WVU basketball's defensive lapses might drive head coach Ross Hodge insane before the season is over.
Hodge came to West Virginia this season with a reputation as a head coach heavily forged in his ability to coach the defensive side of the ball, and it cannot be denied that the Mountaineers defense has look really god at many different points early in the season.
But this weekend at the Charleston Classic, WVU's inability to defend to Hodge's standards cost the Mountaineers two consecutive games. It started with the Mountaineers allowing Clemson to rally from an 11-point deficit on Friday to score 45 second-half points and earn a three-point win, in an effort that had Hodge feeling as if the Mountaineers didn't deserve to beat the Tigers.
And in Sunday's loss to the Xavier Musketeers, the Mountaineers gave up 16 three-point shots to their opponent, as Xavier shot 64% from behind-the-arc in the victory. And while that type of shooting is partially the Musketeers getting hot in an abnormal way, Hodge was still disappointed in his team's effort defensively.
"We weren't impactful enough on the defensive end," Hodge said after the game. "We didn't make it hard enough."
Hodge admitted that he knew Xavier was the type of team that could get hot from three-point range entering the game, but was hopeful that the Mountaineers might be able to negate it with their gritty, physical style of defensive effort. However, Hodge found his team lacking that most of the game, which allowed the Musketeers to find their groove early from deep. And once they got started knocking down three-pointers, they never stopped.
"We allowed them to establish a comfort zone offensively. They were able to move the ball freely and find the open man," Hodge said.
"We couldn't string enough stops consistently. We felt like going into the game, we had an advantage physically, and that's where the disappointment comes on my end."