Ross Hodge Points to Early Effort Issues as WVU Falls to No. 13 Texas Tech

The West Virginia Mountaineers (15-9, 6-5) fell to the No. 13 Texas Tech Red Raiders (17-6, 7-3) Sunday afternoon 70-63.

West Virginia shot an abysmal 2-22 from beyond the arc and 13-23 from the free throw line, but did find success around the rim, scoring 38 points in the paint.

Senior forward Brenen Lorient led the Mountaineers with 21 points to go with five rebounds while Texas Tech junior forward JT Toppin produced a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds.

WVU head coach Ross Hodge met with the media following the game to give his initial thoughts on the loss to the nationally-ranked Red Raiders.

Opening Statement

“Obviously, a lot of respect for Coach (Grant McCasland) Mack and that team and that program and what they've been able to do the last couple of years.

“As far as this game went, probably the biggest disappointment I told our guys was just our inability to grab loose balls early in the game that really kind of led directly to a couple (senior guard Donovan) Atwell threes. He's a great shooter. The first one of the game, it was a loose ball, they dove on it. We tried to pick it up. He bangs a three and out of their first 15 points, a lot of them were just kind of busted plays and loose balls and extra effort. Again, you got to give them credit in that, and again, the rest, I thought our fight was good.

“Our guys responded well. I thought when they made runs, we were able to counter runs. Then, they answered runs, but in large part, the start, again, is kind of what got you. They put a lot of pressure on you in a lot of different ways. (Junior forward JT) Toppin is probably the biggest leverage piece offensively in the country, so you have to be able to do different things when you're guarding him. I thought (senior center) Harlan (Obioha) did a great job when he was in there on him, one-on-one. Then, when Harlan had those pockets where he needed rest and breaks, you have to be able to do different things with your double team coverages. Sometimes we executed it, sometimes we didn't, and when we didn't, they made us pay. So, that's how I saw it from my seat.”

Catching up with Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland

“I talk to him often, and so again, leading up to this, it was good to be able to physically see them, but honestly, like a lot of my thought process and bandwidth and the things I was focusing on was just like, how in the world are you going to stop JT and (sophomore guard) Christian Anderson and the one-five pick-and-roll. It was good to see him.”

Trying to stop Texas Tech

“They did a great job with their roster construction. The reason why they shoot threes is because of JT Toppin. That's why they shoot threes. He forces you to make decisions. Are you going to play him one-on-one all night long? It's not always a bad decision. Then, Christian’s ability to shoot threes off the dribble. That leverage between those two is what makes Atwell so good and (freshman guard Jaylen) Petty. To their credit, they really constructed that team well, and when those guys had their opportunities to step into shots, they made them tonight. They lost on Monday night. Obviously, they had to play without Anderson and some of those same looks they missed.”

Opening Statement

Catching up with Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland

Trying to stop Texas Tech

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI