The Diehard Breakdown: BAYLOR 87 WVU 69

[WvuDieHard]

Against the bigger more athletic Baylor Bears, WV gets pounded in Morgantown 87-69 in a game that was dominated from the beginning by the visiting team from Waco. WV scores just 3 points in the first 9 minutes of the game to fall behind by 18points and they never recovered. Baylor shot 54% from the field and hit some key 3's in the first half that never allowed WV to get back in it.

Baylor places 5 players in double figures led by Rico Gathers' 17 points and 16 rebounds. WV was led by Devon Williams who has 20 points and 15 rebounds. Carter and Miles round it out with 13 and 10 points respectively. WV was beaten on the glass today 43-35 and that made a difference. The Mountaineers forced the Bears into 19 TO's but again WV commits 16 themselves.

So what do we draw from this game? For me, it was about preparation and changing what you do against different kind of competition. Baylor and Texas are very much alike and the results have been very much alike--both teams pounded WV. Why? 1) they found a way to beat the press 2) they knock down open shots behind the arc and 3) they pound the glass. So what is the answer? First of all, if you are going to beat me by 18 with a zone the whole game, I'll be damned if I am going slow it up and work 30 seconds off the clock and then take a bad shot or turn it over. What I am going to do is push it on every possession and attack the glass off the dribble. I just don't see how you can do it any other way against these kind of teams. You can't let them pack a zone and dare you shoot. I also thought we were a step slow again today--much like the OU game. Are we wearing out? Or is a 12pm game on a Saturday just to much to ask for in Morgantown? Defensively, we really need to mix it up--now is the time in the season to do that. Where is the twist Huggy? 1-3-1 half court maybe? 3/4 court press? Teams are prepared for us now so we had better start to adjust. Finally, WTF is up with our bigs? They act like they have never received a pass in the paint? They turn it over continuously and take awful shots around the rim. Missing many 2-3 footers. Holton, Macon, and Watkins looks like jugglers out of the circus. It was really embarrassing. Not sure how a team can take a step back but this one has. Lets hope it is the mid season bump in the road because we wont win any games by scoring 3 points in the first 9 minutes. Have a great day Mountaineer fans wherever your country road has taken you!

 

[bbwvfan]

First back to back losses of the season.

My boy slaton questioned whether the press was causing fatigue a few weeks ago. I laughed it off at the time. But DIEHARD...like you... I am starting to wonder if fatigue may be affecting their performance.

I wish WVU had some athleticism in the frontcourt. I hate seeing them struggle to score from 2-3 feet from the basket.

Bring on the Wildcats...

 

[DCWV4life]

@CMAnderson247: Bob Huggins says he "could see it slipping three weeks ago. Practices just weren't the same." #WVU

 

[bbwvfan]

Yeah… Bobby was ripping his boys to the media again yesterday. That has worked out well for him in the past.

 

[DCWV4life]

Well BB if he drops these are "not my type players" I might explode lol

Allan Taylor ask the question if we are a bubble team at this point....IMO if we do not make the tourney that would be a epic collapse

 

[WvuDieHard]

Right now this team has about 2 wins left in it: Kansas State and Okla. St. both at home. I would not expect anything from the 4 road games at Kansas, Iowa State, Okla. State, and Baylor. An 8-10 conference record (20-11 overall) will have you packing your bags for New York and the NIT. This team has to win 3 of the last 8 to have a chance. 4-4 is a no brainer--you're in.

 

[bbwvfan]

I agree… I think they should grab 2. Not feeling too confident about the NCAA these days….

 

[Anotherwvufan]

We are still strong in the RPI. It would be hard for this team to miss the NCAAs

 

[mad2mc]

IMO, they need to win 2 home and 2 on the road. Need to present a stronger resume than the current one they have.

 

[WVUDAD]

Well BB if he drops these are "not my type players" I might explode lol

Allan Taylor ask the question if we are a bubble team at this point....IMO if we do not make the tourney that would be a epic collapse

A week ago, Palm had us a #4 seed in his bracketology............

 

[CoolBeans]

This WV team is strong, but has glaring weaknesses.


There are no true "zone buster" shooters on this roster. Yes, we have guys that can shoot the rock on any given night, but no one for a zone to "cheat" towards....which opens up spacing.


This is a VERY VERY YOUNG team! Don't forget that. Their BB IQ is a little questionable at times. The lack of consistency you are seeing is due to that.


I said several times we had not played the bulk part of our Big 12 schedule. This is a good team, and on any given night can pull an upset over better teams, but it still has far exceeded my expectations. They usually hustle and work. Frankly, the grind of the Big 12 schedule on a young team is difficult. If you would tell me we'd be 18-5 right now in the preseason... I'd take it.


Tough road to hoe for us. Ok. St twice, Kansas twice, Baylor again Texas again, and at Iowa St. Our only non-ranked foe is our next game at home versus Kansas St. If we can win 3 of the next 8.... that may be good. If we go .500 in the final 8... That would be really good. The sky is not falling, the competition is tougher. Plain and Simple.

 

[DCWV4life]

The team is young I give you that.

But the recipe to beat them is simple....break the press which teams have been doing easily and force them into a half court offense. Now it seems they are giving up the offensive boards as well.

Very poor shooting team, early in season we were getting 18 more shots than the other team so it hid our weakness....now that gap is a bit closer and we are missing a lot of those easy ones. I applaud the hustle of this team, but overall they are not very talented at this point in their BB careers.

I have been consistent in my analysis of this team so please do not feel as if I am jumping off the bandwagon...

 

[bbwvfan]

WVU shot 14/40 from within 5 feet of the basket on Saturday.

Enough said...

 

[Slaton10]

I will reiterate my point..if you have no spring in your legs from pressing game after game for 40 minutes...your shooting percentage is going to shrink..

 

[DBAR4WVU]

I will reiterate my point..if you have no spring in your legs from pressing game after game for 40 minutes...your shooting percentage is going to shrink..

This team can't afford to have their shooting percentage drop. It is already anemic.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Pressing 40 minutes a game will definitely take your legs out from under you. Yet I see different a glaring weakness here: a point guard who can't shoot. And because of this, they pack it inside and let you clang away. That is why you saw a lot of Chase Conners in the Baylor game. Only problem was that Baylor knew he could shoot and shaded him and left everybody else open. We must get Wannoe off the ball in the half court set because he is useless when teams zone us. You can beat your sweet ass that WV will see nothing but zone the rest of the way.

 

[GoldRusher]

How many of our guys were playing JUCO/HS ball or sitting out this time last year? Maybe they are starting to fade

 

[bbwvfan]

It certainly hasn't helped that our preseason conference player of the year has been under performing. He isn't shooting well, isn't finishing on drives to the basket, has had some unusual turnovers, and has spent more time siting on the bench for long periods than we ever saw last season.

I am not sure what's going on with Wanny.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Wanny thinks he is better than what he is--real simple.