We’re playing at the very top of college basketball this year. Why not West Virginia?!

Go Mountaineers!!
 
It's not the end of the world, but it is concerning. A deep NCAA run is always a top priority and blowing big leads by being inept shows a weakness that a lower seed could use for the upset. Also, this is the year to dethrone Kansas as regular season Big XII champs and we have away a home game to them after being up 16. That sucks no matter how you slice it. Still plenty of basketball left, so I'm not on board with these Doom and Gloom types saying 9-9 or worse conference record is coming. It is possible, but this team does have players and room to grow. It'll just suck if the conference regular season title goes to another team because of WVU not holding onto a 16 point lead at home.
 
General rule of thumb. You’re never as good or bad as the headlines say you are.

When we were #2 we were in no way legitimately the 2nd best team in the country, and after the loss to Kansas we were nowhere close to dropping out of the top 25 and into bubble territory like some were projecting.

The reality with this team is that we are simply not going to win the Big XII unless Kansas gets some injuries after the meltdown on Monday. That is something that everyone in the program needs to make their peace with. Looking around the Big XII today should make that very obvious. We share a tier this year with TT and OU, both of them go and stub their toe today on the road against the bottom half of the league. I promise we will be in that position soon. Those types of games do not happen to Kansas, they find a way to win when they get in trouble against inferior opponents, and will beat any of the contending Big XII teams in a big game way more often than not regardless of where the game is played. Do not hold your breath waiting for them to lose @TT or @OU. The focus now should be 100% on putting the team in the best position to succeed in the tournament. Wanna bench Allen to make him better in the long run? Go for it. Do the same with Konate if he keeps up the ill advised jumpers. We have bigger fish to fry than a road game at TCU trying to chase something that we basically put out of reach on our own accord.
 
I truly don’t understand this thought that the Big 12 race is suddenly over with 11 games to play. It’s absolutely ludicrous to me. We’re one game back, with one more game vs. Kansas, and 11 total conference games left to play. This notion that we lost the conference on Monday night is lunacy.
 
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I truly don’t understand this thought that the Big 12 race is suddenly over with 11 games to play. It’s absolutely ludicrous to me. We’re one game back, with one more game vs. Kansas, and 11 total conference games left to play. This notion that we lost the conference on Monday night is lunacy.

We committed two cardinal sins early in conference play that aren’t made by teams expecting to win a conference. Blowing double digit leads including one against the program who has won the conference 13th years in a row at home put us in a hole that will be extremely tough to dig out of. To make up that loss we now have to win in a place where the home team loses about once every 3 years, and that is just to make it up, to pass the Jayhawks we will need to beat some very tough teams on the road and not stub our toe against a very competitive bottom half of the league. All of this with a team that projects to have 0 NBA players.
 
I understand the double digit leads lost hurt, but they're not season-defining yet. I just don't share your pessimism, as I see that we have characteristics Kansas doesn't. KU has lost two games in Phog Allen this season (and a third in Kansas City). They are not the KU of old. They are also worse defensively than we are, not as deep and experienced in the backcourt, and are struggling to put teams away with their play in the paint. We are right there, and a one-game deficit in the loss column with 11 games left doesn't scare me. I have faith in our seniors and coaching staff. We can win this conference, and the talk that we simply can't because we blew two leads in three days baffles me. It's a LONG season.

Go Mountaineers!!
 
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The KU L hurts because it was home game. Also had that big lead. While we screwed the pooch, the season still has a lot to play for. It feels like we are starting to click on all cylinders. Just s shame it took so long to get EA back. Think we are going to hard to beat going forward.

It’s our ladies I feel for. They play man D and have zero depth with one of their greatest players ever injured before season even started. A lot to overcome, but they are fighting thru this with no complaints.
 
The season is far from over. I’m simply not holding my breath for us to be the streak stoppers. The priority is now March IMO.
 
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