Mountaineers lose to UConn

The Mountaineers once again fell behind big early in a game (15). I don't know why they continue to dig big holes against good teams, but they were not able to climb out of this one. In the first half WV was outrebounded heavily. If the Mountaineers don't win the glass they are going to lose almost every time. WV rebounded much better in the second half and made a game of it, but couldn't come all the way back. Again Mountaineer foul shooting really hurt (12-23) their chances. Butler had a very poor game overall and that spells trouble considering WV's reliance on him. Ebanks had a fairly strong game with 17 points (7-9 from the filed) and 9 rebounds. In fact, he's scored in double figures six games in a row after scoring ten or more just once in the previous six. Perhaps he is rounding into form after a disappointing start to the season. When I look at the Mountaineers there is really only one thing they do really well - rebound. They can't penetrate and they can't stop the other team from penetrating. Maybe they are underachieving or maybe they are not as talented as we thought at the beginning of the season. Stopping dribble penetration may be a matter of a lack of heart or discipline, but not being able to drive to the bucket is usually a lack of raw talent and quickness. I think that even though the Mountaineers may be an athletic team in some ways, they are not a quick team. I've felt for some time that they were not a top 10 team despite the ranking. I think they'll beat Cincinnati, but lose at home to Georgetown and on the road to Villanova, which would finish them at 22-8 (11-7) and probably more in the 15-20 range where they belong. Depending on how they do in the Big East tournament, they could be anywhere from a 3-6 seed in the NCAA's unless they really surprise me. If they drop below a 3, I think they will be a prime target for an early round upset. They don't have the guard play, quickness, or the foul shooting to be a great tournament team.