The West Virginia Mountaineers are likely kicking themselves after Sunday's effort against the No. 13 Texas Tech Red Raiders.
WVU basketball entered the game needing another resume-building, signature win to further build their NCAA Tournament case – and Texas Tech provided a perfect opportunity on their home court. And the Red Raiders certainly allowed the Mountaineers to stick around just close enough for the majority of the game, securing just a seven-point win in the 70-63 victory.
But the toughest part of the loss is that the Mountaineers could have won the game with just moderately better shooting in two different offensive facets, but allowed multiple opportunities to slip away due to an absolutely dreadful shooting effort.
Shooting Woes Spell Disaster For West Virginia Mountaineers
The Mountaineers just couldn't get the job done behind the arc or at the charity stripe on Sunday, and it was the clear deciding factor in the game. The Mountaineers shot just 2-of-22 from three-point range for an ugly 9.1% shooting performance – the worst single-game three-point percentage the program has posted since the 2011-2012.
Then, at the foul line, the Mountaineers left ten potential points on the table, going just 13-of-23 on free throws for a dismal 56.5 foul shooting percentage. And when you lose by just seven points, it's hard to look back at those types of numbers and not to feel like an opportunity was squandered.
"When you have clean looks, you've got to make them," head coach Ross Hodge said after the game.
But Hodge also wasn't necessarily upset by his team's shot selection from three-point range in particular, and thought that many of his team's attempts were open looks that he encourages his team to take. But unfortunately, the Mountaineers have been a streaky team when it comes to scoring this year, and have often struggled with long stretches of missing several open shots.
"They did a good job on Honor," Hodge said. "I think two of Honor's six were good. Jasper's were open, open. Amir's were open, open. DJ's were open, open. I told those guys, you can't be embarrassed by it, you can't run from it. You've got to lean into it."