KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Add one more injury to what is already a long list of them this season for West Virginia guard James “Beetle” Bolden.
After hauling in a lob pass from teammate Esa Ahmad early in the second half Saturday of the Mountaineers’ 83-66 loss against No. 1 Tennessee on Saturday, Bolden came down hard on his right foot and immediately fell to the floor in pain.
He was helped to the locker room and returned with his ankle wrapped in ice.
He did not play the rest of the game.
“He sprained his ankle,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “He sprained it [Friday, in practice.] The kid has got a lot of guts.”
Huggins said he didn’t know if Bolden will be able to return to action when the Mountaineers (9-11, 1-6 Big 12) travel to No. 24 Iowa State on Wednesday.
As for the injury list, Bolden’s ankle joins the stretched ligaments in his left shooting hand that he began the season with.
After that came a full body cramp and an injured left elbow and shoulder. Bolden has also dealt with a hip pointer this season.
“I feel bad for him, because he hasn’t had a very good year, at least not the year we thought he was going to have,” Huggins said. “He hasn’t had a chance. It’s just every day it’s something.”
Wes Harris unpopular
West Virginia forward Wes Harris became the focal point of a chorus of boos from the Thompson-Boling crowd of 22,149 after two incidents that ended with Flagrant 1 fouls.
The first came when Harris went after a loose ball and picked up a steal against Tennessee forward Grant Williams with 12:41 remaining in the game.
In trying to move past Williams, who had fallen to the floor, Harris reached back and slapped the Tennessee forward across the forehead.
It resulted in Williams scoring on two free throws after referees looked at replay monitors.
The second came seven minutes later when Harris took an elbow to the face from Tennessee forward Admiral Schofield while guarding him.
Harris’ reaction — his own fall to the floor — was slightly delayed, leading the crowd to believe he was faking.
“Flop, flop, flop,” the crowd chanted.
After another review by the referees, Schofield was charged with a Flagrant 1 and Harris connected on two free throws to the chorus of boos.
Large gathering
The crowd of 22,149 was the 11th largest crowd WVU had ever played in front of and it was the seventh largest ever for a regular season meeting.
SEC/Big 12 facts
Before the day began, the Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference announced a six-year extension to the annual series, which will now run through the 2024-’25 season.
With the loss to Tennessee, the Mountaineers fell to 1-5 in the Challenge and now own a three-game losing streak in the series.
Under Huggins, the Mountaineers are 7-12 against teams from the SEC.
The Big 12 did win this season’s Challenge, 6-4, despite West Virginia’s defeat.
Against No. 1
West Virginia fell to 5-9 all-time against the No. 1 team in the country and is 0-3 all-time in true road games against No. 1s. West Virginia’s last win against a top-ranked team was its 89-68 victory against Baylor last January.
