Four Rapid Takeaways as West Virginia Squeaks by Campbell to Move to 2-0

Another disappointing night for the West Virginia offense, but the Mountaineers were able to hold on to defeat Campbell, 73-65, moving to 2-0 on the season.

Here are a handful of my thoughts following tonight's game.

Disjointed offense

Although I'm well aware that this is essentially an entirely new group Hodge is working with, I'm a little surprised by how out of sorts this offense has been, given how efficient teams have been over the years. For whatever reason, they're not getting the type of ball movement I expected and haven't been able to pressure the rim whatsoever from the guard spot. Some very questionable shot selections at times, which is a prime example of a team learning how to gel together. That shot selections should improve throughout the course of non-con play.

Rebounding concerns are growing

Harlan Obioha had a few that fell right into his lap, but when multiple Camels were around the rim, he rarely came up with the basketball. For a guy his size, he's got to come away with more of those and eliminate second-chance opportunities. Shooting a boatload of free throws in the opener somewhat skewed the numbers in the opener for WVU, but not as much tonight. The Camels just got better positioning and had more effort. The final tally was respectable, but could have very easily been in favor of WVU.

Pounding the paint

The one thing Campbell continued to have success with offensively was just driving the ball right at WVU's bigs, penetrating deep into the paint. Mount St. Mary's had some success with this the other night as well, so definitely an area Ross Hodge is going to emphasize between now and Sunday. It's hard to string together stops when they don't have to run offense to get a good look and instead can just put the ball on the floor and attack. This will become rather problematic when WVU faces more athletic, stronger guards. The Mountaineers were outscored 34-26 inside the paint.

Could it be a tough year one?

Still plenty of time to get things sorted out, but two subpar outings against mid-majors who are predicted to finish in the middle of the pack or lower in their respective leagues typically spell trouble. The positive is that you're able to learn from these two disappointing outings with a goose egg still in the loss column. It's going to be a process for this bunch, and they just have to keep finding ways to win games in non-conference play to give them a shot to make the NCAA Tournament. If the offensive woes end up spilling into Big 12 play, it's hard to see this team accomplishing much of anything.

Disjointed offense

Rebounding concerns are growing

Pounding the paint

Could it be a tough year one?

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