MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — The glimpse of energy came way too late and in the form of full-court pressure that forced six turnovers in a four-minute span.
If you squinted hard enough, West Virginia’s late 11-2 run in what ended up as a 69-59 loss against Oklahoma on Saturday had the optics of the old “Press” Virginia days from a few years ago, but it wasn’t.
That much Bob Huggins confirmed a week earlier, when No. 13 WVU (18-5, 6-4 Big 12) used the same tactics to try and get back into a road loss at Texas Tech.
“Not the same stuff,” he said then. “Just trying to run at them mostly.”
Facing a 59-41 deficit with six minutes left against the Sooners, Huggins again tried to change the game by speeding it up.
“The tendency is when you’ve got a big lead and people press you, you try not to make a mistake,” Huggins said. “They were trying not to make a mistake. That’s what happens.”
The pressure wasn’t as organized and scripted like the Mountaineers’ pressure of old.
Maybe it was just as chaotic. The Mountaineers got as close as 65-57 with 1:12 remaining based largely on those six turnovers.
In all, Oklahoma was forced into 19 turnovers and West Virginia scored 21 points off of them.
After the game, Huggins was asked if it would have made a difference if the Mountaineers went to the pressure earlier in the game.
“It’s probably the most we pressed all year,” he responded. “We’re not very good at it, or we’d do it more.”
No, it’s not likely “Press” Virginia is due for a comeback.
But what WVU players noticed during the game wasn’t the difference the pressure made, but the energy they had while running it.
“We just came out with a lot more energy, knowing that we were down and it was go time,” WVU freshman guard Miles McBride said. “If we had played like that in the first 20 minutes, it could have been a totally different game.”
WVU showed little defensive spark until late, giving up five 3-pointers in the first half.
“We have to have that type of intensity from the beginning of the game,” WVU senior guard Jermaine Haley said. “We can’t wait for the last five minutes and we’re down 10, 15 points to start playing like that. That’s kind of been the story of our season on the road, we’re coming out flat.”
It was West Virginia’s third consecutive loss on the road against a Big 12 school below the Mountaineers in the league standings.
Coming off a 15-21 season in 2018-19, in which the Mountaineers finished 0-10 in true road games, WVU is now 3-5 in true road games a season later.
“It’s difficult and it always hurts, especially against teams that we’re supposed to beat,” Haley said. “Last year was a different story. I feel like we’re supposed to beat every team we play this year.”
There were different theories as to why the Mountaineers have struggled on the road.
Haley said the Mountaineers’ defense just hasn’t been as good on the road as it is at home.
McBride spoke about not having good effort in practice before road games and the team lacks the mental toughness needed to be successful.
“I think it’s about attitude and effort, honestly,” McBride said. “Being at home, you’re a little more comfortable. You know the setting, as opposed to dealing with a lot of traveling. I think it has a lot to do with the effort you give in practice before the game and getting mentally ready to perform.”
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