(Bob Huggins pregame press conference)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia’s 85-59 loss at Kansas last month serves as a microcosm of the Mountaineers’ Big 12 slate through the first two-thirds of league play. WVU entered that game with a 13-2 record and trailed 33-31 at halftime. They were outscored by the Jayhawks 52-28 over the final 20 minutes. KU comes to the Coliseum Saturday night for an 8 p.m. tip.
“We played pretty well in the first half. In the second half, we gave up an ungodly amount of baskets and they were all turnovers. We threw the ball to them, missed shots, everything was transition. Honestly, I thought we did a pretty good job in the halfcourt. As we have a propensity to do, we threw it to them,” said WVU head coach Bob Huggins.
“We let them go on a run, a big run. We just didn’t stop their transition. That was the biggest problem we had that whole game,” said WVU redshirt freshman forward Isaiah Cottrell.
West Virginia has been outscored in the second half in eight of their last ten games. A seven-point halftime lead Monday at Kansas State quickly evaporated as the Mountaineers (14-11, 3-9 Big 12) lost for the ninth time in their last ten games. Flickering hopes of an NCAA Tournament bid were dampened with an 0-2 road trip.
“If that happens once or maybe twice — I mean it has happened way more than that. We have just come out in the second half flat. We’ve got to figure out a way to get these guys ready to go for the second half,” Huggins said.
“We tend to just let up, get a little lax out there. We just have to keep the same intensity with every single person that comes off the bench,” Cottrell said.
In the loss at Kansas State, Cottrell scored a career-high 13 points on 5-for-14 shooting from the floor.
“I feel like I have been improving lately. But we lost. And I didn’t really shoot it too well that game. But it is a stepping stone to get better,” Cottrell said.
Gabe Osabuohien was kept out of the lineup against the Wildcats after he picked up three technical fouls in the previous two games. Huggins did not specify if Osabuohien will return against the Jayhawks.
“Watching practice yesterday, he better play a whole lot better,” Huggins said. “Everybody wants Gabe to play. We want him to play and the players want him to play. Gabe is his own worst enemy. I would think, rather than going to fight the biggest and strongest kid on the block, you ought to just be able to take care of yourself. He hasn’t figured that out yet. I think he will. He’s got one more day of practice to figure it out. And if he doesn’t, he is going to sit on the bench.”
Saturday’s game against Kansas (21-4, 10-2 Big 12) is sold out. It will mark the twelfth home game this season where the Mountaineers will play in front of over 10,000 fans.
“We are averaging [11,600]. Think about that. That has never happened here. It shows how hungry, I think, our state is and the people in our state are for us to get this thing turned and go start being relevant again. Because we went a long time and we were relevant. Now we are not relevant,” Huggins said.
Fish Fry Friday night
The annual Bob Huggins Fish Fry is set for tonight at Mylan Park. The event is in its tenth year and is a major fundraiser for the Norma Mae Huggins Endowment at the WVU Cancer Institute and Remember the Miners Flagship Scholars Program. Huggins says that Kansas head coach Bill Self will be in attendance. Huggins estimates that the event could raise up to $2 million.
“I sincerely believe that we can raise the money to build a cancer hospital. And we are going to. We need it in this state in the worst way. Just think, instead of people going to Cleveland Clinic, they go to Morgantown.
“I think it is the right thing to do. And if I can leave this state with anything in a positive way that will remain relevant to helping the people of West Virginia, I sure want to do that. And I have been blessed to be in the position I am in to be able to do that. I feel like I have to do my part.”