The Diehard Breakdown: LSU 74 WV 73

[WvuDieHard]

West Virginia loses its first game of the season tonight by blowing a 14 point second half lead. Some poor FG shooting by the Mountaineers and some turnovers helped LSU get back in it and win it on a late drive by Jonathon Gray in the final seconds. A tough loss by this young WV squad but a game they will learn immensely from. LSU surprised me with their ability to shoot the 3 (8-15) especially in transition. Yet it wasn't the guard play or 3 point shooting by LSU that won the game. It was the inside play of LSU's big men who outrebounded WV 44-35. The WV inside play was non existent as LSU pounded WV on the glass and in the paint where they scored 36 points. Holton and Williams did not play well overall. Holton was not contributing offensively and Williams was getting beat on the back side of the press or letting his man get a 2nd chance opportunity.

Scoring tonight was led by Staten (who took a horrendous forced shot late in the game)with 17 points, Miles, Jr. with 13 and Phillips off the bench with 12. Phillips played extremely well tonight and does provide a little offensive spark as he has the ability to create off the dribble. LSU shoots 50% from the field tonight and hits 14-18 FT's.

In conclusion, WV was exposed a little tonight as their half court offense was awful. I think LSU's size contributed to that greatly as pounding the ball in the middle was no guarantee. We did see Watkins tonight and I think if he could develop some inside game, he should be playing more minutes than Devon Williams who is slow. Billy Dee Williams got in there tonight as well and looked like a lost deer in the headlights. Not sure what he brings to the table. Another observation was the defense on the half court set. Why not mix it up a little? Maybe a possession or two of 1-3-1 or a tight 1-2-2 zone. My reasoning on that was LSU's point guard who hurt us off the dribble as evidenced by his 7 assists. I guess I am a bitter sore loser tonight as you hate to see these kind of games slip away. But I will say this, a loss will only make this team better. I guess we will find out. Have good evening Mountaineer Fans wherever your country road has taken you.

 

[bbwvfan]

I thought this was a terrible loss. Williams misses a fucking layup that he could have slammed home, missed FT's to include two by Miles Jr. to go along with some terrible transition defense.

Hopefully the leadership of this team steps up.

I could not believe they got beat by a layup.

Of course... It should never come down to that...

 

[DBAR4WVU]

WVU played great, for all but the last 6 minutes. They blew this one big time. Take nothing away from LSU - this is a young team and they stood up to the pressure and kept their heads. WVU just could not maintain their level of play while LSU took their's up a notch. That is the difference between a good team and a great team.