West Virginia came out flat once again, giving an almost exact replica of their performance in their previous loss to Arizona State. The Mountaineers fell to Kansas State on Saturday evening, 73-60, dropping their record to 13-6 (4-4).
Here are a few of my takeaways from tonight’s game.
Back on the bubble?
You can overcome one bad loss. But following up that bad loss with another bad loss is troubling. What’s even more concerning? The fact that you got crushed by a team that entered the night four games under .500. The big-time wins against top-ten teams are great and all, but they can easily be wiped away with a bad stretch of games. Houston is on deck and then trips to Cincinnati and TCU follow. It’s not going to get easier anytime soon.
Is this an offensive rut they can get out of?
I feel like a broken record, but that’s just because the identity of this team is very clear at this point – there’s only one three-level scorer, Javon Small. He has to exert so much energy just to get the ball and then get a shot off that it wears him down over the course of the game. Teams are trapping him in a smothering manner nearly every time he touches the ball because the other four on the floor are all one-level scorers who struggle to create their shot. The blueprint to beat WVU is out. Now, it’s a matter of whether or not Darian DeVries
Finding a way to score
Because the Mountaineers don’t have that second or third three-level scorer, they have to create an identity offensively of how they can score points. Is that scoring in transition? Getting to the free throw line 30 times per game? Shooting more from three? A team that lives on second-chance points? One of these avenues has to be a best friend for this group to get back on track and finish the season strong.
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