KANSAS CITY, Mo. — West Virginia’s seventh trip to the Big 12 tournament will be its first as the last-place team, setting up what could be a tournament memory not worth remembering.
Over the first six seasons, the Mountaineers had their share of great memories and sour ones. We break them down here:
BEST MOMENTS
Hield’s heave no good: March 11, 2016
After going one-and-done in its first three Big 12 tournaments, West Virginia enjoyed a thrilling semifinal win against sixth-ranked Oklahoma, 69-67.
And a replay saved the day.
The Mountaineers survived a moment of near-magic from Sooners star Buddy Hield, who banked in a halfcourt shot at the buzzer.
As Hield climbed atop press row and headed into the stands to celebrate, the officials huddled around the monitor to see if Hield released the shot in time. When replays showed the shot came off Hield’s hand a nanosecond too late, it was the Mountaineers’ turn to celebrate.
Jevon Carter led West Virginia with 26 points. Devin Williams added nine points and 11 rebounds.
Jaysean Paige put WVU ahead with 11 seconds left by hitting an 18-foot jumper off an iso play.
Hield, with his miracle shot debunked, finished the night shooting 1-of-8.
Winning ugly vs K-State: March 10, 2017
West Virginia’s defense came up with one final stop, as the Mountaineers held off Kansas State 51-50 to advance to their second consecutive Big 12 championship game.
Tarik Phillip hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 50 and then Esa Ahmad put the Mountaineers ahead with 20.2 seconds left. Ahmad finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
West Virginia’s 1-3-1 defense kept the Wildcats from getting off a shot on their final possession.
“We won this game with guts,” said assistant coach Larry Harrison. “We didn’t score a lot, but we scored enough.”
K-State coach Bruce Weber called the game “a heartbreaker for us,” considering his team limited WVU to 16 first-half points and Carter to 1-of-12 shooting overall.
Miles feeling it: March 9, 2018
West Virginia advanced to its third consecutive Big 12 title game with a 66-63 win against Texas Tech.
Daxter Miles Jr. scored 22 points while hitting five 3s and Jevon Carter added 17 points, and the Mountaineers survived a half-court heave from Texas Tech’s Niem Stevenson that could have sent the game into overtime.
Carter didn’t make any steals but hounded Keenan Evans into 5-of-14 shooting night.
Texas Tech coach Chris Beard was mostly pleased with his team except for letting WVU’s guards get loose. “If Miles and Carter shoot like that, they’ll walk into the Sweet 16,” Beard said prophetically.
Miles was terrific until missing a chance to seal the game at the foul line with 6.8 seconds left, by making only 1-of-2. But with WVU trapping in the backcourt, the Red Raiders struggled to advance the ball after securing Miles’ missed free throw and could only muster Stevenson’s unanswered prayer.
WORST MOMENTS
Texas Tech’s tip-in: March 13, 2013
Dejan Kravic scored on an offensive rebound at the buzzer to give the Red Raiders a 71-69 victory in West Virginia’s first-ever Big 12 tournament game.
When Aaric Murray failed to block out, Kravic snuck inside to put back a missed 3 at the final horn. West Virginia finished with a 13-19 record.
Terrible vs. Texas: March 13, 2014
Needing a deep run in the Big 12 tournament to have a chance at an NCAA bid, West Virginia encountered deep trouble in its quarterfinal
Texas used its size advantage to go up 35-14 at the half by which time the Mountaineers were shooting 6-of-33. The 66-49 final score belied the Longhorns’ dominance.
West Virginia shot 30 percent from the field overall (20-of-66), lost point guard Juwan Staten to an ankle injury and were banished to the NIT.
Oh, Texas also outshot the Mountaineers 23-5 from the foul line.
Brandon Watkins scored 10 points, the only WVU player in double figures.
Cyclones heat up: March 11, 2017
Top-seeded Kansas had lost to 8 seed TCU on Thursday, potentially giving West Virginia an easier path to the title.
But after sweeping Iowa State during the regular season, the Mountaineers couldn’t slow down the Cyclones in the Big 12 championship game, losing 80-74.
Ranked No. 11 in the country, WVU faced a road-game atmosphere with Cyclone Nation making the Sprint Center sway. The Mountaineers must’ve thought the rim was swaying as they made only 8-of-17 free throws.
Iowa State shot 54 percent (32-of-59) from the field and led 33-29 on the glass. Tournament MVP Monte Morris had 17 points and six rebounds.
It was the second of three consecutive title game losses for the Mountaineers. The other two came against Kansas.
TWITTER @bigjax3211
