The Diehard Breakdown: Mizzu 80 WVU 71

[WvuDieHard]

For all the accolades and praise about WV’s shooting ability, tonight’s performance should bring that back down to reality. Mizzu was long at every position as the shortest starter was 6’5. That height and reach certainly played a role in WV’s ability to get clean and open looks. Toss in some speed and muscle and WV found an opponent that their young squad was not ready for on this evening. After failing to score in the first 5 minutes and falling behind 9-0, the Mountaineers stumbled into the locker room at halftime down 36-22. The second half saw WV fall behind as much as 21 points. Later in the half, WV was able to pick up the pace and pressure the ball a little more but in the end, the bigger, more physical Tigers were too much to handle.
Staten leads WV in scoring with 16 but also had 5 TO’s and only shot 5-13, many of which were forced. Henderson and Browne tally 14 apiece and Devin “Big Train” Williams nets 10. WV loses the battle of the glass 40-32. WV had 8 assists to go with 10 turnovers on this evening. The team shoots 27-65 from the field for a putrid 41.5% while making only 4-19 behind the 3 line. FT’s are still an issue: 13-21.
So in conclusion, I was happy to see this club fight back and not quit but that is the equivalent of a big smile and a firm hand shake as you still take a loss. I have some issues with this club offensively right now. I don’t think we are utilizing Williams enough inside. We have too many people looking to shoot a 3pt shot and it hurt us tonight. Williams is a tremendous talent and we need to go to him now. He can score in the post and when he does those 3 points shots are more open as it will draw the defense in a little. Another issue I have here is Staten’s obsession to drive in the paint out of control. When you do this you either A) turn the ball over or B) miss a shot or C) get fouled. Now if you are a 95% free throw shooter, those TO’s don’t look so bad. But when you chuck 5-8 from the stripe, including a couple missed one and ones, you can’t have that shit from your point guard. Toss in 5-13 shooting and that is a recipe for losing. Remember, 5 guys have their eyes on the ball when it comes up the floor, you can’t take it thru all of them . Staten needs to shoot only on open breaks and take an occasional open 12-15 footer. He needs to distribute the ball at all other times.
Nonetheless, the team is improving but they are not quite there yet. Need to play a little more together and get in sync. Well, the Zags come into Morgantown Tuesday so hopefully we play better at home. One last word of advice, we better know where that little sharp shooter Pangos is at on the floor at all times come Tuesday. He will wear you out and take the game over quickly shooting 3’s. Wonder if we will remember how he ripped our tits off last year? Have a great day Mountaineer fans wherever your country road has taken you!

 

[bbwvfan]

Ugly start to the game last night. 5 TO's for Staten was very uncharacteristic. On the positive side, they fought back and made it a game late. Huggy coached his ass off. Once the kids recognized the switching defenses of Mizzou, they settled down and shot much better. I liked the fact that Staten identified when he could take it to the rim and when it was better to drive and kick. I was screaming for that type of attack the entire 1st half. Loved the defensive pressure and energy WVU's defense applied in the 2nd half. Another great adjustment. Wish we had seen WVU play with that much energy on defense at the start.

Staten looked like a leader last night. Good for him...

 

[WvuDieHard]

BB Staten can be a leader but he needs to lead by example. First of all, he has got to make free throws especially if you 40% of the offense going thru the point guard. When a point guard drives the lane, he had better get something positive because the back door is open on the other end. As stated in the post, need more Devin Williams in the paint as that will loosen things up for the shooters.

 

[bbwvfan]

I know what you're saying. Staten shot close to 77% from the FT line last year, and with all the work he has put in on his shooting, I think the mechanics are there. He plays a lot of minutes, so maybe he needs to take a few more sec's to catch his breath and make sure he uses his legs when tired in the 2nd half.

As far as his driving the lane, as you know... someone has to rotate over the top when he drives to protect the run-outs. Just Mizzou was a lot faster than these guys probably thought they were going to be, so there was not good prep on them.

 

[JIMKOON]

they had grit for sure, unlike last season. shooting poor. foul shooting horrendous. rebounding almost there. not a great step but experience