MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Even though Kansas State had played West Virginia to a one-point game in the late stages, Bruce Weber felt his team did too much to lose the game early.
“It was Groundhog Day for us,” Weber said after his Wildcats fell 81-71 on Saturday, dropping to 1-4 in Big 12 road games. “We keep repeating the same action on the road where we don’t play very well in the first half and then we battle in the second half and give ourselves a chance.”
West Virginia built a 39-31 halftime lead as Kansas State committed eight turnovers and took shots uncharacteristic of its offense.
“The biggest thing is the first half—we just didn’t play,” Weber said. “We’ve got to find a way to get better prepared and get some emotion and passion in the first half. That’s where we lost the game—not at the end.”
Calling the Big 12 schedule “unforgiving,” Weber saw West Virginia win the kind of game it hasn’t typically captured—at least not until it squeezed past Baylor four days ago.
“They’ve had how many games—Gonzaga, Purdue, Oklahoma State. They could have won all those games and easily be 15 and whatever,” Weber said. “Today they found a way to get this one.”