Rapid Takeaways: The Honor Huff Problem, Dead Postseason Dreams? + More

Initial thoughts from West Virginia's loss to Texas Tech.

Feb 8, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders forward JT Toppin (15) dunks the ball during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

For the first time in a year, the West Virginia Mountaineers have dropped consecutive games at home. Round 1 of the friendly Ross Hodge/Grant McCasland rivalry goes to the Red Raiders, with a 70-63 win in Morgantown.

Here are a few of my thoughts from this one...

Zero answers for Honor

Maybe it's just Cincinnati that can't cover Huff, I don't know. Seemingly, everyone else in the Big 12 has been able to deny him the ball, run with him all over the court, and live in his back pocket. I really believe a big part of the issue is that teams just have zero fear of anyone else on the floor. Sure, Treysen Eaglestaff can make shots every now and then, as well as Brenen Lorient, but they'd rather take their chances with them, knowing it's not likely that either will take over the game. The offense is just too one-dimensional, which I've mentioned several times this year. Too many guys that can only do one thing. Lorient is probably the only consistent three-level scorer, although he's more of a low, high guy.

Ineffective double teams

Ross Hodge had his guys throwing double teams left and right all game to try and force some turnovers and disrupt the flow of Texas Tech's offense. The problem? It failed more often than not. West Virginia was late on their backside rotations consistently, leaving shooters wide-open on the perimeter. If you're going to trap and not go away from it, you have to be more on-point with your rotations. You simply cannot leave the 12th-best three-point shooting team in the country with that much room to operate. It was the difference in the game.

Margin of error is razor-thin

As if the Mountaineers didn't already have little wiggle room, there's even less now. There's no shame in losing a game to a top-15 team, but now you have one more chance left to get a signature win — BYU. Not only does West Virginia need to win that game, but they also have to win enough games for that hypothetical win to even matter.

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