WVU men's basketball is leaving South Carolina with a pair of losses after they dropped a 78-68 loss to the Xavier Musketeers on Sunday in the third-place game of the Palmetto Bracket of the Charleston Classic. Here are some realistic takeaways after a disappointing weekend in Charleston.
This Was An Abnormal Game
Listen, this isn't just an attempt to take the sting off a tough loss that now leaves this weekend in November as a massive blemish on the Mountaineers' NCAA Tournament resume. But their was an aspect of this loss that was abnormal in a sense, and could be the type of effort WVU won't see again this season.
How many times are you going to face a team that sinks 16 three-point shots in a game while shooting 64 percent from behind-the-arc? I think we can all agree, that's just not normal basketball. There is a chance West Virginia just ran into an unlucky situation, as Xavier scored 48 of their 78 points from three-point range, That won't happen to the Mountaineers often.
Treysen Eaglestaff's Performance Was Encouraging
Eaglestaff has taken more flack than any other starter in the lineup for the Mountaineers, so to see this type of effort from him against Xavier was encouraging. Eaglestaff led the Mountaineers in scoring (20 points) and assists (four) wile also adding five rebounds, including three on the offensive end, and one block. He went 0-for-5 from three-point range, but found other ways to get the job done.
Eaglestaff was highly-touted entering this season and had yet to produce like he did today, and it was certainly reassuring for WVU fans to see from the senior. If he can continue to put together efforts like this as the Mountaineers work out their kinks in non-conference play, he could settle into his expected role as a top performer for this team entering the latter-half of the season.
This Weekend Cannot Dictate This Team's Season
It needs to be driven home that these losses din Charleston do not decide how this season will end for this team. They might not help the end goal of an NCAA Tournament appearance, but they also don't change the fact this team has a lot of basketball left to play.
The Mountaineers have shown a ton of potential early in the season, and this is still a team that is missing forward Jackson Fields due to injury and has only played a handful of games together as a group. After last year's miracle performance at The Battle 4 Atlantis, it's easy to forget that this early in the season, a lot of chemistry still needs to be developed, especially against Power 5 competition.
While the loss to Xavier and Friday's loss to Clemson are tough to swallow after the 5-0 start to the year, playing competitively with power conference opponents right now shows this team does have what it takes to succeed. They just need a little more time to piece it all together.