Initial Thoughts on WVU's Loss to Colorado: Talk About March Madness...

Rapid takeaways from West Virginia's loss to Colorado.

Mar 12, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) drives to the basket around Colorado Buffaloes guard Felix Kossaras (15) during the first half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images / William Purnell-Imagn Images

No. 16 Colorado stunned No. 8 seed West Virginia in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament on Wednesday, winning by a 67-60 score.

Here are a few of my takeaways from today's game.

Hansberry had a dud of a game

For the Mountaineers to have any chance of playing well and advancing in the NCAA Tournament, they're going to need Amani Hansberry to play much better than what he did today. Offensively, his shot looked flat, pressed the issue at times, and did a poor job of defending without fouling. Elijah Malone had his way with him, particularly in the second half. For whatever reason, he looked as if he lacked a little bounce in his step.

Three-point shooting was...woof

Some of this stems from shot selection, but I blame most of their inefficiencies from deep on the lack of ball movement and flow of the offense. Once Colorado shifted to a zone look, it threw West Virginia off balance and after that, they couldn't seem to space the floor enough to create good looks. Again, that's going to have to change if they don't want to experience a quick exit in the big dance.

Where it all turned

In the second half, West Virginia turned the ball over on six straight possessions, just gifting Colorado the lead in what turned out to be a 15-0 run over a five-minute span. It seemed like their sloppiness on the offensive end followed with them over to the defensive end.

Sweating out Selection Sunday?

Even with today's loss to a really bad Colorado team, I still think it's going to take a lot for West Virginia to be left out of the field. Their resume, with this loss, remains stronger than many of the teams who are considered to be on the bubble. However, there could be some bid stealers out there at the mid-major level and that could become a bit problematic.

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