The Day After: WVU Proved They Belong in the Final Four Conversation
It was a heartbreaking loss for the 11th ranked West Virginia Mountaineers on Wednesday night to top-ranked Gonzaga as 2nd half foul trouble potentially cost them a shot at winning the game.
In the postgame press conference you could see the disgust in junior big man Derek Culver's eyes and the frustration in his voice as he took blame for the 87-82 loss.
“All due respect to Gonzaga but we had them today. I feel like I lost this game for me and my teammates. They didn’t show us something that we haven’t seen or couldn’t guard. That’s what is so frustrating about it.”
Culver hit the nail right on the head with that first sentence. West Virginia led Gonzaga 39-34 at the half and if it weren't for foul trouble in the 2nd half becoming a big issue, the Mountaineers would have likely walked out of Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis with a victory.
Although the game resulted in a loss for West Virginia, it was a very impressive showing by Bob Huggins' squad. To be able to go toe-to-toe with the best team in college basketball for 39 and a half minutes in just the fourth game of the season says a lot about the potential this team has.
Prior to the start of the season, many folks in West Virginia thought that this could be a team that reaches the Final Four. After the first three games which were all somewhat ugly wins, there was a lot of people, myself included, starting to tap on the brakes when thinking of this team as a legit Final Four contender. If last night showed any indication of what is to come, there is no doubt this will be a team that can make a run in March and will be one that no one wants to see in the NCAA Tournament.
Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe form arguably the best frontcourt in all of college basketball and are backed up by Swiss Army knife Gabe Osabuohien and very talented true freshman Isaiah Cottrell, who chipped in six points in some very important minutes vs Gonzaga.
Sophomore guard Miles McBride is starting to come into his own and if he can help carry the team offensively along with fellow guards Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil, you have a fairly complete team.
There are only three concerns that I have with this team. 1. Will they be able to hang in games consistently when Tshiebwe and Culver are both in foul trouble? 2. Can the guards handle pressure and not turn the ball over? 3. Is this team going to have trouble defensively?
From what we've seen in these first four games of the season, teams are attacking the paint against the Mountaineers, using ball screens, some high-low action, and backdoor cuts and West Virginia has not stopped it yet. Gonzaga scored 60 points in the paint and that just simply can't happen if you want to win games. Considering that Bob Huggins is a defensive-minded coach, I have a hunch that he will figure out the formula to get this group to work better defensively.
If the Mountaineers can figure out those three things I mentioned above, then talking about a Final Four run is not outrageous to talk about. This team will face some major challenges along the way, especially in conference play but one thing is certain - West Virginia is legit.
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