After a hot start from a Javon Small-led West Virginia team, the Mountaineers seemed to have found a groove in their first action in Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament. Facing the 16-seed Colorado Buffaloes, WVU allowed Colorado to hang around after building a quick double-digit lead. A stagnant offense for the Mountaineers led to just a 6-point halftime lead, 29-23.
Colorado continued to chip away and benefited from a 15-0 run which led to a 52-46 lead for the Buffaloes with 5 minutes to play. An early exit in Kansas City is certainly not what the Mountaineers wanted, but thankfully they did enough work to close out the regular season that they should be hearing their name called on Selection Sunday on the 16th. However, before turning the page completely to the NCAA Tournament, let’s first identify what went wrong for the Mountaineers in Kansas City, leading to their early exit.
What went wrong?
1. Extreme Offensive Woes
Stop me if you have heard this before, scoring droughts continue to plague the Mountaineers this season. Colorado was able to keep it close in the first half because of a notable scoring drought by WVU and in the second half, Colorado went on a 15-0 run after trailing by 9 midway through the period.
Javon Small scored 13 points through about 10 minutes in the first half and went through a stretch where he wasn’t looking for his shot as much. The supporting cast simply wasn’t able to handle the offensive load.
As good as Javon Small is, games, where he’s missing shots should not be automatic losses. Yet for West Virginia, the tendency appears to be that Javon Small must be Superman in order for them to win basketball games, even against a team like Colorado. It’s not like Small was bad either, he posted 23 points on 7-15 shooting and made 4 of his 11 three-point attempts.
2. Amani Hansberry & Joseph Yesufu’s had quiet performances
Entering tournament play, Hansberry had reached double-figure scoring in 4 of his last 6 games. Against Colorado he failed to make a field goal, going 0-5 with 2 points. As head coach Darian DeVries has stated numerous times, Amani Hansberry’s offensive output is essential for West Virginia, and he simply did not have it in Kansas City.
While West Virginia got some production from Toby Okani (11 points) and Jonathan Powell (8 points), Joseph Yesufu is another player for West Virginia that has been streaky this season. Like Hansberry, his offense is a big-time need for West Virginia. He scored a season-high 18 points in a regular season win against Colorado, but had just 4 points on 2-6 shooting.
If West Virginia is to win a first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament and have hopes of a second-round upset, Javon Small is going to need a little help from his friends.
3. Defending The Big Man
Colorado's big man, Elijah Malone was a significant piece to the puzzle for the Buffaloes' second-half comeback. He had 14 points on an efficient 7-10 from the field against WVU. Posted up against either Amani Hansberry or Eduardo Andre, Malone seemed to have his way offensively. Malone is listed at 6’10 and 268 pounds and he used his size to his advantage on Wednesday afternoon.
If this sounds like a problem that West Virginia has had recently that’s because it is. In West Virginia’s embarrassing loss at the hands of BYU on March 1st, big man Fousseyni Traore had his way with the WVU front court. Fousseyni Traore was basically prime Shaquille O’Neal in Provo. The 6’6”, 240-pound Senior finished the night with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. He made 9 of his 13 shots, all coming at the rim.
Selection Sunday
Thankfully, the Mountaineers seem to be safely in the NCAA Tournament field and await to hear their name called on Selection Sunday. For now, the can get home, get rested, and gear up for next week.