Huggins Remains Optimistic: 'We're Not Dead Yet, We're Going to Get it Turned'

West Virginia's chances of making the NCAA Tournament are decreasing with each loss. The Mountaineers have now lost nine of the last ten games bringing their record to 14-11 overall and 3-9 in Big 12 Conference play.

Losing back-to-back games to Oklahoma State and Kansas State won't help, but they're not terrible teams. That's the one thing WVU has going for them right now is that they don't hold any "bad losses". Playing in the Big 12 will prevent that from happening. However, they only have one "key win" right now and that was against UConn which occurred earlier this season when the Huskies were without two of its best players. Needless to say, the Mountaineers need to get to work quick considering time is running out.

During his postgame radio interview with Tony Caridi on Mountaineer Sports Network, head coach Bob Huggins remained optimistic following the loss to Kansas State.

"We kept fighting and that's something quite honestly, I didn't see in Stillwater. In fact, I saw the opposite," Huggins said. "As long as we continue on this trail, we're going to be okay. As I told them in there, we've got three league wins. We've got what, six or seven more games? Six more games. Six more games we can win. If we win five of them, we're in. There's absolutely no question that we're in. So, we're not dead yet. We're going to get it turned. I feel better today than I've felt in quite a while."

I'm sure I'm not the only one that sees this team having a hard time winning five of the last six games, but you do have to appreciate Huggins' determination. Honestly, I think this team has a better chance of dropping five of the last six than winning five of the last six. They'll return home for a matchup with No. 6 Kansas this Saturday (yikes), then they hit the road for TCU and Iowa State, host Texas, go to Oklahoma, and then wrap up the season in the Coliseum against TCU.

Is it possible for WVU to win five games? I mean, anything is possible, but it's not something I'd put my money on. This group has a lot of challenges to overcome. They don't have a true inside presence, they struggle to rebound the ball, can't make a shot within three feet of the rim, and they turn the ball over at an alarming rate. Offensively, this could be one of the worst groups that Huggins has had during his time at WVU. Monday night, they went nearly ten minutes without making a shot from the field...ten minutes. Having those types of droughts won't lead to a win over the Jayhawks or even the Horned Frogs for that matter.

The Mountaineers' tournament hopes aren't completely dashed just yet, but fans might want to prepare for an NIT appearance. In all honesty, playing in any postseason tournament will be good for these young guys to get more experience ahead of next season where they will hold larger roles.

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