WVU Already in a Tough Spot to Begin League Play
Free throws and turnovers were the difference in West Virginia's Big 12 opening loss to Kansas State in overtime.
The Mountaineers struggled at the free throw line from the early going and it continued for the entire night as they shot 20/38 (52%) from the charity stripe. The big men, in particular, Jimmy Bell Jr. and Mohamed Wague, led those struggles shooting a combined 6/18 from the line.
As much as those missed opportunities hurt WVU, it was the turnover that really cost them the game. They turned it over 20 times with seven of the eleven players that saw the floor turning it over two or more times. Four players, Kedrian Johnson, Tre Mitchell, Jimmy Bell Jr., and Mohamed Wague had at least three turnovers.
"We've had numerous conversations about how we excessively turn the ball over and do some stupid things," said head coach Bob Huggins. "We did some stupid things today which turned the game around."
Turning it over 20 times, in this league, isn't going to win you many games, if any. The bigger problem is what lies ahead for West Virginia. They hit the floor once again on Monday in Stillwater to take on an 8-5 Oklahoma State team that nearly upset Kansas on the road. It may only be the second game in Big 12 play, but it's about as important as a second league game could get. When WVU returns home, they have the pleasure of facing No. 4 Kansas and No. 12 Baylor. If they somehow fall to the Cowboys, which is very possible, they could be staring at an 0-4 start to conference play.
Huggins didn't have much to say in his postgame press conference but he saw this coming from a mile away.
"It started at Stony Brook. We played Stony Brook and won by 11? We're supposed to win by 40. That's not a knock on them. That's a knock on us. It started there."
You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:
Facebook - @MountaineersNow
Twitter - @MountaineersNow and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.
