How Bad Do They Want It?

West Virginia has put themselves in a tough position.

In a had-to-have-it game vs Texas Tech on Saturday, West Virginia let one slip through the cracks of its fingers. And it's going to be a costly one. 

Now with a 15-12 (4-10) record and just four games left, three of which are against ranked opponents, the Mountaineers have backed themselves into a corner. 

What is most mind-boggling about this entire situation is how Huggins often says his guys "realize" that they need to win games and that they're "tired of losing", yet they continue to, time and time again, hand games away.

Just 24 hours before the game, Huggins said his group was coming off one of its best practices in a long time and talked about how this group knows how badly they're in need of wins.

"Our focus is to try to win the rest of our games here and move up in the league standings and move up where we're seeded in the NCAA Tournament. That's our focus. We haven't really talked at all about the conference tournament. We need to win games and I think our guys realize that."

Fast-forward to Huggins' postgame press conference on Saturday and he is at a loss of words for the lack or urgency.

"You can not talk to them. Show them. Drill them...any more than we did that we NEED to win these games IF you want to continue to play in postseason. We can't do it anymore. What else do I do?"

This is it for Kedrian Johnson, Emmitt Matthews Jr., and Erik Stevenson. This is their last chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament and do something special. For the rest of the team, postseason basketball is something they haven't experienced before at this level. There should be no shortage of motivation, effort, or energy. However, the lack of it rears its ugly head at the worst time possible.

Yes, the Big 12 is challenging. The travel is brutal. The transfer portal has impacted how you build a roster. But this is the same for everyone else in the league. Why is it that Kansas State is figuring things out under a first-year head coach? How are TCU and Oklahoma State sustaining some level of success? That's the million dollar question.

And sorry Erik, but this team isn't winning the ACC by five games, or any P6 league for that matter. Not with the energy it plays with, the lack of urgency, and the inconsistencies this team has. The record doesn't lie. It is who this team is. And if they're not careful, they could go from being a bubble team to one that doesn't even receive an invite to the NIT.

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