Three takeaways from West Virginia’s 99-94 upset loss in overtime to Buffalo on Friday night:
1. You can never leave too early:
Turns out those second-half collapses against Kansas and Kentucky weren’t just a last-season thing. The Mountaineers led Buffalo 71-58 with 7:20 left in regulation before repeating some of the same pitfalls.
From that point, they shot 6-of-18 and were minus-three in turnovers.
Most noticeably, they couldn’t slow down C.J. Massinburg, who scored 35 of his 43 points after halftime and Buffalo. The senior guard launched deep 3s, making 9-of-15, while the rest of his teammates shot 2-of-22.
2. Point guard problems
So, you wondered how the post-Jevon Carter Era would look? Beetle Bolden started at point guard and produced 21 points and four assists with only one turnover.
But he did most of his damage as a catch-and-shoot scorer off the ball, and he wasn’t around for overtime after injuring his right leg. (He was beat up all over, sporting a bandage over one eye and heavy tape on his left hand as he recovers from torn thumb ligaments.)
The other point guards didn’t sparkle.
Jermaine Haley, who Bob Huggins described as being “too soft with the ball,” was scoreless in four minutes. Jordan McCabe was scoreless over 9 minutes and committed one turnover. Neither had an assist.
Brandon Knapper played 17 minutes and scored six points. He also committed four turnovers against two assists.
Overall, West Virginia was minus-eight in turnovers.
“They did to us exactly what we’ve done to other teams,” Huggins said.
3. Sagaba Konate has range
The junior center, who didn’t attempt a 3-pointer in his first two college seasons, made 3-of-4 on his way to a 15-point night for the Mountaineers.
The nation’s top returning shot-blocker, Konate swatted three shots and grabbed seven rebounds.
He played 28 minutes but ran gingerly on a sore knee at times.
With Konate stepping out, he got fewer low-post touches and Buffalo outscored WVU 36-30 in the paint.
Twitter @GAllanTaylor
