The West Virginia Mountaineers suffered their worst loss of the season so far on Saturday, as they were manhandled 88-53 on the road against the No. 1-ranked Arizona Wildcats. The 35-point margin of defeat was certainly concerning, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a ton of positives from the effort.
But for WVU head coach Ross Hodge, one thing did stick out, particularly toward the end of the contest – and that was the team's fighting spirit despite the massive deficit. In the end, Hodge also decided to step up and take further accountability for the team's rough performance against the Wildcats.
Ross Hodge Praises His Team's Fight, Accepts Blame For Loss
The Mountaineers were certainly outmatched by the Wildcats on Saturday, which many fans likely expected to be the outcome of the game given how Arizona has performed this season. And while a West Virginia comeback never appeared to be in the cards, Hodge apparently saw the type of effort he wants from his team despite the difficult loss.
"As the clock was winding down, I was watching our guys on the floor... Harlan [Obioha], Amir [Jenkins], DJ [Thomas] and [Morris] Ugusuk. They were very together and had a tight huddle. I thought our guys competed. We were able to rebound the ball in the first half," Hodge said.
"But with the way we're constructed right now, we can't take away everything. But I got to look at that from a coaching perspective. I need to coach better and we need to play better."
Hopefully, the Mountaineers will be able to shake off another demoralizing defeat at the hands of a top-tier team in the Big 12 and bounce back, as they have after similar losses to Top 10 opponents in Iowa State and Houston.
There are still postseason hopes to play for, and plenty of basketball on the schedule, and to reach the team's ultimate goals, the players will need to keep digging deep and leaning on that fighting spirit as the season continues.