COMMENTARY
This was bound to happen at some point, and Kansas State was the perfect foil to exploit a weakness that has been evident to anyone who has followed West Virginia closely this season.
The Mountaineers are lacking in the backcourt, and if a solution is not found soon, this team’s aspirations of a Big 12 title and a long postseason run are in jeopardy.
The unpleasant truth that no one wants to bring up in polite company is now becoming unavoidable: sophomore Jordan McCabe is not good enough to be a starting point guard in the Big 12.
Miles McBride still has a lot of very freshman flaws to his game — picking up his fourth foul 90 feet from the basket at Kansas State demonstrated that well enough. But it’s time to cut the pretense and hand him the keys. McBride needs to be West Virginia’s starting point guard, beginning Monday night when Texas visits WVU Coliseum with its frenetic defense.
If nothing else, maybe a change in scenery is what McCabe needs to unlock his potential, because this team still needs him to contribute in a positive manner. That’s not happening at the moment. In 10 minutes against the Wildcats, he had three points, three turnovers and two assists.
McCabe had one of the worst of West Virginia’s 18 turnovers, a baffling crosscourt pass to a cornered Chase Harler that flew out of bounds. At that moment, Kansas State had a 5-on-4 advantage in the half-court, so whatever he was attempting to create did not exist.
McCabe had two feasible options: slow down and set up WVU’s half-court offense, or toss it eight feet away to Taz Sherman, who was wide-open for a three from the wing. Instead, he chose the first row of Bramlage Coliseum.
McCabe’s poor performance was not a case of small-sample bias.
In five Big 12 games, McCabe is averaging 3.2 points, 1.2 assists and two turnovers per game. He’s been bad, plain and simple.
But he does work hard, much in the manner of sixth-man supreme Gabe Osabuohien. In a game where the Mountaineers came out flat like they did on Saturday, McCabe would have been a lot more valuable to his team as a spark plug off the bench.
In additional fairness to McCabe, his turnover-to-assist ratio would be better if teammates were actually doing something upon catching one of his passes.
In particular, Emmitt Matthews is careening dangerously towards lost-cause status for the Mountaineers offense.
Matthews hasn’t reached double figures since scoring 10 points against Nicholls State on Dec. 14. In the eight games since, Matthews is 5 of 22 from the field (22.7 percent), including 0-for-9 from three-point range.
It’s not just a shooting issue. Matthews inexcusably had his pocket picked from behind while dribbling carelessly in the backcourt in the latter stages of the first half, allowing the Wildcats a free bucket to extend their lead to 17 right before halftime.
The problem is if Matthews can’t get it done from the wing, then some amalgamation of Jermaine Haley, Taz Sherman or Sean McNeil has to do it. Those guys combined for 10 points against the Wildcats — six for McNeil and four for Haley — while Haley had his worst defensive showing of the season in 16 lackluster minutes.
Sherman, the junior college transfer, does not look capable of carrying the load. The most telling sign of his confidence level came in the first half when he thought better of taking a wide-open jumper, then threw a pass directly to a Kansas State player. The Wildcats turned that fast break into three points on the other end.
It’s a credit to Bob Huggins and West Virginia’s many strengths that thus far only three teams have been capable of beating the Mountaineers despite their obvious cracks. This is still a talented team, and Saturday’s loss is no reason to panic.
It is, however, reason to make a change in the starting lineup before the cracks begin to widen.