17-3 with 11 to go

[DBAR4WVU]

So in the DIEHARD breakdown of last night's killer win (hope you got to watch it) he asked
the question, "Did you think WV would be 17-3 after 20 games?" My answer was no.
I did say I thought this team would lose 5 or 6 games - but I think I may need to revise a bit.

So I was pondering the rest of the schedule - 11 games, 7 against ranked opponents.
WV so far is 1-2 against ranked B12 teams. How will they fare?

I think they go 7-4 to end up 24-7. I think 8-3 is possible, but....

3 of the next 4 are at home. I think 3-1 is possible. Baylor will be a true test.
K St could also come into M-Town fired up.

4 of the next 6 are away. WV has done good on the road (only loss @ TX), but this will be
a huge challenge. @ Iw St, Ok St, Baylor and Kansas. If we can split those, that would be great.
Then at home - Kansas, TX, Ok St - Kansas is just too much (but anyone can be beaten).
Too big, too athletic. We should win the other 2. I don't think Texas is good enough to
beat WV twice. WV will have to beat themselves.
They have done that twice already this year.

That gives us the 7-4. 8-3 if we can beat Kansas at home. 24-7 or 25-6.
Then we need to do well in the Conference tourny.
I don't think we win - but if they can shoot, they have
as good a shot as anyone.

 

[WvuDieHard]

I think once teams have seen this press, they are going to adjust. Texas had the formula which was simply walk it up the press and pound it inside. You can beat the press if you don't put it on the floor and whip it to the middle. So the real question is will WVU and Huggins adjust their press when they play teams the 2nd time? With Texas, you are going to have to knock down 3's to beat them if the zone. They have good guards and will attack the press or pound it inside. They make good decisions. Same goes with Iowa State. I wonder what happened to the patented 1-3-1 trapping zone? Anyone wanna bet that gets pulled out of the closet soon? Therefore, I think we can muster 6-5 down the stretch. As much as we have pressed all year long, you gotta start wondering about our legs. When you look at our shooting %, you have to think full court pressing is partly responsible for that.

 

[bbwvfan]

I don't think I buy into Texas having a formula to break the WVU press. They committed 19 TO's in the game. That was after having a whole week to prepare for it. The WVU press forces all 5 players on offense to have to handle the ball in places on the court they're not comfortable. The only team that has 5 players who handle the rock well is ISU. And, they still committed 18 TO's against WVU….

WVU played like shit against Texas… they shot 24% from the field and committed 17 TO's themselves. JMO… but, I don't think WVU went into the Texas game with the right mental attitude. I think they looked at a Texas team that was playing like shit… and thought… we're gonna show you this ain't the same team as last year. And, then the storm hit… and the Texas players who had been struggling… started producing… and the smack came down… and our guys wilted.

While the 2-3 zone can be played a bunch of different ways, you don't necessarily have to shoot 3's against it to beat it. You have to be able to move the zone… and that is done with ball movement. WVU does not appear to be a great passing team. Combine that with spotty/streaking outside shooting… and you get 24% FG shooting some nights.

I liked recently when Huggy put one of his guards at the high post to attack the 2-3 with inside/outside passing. Adrien and Macon seem to be a pretty good from the high post as well. With effective inside passing… a lot of chippies are available.

 

[DBAR4WVU]

The Texas game was a perfect storm of bad execution by WV comig together against TX.
Bad shooting, rebounding, etc. WV did little right in that game. TX didn't seem to be bothered
by the press much of the time. WV did force some TO's but gave up almost as many.

Gotta figure WV has a better showing in game 2 than they had the 1st go round.
Almost would have to, right?

 

[DrPhil58]

I know one thing is for sure, WVU plays hard all the time (minus the Texas game). I believe 7-4 is achievable, but 6-5 looks more realistic. I like the way Devin plays the second half, just wish he would play a complete game. Macon looks good for shots inside and he seems to block a shot or two when he is playing good. Holton is hard to figure out, not sure why can't shoot the ball better than he does especially on the inside. He can play defense great and shoots his free throws decently. I'm wondering if Staten is hurting more than what he shows, he sure has missed a lot of free throws lately. Phillip has looked good the last couple of games too, hopefully he can continue. Miles and Carter are streeky shooters; hopefully they can catch fire at the right moment.

I know they have a tough stretch ahead of them, but if they can weather the storm then WVU will do well in the tournament.

 

[WvuDieHard]

BB--in the Texas game, the early whistles were atrocious and it set the tone for the game. Texas is big and long so because of that they make it very difficult for our guys to score it close to the basket. Albeit that is partly because our bigs suck at passing the ball. Trust me, you don't want Holton or Williams making passes in a Zone. I did like putting a guard at the top in the zone because it will suck them in a little and open the wings. Texas is a very difficult match up for us probably the worst match up in the league. I think Feliz is one of the top guards in the league as well and coupled with the size in the middle of a Zone, it really forces us to shoot the ball better than we have been. We can't continue to turn it over 15-20 times a game and expect to consistently win. We need a helter skelter game of sloppy ugly play and we thrive.

