Following disastrous TCU loss, West Virginia season reaches tipping point

COMMENTARY

When West Virginia recently dropped three straight games, the hope was that it was a temporary lull accelerated by a tough schedule.

No one is beating Kansas and Baylor in back-to-back games this season, with a split being the best thing that even a very good team could ask for. The loss that started the streak at Oklahoma was ugly, but not an unexpected hiccup against a team that needed a signature victory to solidify its tournament resume.

With Saturday’s horrendous loss at TCU, West Virginia showed its losing streak was no lull, and its inability to win on the road no coincidence. This season has officially reached its tipping point, with the final four regular-season games left to determine which way this seesaw will swing in March.

Bob Huggins was a man without answers after losing to a team the Mountaineers spanked by 32 points just over a month ago. At one point during his postgame radio interview, he just let out a long, loud exhale that said more than any words could.

Huggins did also have words, and they were depressing.

“I don’t know what to do,” he said. “I’m incredibly frustrated.”

“We’ve lost to the bottom part of the league. You can’t do that. You just can’t do that. I really thought this could be a special year that all West Virginians could rally around. Maybe it still can be.”

It certainly isn’t feeling that way. For now, the TCU loss is the undisputed low point of this season, though it’s possible rock-bottom has not yet been reached.

The Horned Frogs have been playing in Zombie Mode for awhile, entering Saturday with seven losses in eight games. And it’s not as if the Mountaineers ran into an intimidating home crowd. At one point in the first half, chants of “Let’s Go Mountaineers!” could be heard ringing through the lifeless atmosphere of Schollmaier Arena.

At that juncture West Virginia had a 25-15 lead, and would have delivered a knockout blow with a strong finish to the first half.

Instead, WVU’s unsightly offense made two field goals in its next 15 possessions, with the last basket being a Jordan McCabe lob pass that was so wildly inaccurate it somehow deflected off the glass hard enough to fall back down through the hoop.

If other teams are as successful as TCU was in erasing Oscar Tshiebwe from West Virginia’s offense, this season will continue going downhill in a hurry. There is very little to bail the Mountaineers out if he and Derek Culver aren’t both on top of their games.

Taz Sherman is the only legitimate outside threat on a team that is now 29 percent from three-point range.

Just how bad is that? If West Virginia played in the Big South — rated as the No. 30 conference out of 32 nationally — it would be the worst three-point shooting team in that league.

With the regular-season winding towards its conclusion, this team’s limitations are obvious. It’s up to Huggins to find ways to win despite them, or this year will be remembered for being special in the wrong way.





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