West Virginia Dug Its Own Grave, Thanks to a Clear Lack of Urgency

The only thing that couldn't happen last night happened.

West Virginia fell into the trap of playing a bad team in the middle of the week with a light crowd and a late tip. It was a game where they had to create their own juice, and with slow starts becoming a common theme for this squad, it meant overcoming their biggest issue, but they were unable to do it.

It wasn't until about the 12 or 13-minute mark in the second half that West Virginia finally woke up and played with an extra pep in their step. They moved their feet on defense, crashed the boards hard, and that look in their eye that they were going to win the game. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late.

“We have a small margin for error, and when you continually put yourself in these positions and dig yourself holes, and some of that is the inconsistency that you're playing with," head coach Ross Hodge said. "Whether it's individually or collectively, to continue to put yourself in these holes, and again, it's to be commended, I guess, that we continuously fight back and give ourselves chances in this game, but when you dig yourself those types of holes, so many things have to go right. In the games that we've been able to do that, we were able to kind of get over the hump with a big shot. And then, tonight, we weren't able to do that."

You would think that after several sluggish starts, this wouldn't be a problem anymore. At least not at home in a game that you must absolutely win. That's the most concerning part, in my eyes. I don't normally blame effort because that can be a touchy subject, but last night, it was obvious, especially in the first half. They knew what was on the line and just clearly lacked the desire and the fight to punch back.

For as experienced and mature as this group is, effort is the last thing you'd expect to be a problem in a game like this. Yet here we are. To put some numbers to it, Utah was +11 on the glass in the first half and pulled down seven (YIKES!) offensive rebounds. They also had five second-chance points to West Virginia's zero. They flat-out wanted it more, and it was evident from the opening tip.

With a Quad 3 loss on the resume, the Mountaineers will basically have to win the Big 12 tournament to get into the dance.

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