 

[countryroads316]

The Texas game was the worst one sided officiated game ever even Bob Huggins was pissed and complained but said he couldn't say anything because he would be fined

 

[bbwvfan]

BB--in the Texas game, the early whistles were atrocious and it set the tone for the game. Texas is big and long so because of that they make it very difficult for our guys to score it close to the basket. Albeit that is partly because our bigs suck at passing the ball. Trust me, you don't want Holton or Williams making passes in a Zone. I did like putting a guard at the top in the zone because it will suck them in a little and open the wings. Texas is a very difficult match up for us probably the worst match up in the league. I think Feliz is one of the top guards in the league as well and coupled with the size in the middle of a Zone, it really forces us to shoot the ball better than we have been. We can't continue to turn it over 15-20 times a game and expect to consistently win. We need a helter skelter game of sloppy ugly play and we thrive.

I agreed with the match-up problems facing WVU last year. I am not too sure they present the same problem this year though.

However, it is a different story if two of our best bigs aren't on the court. Williams lost his mind in the Texas game. I think he wanted to show Texas… and the world… how much his game had improved since last year. And, he mentally lost it.

Like any sport, basketball is mental. I hope Texas hasn't gotten into their heads. All they need to do is watch tape of the Texas vs OU or Texas vs Okie St games to see how teams with similar size whip the Longhorns. OU made 5 3's for the game… held Homes and Ridley to 7 combined points. Okie St held Ridley and Holmes to 4 combined points.

But, you gotta have Williams and Holton on the court to defend those two to slow them down…

 

[DBAR4WVU]

2 Games in to the last 11 and not exactly on track.
I expected OK to be tough, but not as tough as I saw last night.
After the performance last night, I think it is pretty certain that WV drops both to Kansas.
After watching them dominate Iw St the other night, seems likely.
Then Baylor twice - splt? Iw St is a toss up. Texas? Who knows...
Okla St - they have beaten K St, Tx, TT and Baylor. This may be a trap series for WV.
Think they are not to be taken seriously and you could be in big trouble.
I predicted 7-4.... but 6-5 or even 5-6 is possible if games like last night occur.

Baylor and the rematches with Iowa St and K State are critical.
They are the competition for runner up behind Kansas.

Sat Jan 31 .. W 77 - 58 T XTECH (1-0)
Tue Feb 3 ... L 71 - 52 at OKLA (1-1)
Sat Feb 7 ... ESPU .... BAYLOR (2-1??)
Wed Feb 11 .. ESPU .... KSTATE
Sat Feb 14 .. ESP2 ..... at IOWA ST
Mon Feb 16 .. ESPN ..... KANSAS
Sat Feb 21 ... ???? ..... at OKLA ST
Tue Feb 24 ... ESP2 ..... TEXAS
Sat Feb 28 ... ESPU .... at BAYLOR
Tue Mar 3 .... ESP2 .... at KANSAS
Sat Mar 7 .... ???? ...... OKLA ST

 

[DBAR4WVU]

As the slide continues, it is time to reassess this teams viability. I am starting to agree that this team may be dealing with fatigue from the relentless pressing. They have not been as aggressive/effective as they were earlier in the season. That could be some burnout but could also be that teams have learned how to beat the pressure by watching what others have done effectively against WV.

With 8 games to go - I don't see many more wins for this team given the current level of their play.
In theory, they could lose all 8. I will be surprised if they win more than 2 unless they start executing at a much higher level than the last 2 games.

Sat Jan 31 .. W 77 - 58 T XTECH
Tue Feb 3 ... L 71 - 52 at OKLA
Sat Feb 7 .... L 87 - 69 .... BAYLOR
Wed Feb 11 .. ESPU .... KSTATE
Sat Feb 14 .. ESP2 ..... at IOWA ST
Mon Feb 16 .. ESPN ..... KANSAS
Sat Feb 21 ... ???? ..... at OKLA ST
Tue Feb 24 ... ESP2 ..... TEXAS
Sat Feb 28 ... ESPU .... at BAYLOR
Tue Mar 3 .... ESP2 .... at KANSAS
Sat Mar 7 .... ???? ...... OKLA ST

 

[DBAR4WVU]

5 - 3 with 3 games to go, 7 - 4 is still within reach (6-5 is likely IMO).

Jan 31 .. W 77 - 58 ... TX TECH
Feb 3 .... L 71 - 52 at OKLA
Feb 7 .... L 87 - 69 .... BAYLOR
Feb 11 .. W 76 - 72 ... KSTATE
Feb 14 .. L 79 - 59 .. at IOWA ST
Feb 16 .. W 62 - 61.... KANSAS
Feb 21 .. W 73 - 63 at OKLA ST
Feb 24 ... W 71 - 64 .. TEXAS
Sat Feb 28 ... ESPNU .... at BAYLOR
Tue Mar 3 .... ESPN2 .... at KANSAS
Sat Mar 7 .... ???? ........ OKLA ST