MORGANTOWN — Having forged through 20 games with an offense that struggled to pass the ball and score points in half-court sets, Bob Huggins’ last resort was going back to old tricks.
Leading up to Monday’s 81-77 loss against Baylor, Huggins said he installed his old motion offense, one that, “We ran when I first came back,” Huggins said. “We ran it then and ran it all the way through the Final Four (in 2010) with those guys.”
Huggins admits there was little time to work out all the details. There was just one day of preparation between a loss at Arkansas and the game against the Bears.
“We didn’t do a very good job with it, because we just had a little bit of time,” he said. “I say that, but we stayed in the game. I’m not ready to totally throw it out the window yet.”
Against one of the better defensive teams in the Big 12, the Mountaineers recorded a season-high 16 assists and shot a season-high 54% from the field.
The number of assists was eye-catching, especially after WVU hadn’t had more than 10 in a game since Jan. 11. The Mountaineers have 219 assists on the season, by far the lowest amount among Big 12 teams, and ranked No. 303 in the country.
Much of the season has been spent trying to spread out defenses with outside shots coming from Taz Sherman, Sean McNeil, Jalen Bridges, and even center Isaiah Cottrell.
Rarely have those four all contributed at the same time, and while Malik Curry has added some offense by driving to the rim, WVU (13-8, 2-6 Big 12) is ninth in the Big 12 in team shooting percentage at 42.6%.
Making shots will be at a premium Saturday against No. 14 Texas Tech, which holds opponents to just 38.3% shooting. WVU shot just 40.4% against the Red Raiders in a 78-65 loss in Lubbock, Tex. on Jan. 22.
Huggins has seen improvements with the Mountaineers over their last two games.
They trailed by as much as 19 in the second half against Arkansas and cut it to as little as five.
WVU began the second half against Baylor with a 10-point lead after trailing by eight in the first half.
Still, the final results are what matters and WVU finds itself on a six-game losing streak heading into Saturday’s game against the Red Raiders.
Over its final 10 games of the regular season, the Mountaineers will play five teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25.
To have a realistic shot at getting back into reach of playing in the NCAA tournament, WVU would likely have to get to eight conference wins, meaning at least a 6-4 finish before playing in the Big 12 tournament.
Much of how WVU finishes will depend on who is playing. Sherman took a blow to the head in the final minutes against Baylor and was thought to have sustained a concussion. Huggins also said Bridges has been dealing with an injured hand in recent weeks.
“We ain’t dead yet,” Huggins said. “I think Taz’s situation will determine a lot. We’re going to continue to fight the fight.”
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