Bob Huggins Explains Lack of Hustle and Competitiveness is Behind the Loss to Florida
Florida Gators shot an impressive 55.2% from the field in the second half, including 7-11 from three-point range to upset The No. 11 West Virginia Mountaineers 85-80 Saturday afternoon.
After scoring 19 second half points in the win over Texas Tech on Monday night, West Virginia guard Miles “Deuce” McBride picked up where he left off, hitting three of his first four shots for a quick six points in the opening minutes of the game and the Mountaineers took an 11-8 lead into the first media timeout. Deuce quickly cooled and would not make another bucket in the game as he finished the afternoon shooting 3-15 from the field and nine points.
However, forward Derek Culver had himself a game and carried the Mountaineers in the first half, driving the ball into the lane and posting up in the paint, displaying his dominance with 21 points at the break on an efficient 6-6 from the field and 9-11 at the free throw line.
The Gators were able to stay within a possession in the first half, attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line hitting 16-21, but the Mountaineers were able to take a five-point lead into halftime, 42-47.
West Virginia was able to push the lead to seven coming out of the half after Taz Sherman hit a step-back jumper off the left-wing. Still, the Gators continued to have their way on the offensive end of the floor and climbed to within two after Tre Mann hit his second three of the second half at the 15:31 mark.
“We let them get started. We didn’t guard them coming out of halftime, and they’re good,” said West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins. “They’ve got really good players. We didn’t play with a lot of aggression. I thought in the first half we made a run where we did.”
Jan 30, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins talks to his team during a timeout during the first half against the Florida Gators at WVU Coliseum.
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Huggins paused before giving an example of the lack of hustle throughout the game. “We got a guy in the corner guarding a guy, and the ball almost rolls up his leg, we don’t get it. We got the ball on the floor, we got guys standing there, and they got two guys diving at it. We aren’t going to win like that… We got guys who didn’t respond today.”
Emmitt Matthews Jr responded with a three to push the lead back to five, but after a pair of Culver free throws to maintain the five-point lead, Noah Locke buried back-to-back wide-open three in the same spot in the right corner, and Scottie Lewis drove the lane, finished with a spin move and the lay-in to cap off an 8-0 run and the Gators held a three-point advantage with 13:06 left to play, forcing Huggins to take a timeout.
Kedrian Johnson hit a three out of the timeout to tie the game at 61.
West Virginia took a three-point lead after Gabe Osabuohien tracked the ball from going out of bounds tossing it into Taz Sherman, who drove it into the paint for a little jumper with just over seven minutes to play but again Mann hit another open three to regain the lead.
Loche’s fourth three on the afternoon, again wide open, gave the Gators the lead, and they would never trail again despite Taz tying the game with just under four minutes to play, hitting 1-2 from the free throw line as Lewis buried a three on the next possession to retake a two-point lead.
The Mountaineers pulled within one with 1:40 left in the game on a Derek Culver bucket, he finished with a career-high 29 points and 12 rebounds, but Florida finished out the game 4-4 from the free throw line while West Virginia finished just 0-4 from the field in the final minute and a half.
West Virginia shot an abysmal 33.3% in the second half, and Huggins stated that they must make shots and hit free throws if they want to win. However, defensively the Mountaineers gave up way too many open looks, and the Gators made the most of it, hitting 7-11 from behind the arc in the second half to pull off the 85-80 upset.
“Defense to a large degree is bout heart. It's about competing, and when you don’t compete, you get exposed, and we got exposed, we’ve been getting exposed,” said Huggins. “We’re not competitive as we once were. We had way more aggressive guys in the past – these guys are good guys, and they’ll be successful, but they’re just not as competitive. How can you not dive on the floor for a loose ball in a game like this? How can you stand there and watch people dive and just kind of – your effort is just trying to get out of the way, so you don’t get hurt? I mean, it’s hard for me to understand. I guess I’m used to having guys who - winning means everything.”
West Virginia has another quick turnaround as focus turns back to the Big 12 Conference, and the Mountaineers travel to Ames, IA to take on the Iowa State Cyclones, Tuesday at 7:00 pm on ESPN+.
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