MORGANTOWN, W.Va.--A week ago the West Virginia basketball program was on top of the world, or pretty close bing ranked second in the country.
But then reality reared its ugly head.
"We probably weren't very comfortable being No. 2 in the country," head coach Bob Huggins said. "I told them this in practice the other day, look at that crow's nest up there. What do you think about that? 'Oh that's pretty high.' Well that's kind of where you are. You are one away from the top. It's not so hard to climb up there. That fall is hard and I told them that's about what we are getting ready to do. Our preparation wasn't what it needed to be."
For the second consecutive gave, sixth-ranked Mountaineers blew a second half lead and fell to No. 10 Kansas 71-66 on Monday night. …show more content…
Its pressure defense was also ineffective and Bob Huggins was not happy with his teams effort.
"They just out toughed us," he said. "They just wanted it more than we did."
The fiery coach claimed the Mountaineers couldn't complete passes or run offensive plays.
“We had guys open,” Huggins said. “We just didn’t pass the ball. I think all those threes are a lack of toughness. That’s the easy way out. I tried to simplify it.”
During the first half, WVU forced nine turnovers. However, after the break, the Mountaineers forced just four while turning the ball over 11 times.
Those turnovers resulted do to sloppy passes and plain old bad basketball.
WVU shot 35.7 percent in the second half and the Mountaineers put up bad shots, especially from beyond the arc. WVU was 1-of-13 from long range after the half.
"I think all of those 3-point shots were a lack of toughness," Huggins said. "That's the easy way out. You get a little pressure and so you're throwing your leg out, kicking your leg out and shooting 3s. They were switching, so they
But then reality reared its ugly head.
"We probably weren't very comfortable being No. 2 in the country," head coach Bob Huggins said. "I told them this in practice the other day, look at that crow's nest up there. What do you think about that? 'Oh that's pretty high.' Well that's kind of where you are. You are one away from the top. It's not so hard to climb up there. That fall is hard and I told them that's about what we are getting ready to do. Our preparation wasn't what it needed to be."
For the second consecutive gave, sixth-ranked Mountaineers blew a second half lead and fell to No. 10 Kansas 71-66 on Monday night. …show more content…
Its pressure defense was also ineffective and Bob Huggins was not happy with his teams effort.
"They just out toughed us," he said. "They just wanted it more than we did."
The fiery coach claimed the Mountaineers couldn't complete passes or run offensive plays.
“We had guys open,” Huggins said. “We just didn’t pass the ball. I think all those threes are a lack of toughness. That’s the easy way out. I tried to simplify it.”
During the first half, WVU forced nine turnovers. However, after the break, the Mountaineers forced just four while turning the ball over 11 times.
Those turnovers resulted do to sloppy passes and plain old bad basketball.
WVU shot 35.7 percent in the second half and the Mountaineers put up bad shots, especially from beyond the arc. WVU was 1-of-13 from long range after the half.
"I think all of those 3-point shots were a lack of toughness," Huggins said. "That's the easy way out. You get a little pressure and so you're throwing your leg out, kicking your leg out and shooting 3s. They were switching, so they