West Virginia is Playing with Fire in Late Game Situations

No lead is considered safe in college basketball and by now, West Virginia ought to realize that.

Last night's game against Utah could have been the latest example of why you never celebrate a win until the clock hits triple zeroes. Unfortunately, this late game management/execution is becoming a bit of a problem for the Mountaineers.

If you go back to their most recent win against Cincinnati, they watched a nine-point lead vanish in the blink of an eye. WVU led the Bearcats by nine and had Jonathan Powell shooting a one-and-one with roughly 15 seconds to go.

Game over, right? Not so fast.

Powell missed the front end of the one-and-one and Dan Skillings Jr. banked in a ridiculous off-balance three to cut the lead to six. West Virginia turned it over on the ensuing inbound and Skillings, once again, drilled a three to make it a one possession game.

Feb 19, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Dan Skillings Jr. (0) dribbles around West Virginia Mountaineers guard Joseph Yesufu (1) during the first half at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

WVU had to burn its last two timeouts to avoid a five-second violation, but it didn't matter anyway. They would end up turning the ball over once again, giving Tyler Betsey a wide-open look at the top of the key to tie it up at the buzzer. Fortunately, it didn't get enough on it and WVU was able to hold on.

Fast-forward to last night in Salt Lake City, and once again, the Mountaineers left the door open for something crazy to happen in the game's final seconds. Joseph Yesufu hit a pair of shots at the free throw line to push the lead to six with 12 seconds left. Gabe Madsen missed a three on the other end but got it right back and knocked down his second attempt from range with five seconds to go.

Javon Small inbounded the ball to Jonathan Powell who either twisted his ankle or lost balance and lost control of the ball, leading to an easy layup from Jake Wahlin. Sencire Harris made just one free throw, giving Gabe Madsen a chance to hit a game-winner from beyond halfcourt, but Yesufu got a piece of it to deny a magical ending.

While it was poor execution on the players' part in both the Cincinnati and Utah wins at the end of each game, it's also on the coaching staff.

Mar 4, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) battles Utah Utes guard Mike Sharavjamts (25) for a loose ball during the second half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

In both games, they could have just called for a full court inbound pass, considering there was very little time left on the clock. By the time someone came down with the ball, got possession, and got in a shooting position, they would either run out of time or need the luckiest shot in basketball history to sink it.

For example, there was 1.2 seconds left on the clock in last night's game as WVU inbounded it to Harris. Launching that thing the length of the court would have likely ended it right then and there. The ball would have been tipped and it would have been unlikely that someone from Utah would have grabbed clean possession of the ball and launched a good looking shot from that far.

They've played with fire twice and got lucky. Doing it a third time could cost them.

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