Was West Virginia’s two-game swing through the Lonestar State a success?
There’s something to be said for splitting road games against revenge-minded TCU and Baylor while playing without second-leading scorer Esa Ahmad. Then again, the Mountaineers required a fortunate final 5 seconds to survive in Fort Wort, and they crumpled late in Waco against a team lacking its point guard.
Yes, with 9 minutes left at Baylor, the Mountaineers were primed to go 2-0 on the trip. But would you have expected this knowing beforehand they were going to shoot 36 and 37 percent in those games?
Depends on your perspective, we suppose.
The Mountaineers didn’t damage (or boost) their NCAA tournament profile and they still control their own path to the Big 12 tournament’s No. 2 seed. Beat Iowa State at home Friday and they win all tiebreaking scenarios.
Check out the Gold & Blue Lunch Report’s recap of Monday night’s punchless finish from a 71-62 loss at Baylor.