WVU basketball fell short of a home win against Texas Tech last Saturday, resulting in their first seven-game losing streak since 2012. The Mountaineers could not match the Red Raiders’ furious scoring runs in the second half despite consistently keeping the game within single digits.
81
Despite shooting poorly from the field, West Virginia shot 81 percent from the free-throw line, only missing four of their 21 free throw attempts this game. The Mountaineers had seven more free throw attempts than Texas Tech, allowing them to keep the game close despite their atrocious shooting.
31
Jalen Bridges and Sean McNeil scored 31 of West Virginia’s 53 points. These two players were also the only two Mountaineers to make any three-pointers in this game. Bridges and McNeil averaged 33 percent from the field, much better than the rest of the team which shot a combined 17 percent from the field.
24.2
The Mountaineers shot only 24.2 percent from the field, their lowest field goal percentage of the season. While some shots were going down in the first half, West Virginia only shot 13.6 percent from the field in the second half. Regardless of the Mountaineers six-point lead at the half, it would have been nearly impossible to pull out a win with such a small proportion of shots going in.
14
West Virginia’s bench scored a total of 14 points against Texas Tech on Saturday. Only four of these bench points were field goals, the rest were from the line. In their remaining games this season, more bench players will need to step up for the Mountaineers, especially during Taz Sherman’s absence.
12
While the Red Raiders turned the ball over 12 times throughout the game, West Virginia only scored nine points off these turnovers, none of them being in the second half. The Mountaineers’ lack of productivity from Texas Tech’s turnovers played a heavy part in their loss on Saturday. West Virginia must find a way to use their opponents’ mistakes to their advantage, especially in games where the Mountaineers struggle to connect with the basket.
9
West Virginia only had nine turnovers against the Red Raiders, tied for their least turnovers in a conference game. Turnovers have been an area that the Mountaineers have struggled with this season, so it is promising to see them improve against a Texas Tech defense that has forced double-digit turnovers in all but one of their previous games this season.
6
West Virginia had six assists the entire game, three of which came from Gabe Osabuohien alone. This is not a season-low for the Mountaineers, who only had five assists in their loss to Kansas earlier this season. West Virginia has struggled to get this number up all season, causing a lack of teamwork and connection on offense.
4
The Mountaineers only made four field goals in the second half with 32 attempts. West Virginia also scored two times as many points this half off of free throws as they did field goal attempts. While this lack of field goals in the second half seems to just be a fluke, it is important that West Virginia keeps the momentum up throughout both halves of the game during their remaining games.
3
The Red Raiders went on three different scoring runs during the second half, leaving the Mountaineers’ defense in shambles. Texas Tech went on a six-point run to start the second half, followed by a seven-point run halfway through. Their final and most important run was only four points; however, it ended with a Daniel Batcho dunk that sealed the Red Raiders’ victory.
Author’s take
Many adjustments need to be made on both sides of the court for West Virginia to come out on top against Iowa State on Tuesday. If this losing streak continues any longer, the Mountaineers will lose any chance at getting a spot in the NCAA tournament next month.