Hail WV
Fansided

WVU basketball blown out in opener against Texas A&M

By Matthew Peaslee

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Head coach Bob Huggins of the West Virginia Mountaineers recats in the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Head coach Bob Huggins of the West Virginia Mountaineers recats in the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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The WVU basketball team started off its 2017-18 season by being embarrassed on national television.

The Mountaineers were blown out by Texas A&M in the Armed Forces Classic from Germany. The Aggies picked up an 88-65 victory against the WVU basketball team.

This isn’t how the Mountaineers pictured their season staring at all. West Virginia came into the season ranked No. 11 in the country. Now, the WVU basketball team is 0-1 and will come back to the country looking to regroup.

The Mountaineers started off on fire by leading 20-7 in the first few minutes of the game. The 13-point lead dwindled as the Aggies switched from a man-to-man defense to a zone. Apparently that was enough to put the Mountaineers into an offensive funk. The Aggies stormed back to put together a dominating run that allowed them to keep their foot on the gas for the remainder of the game.

The WVU basketball team was left in the dust and, frankly, appeared to quit on the court once the game got out of hand. The WVU basketball team couldn’t work the ball inside, like head coach Bob Huggins has stressed would be a priority. Instead, the Mountaineers were firing up 3-pointers and misfiring on all accounts.

The team was 12 of 40 from behind-the-arc, while Texas A&M shot 52 percent on 3s. On all field goals, the Mountaineers shot 34 percent, while the Aggies went for 48 percent. It’s certainly concerning because the offense for the Mountaineers has always held them back. It looks like that will unfortunately be the case this season as well.

James Bolden came off the bench to lead the WVU basketball team with 19 points. Jevon Carter finished with 13 points and Wesley Harris added 12. Sagaba Konate started out fine but only finished with six points. he did have four blocks, but also committed a technical foul.

Obviously, it’s early — way early in this young season. This game doesn’t mean a whole lot with the Mountaineers still able to complete all of their goals this season. There is large cause for concern, though, because they flat out were embarrassed. The Mountaineers were ranked higher and were favorites to win the game.

Next: All-time WVU basketball team

The WVU basketball team failed and didn’t get the job done. Thankfully, there are many more opportunities to make magic moments happen this season.

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