With just two games left in the regular season, both TCU and West Virginia head to Morgantown, W.Va., for Wednesday night’s matchup carrying multi-game losing skids.
TCU (19-10, 8-8 Big 12) has dropped two straight in addition to a 1-3 record on the road since the beginning of February. West Virginia (9-20, 4-12), last in the 14-team league, has three consecutive losses and is 1-7 since Feb. 3.
The Mountaineers lost 81-70 at home Saturday to Texas Tech.
“It was quite the turn of events from us going up by 16 there in that first half to being down 13 late,” West Virginia interim head coach Josh Eilert said. “I told the guys in their locker room, it’s hard to beat anybody when they get 16 more shots than you do.”
West Virginia’s turnover margin is 13th in the Big 12, at minus-2.14. Against Texas Tech, 14 Mountaineers turnovers went for 16 points.
TCU also took a loss on Saturday, falling at BYU 87-75.
Just as West Virginia lost a double-digit first-half lead to Texas Tech, the Horned Frogs gave away a 46-29 halftime lead in Provo, falling victim to an ice-cold second-half shooting performance. TCU was 1-of-6 from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes, as BYU outscored the Horned Frogs 58-29.
“I thought our shot selection in the second half really fueled their offense,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “At the same time, I don’t know that our defense was that good in the first half; open shots, free throws, we fouled too much, (they) were in the bonus from the get-go.”
While TCU’s offense averages 80.1 points per game overall, the Horned Frogs have shown deficiencies on the defensive end, giving up 74.8 points per game in Big 12 play. That is the fourth-most in the conference.
“The game got away from us, and we didn’t respond the way you have to respond, getting some stops,” Dixon said.
For West Virginia, the focus is on quality possessions, whether that be through limiting turnovers, improving its 71.5 percent mark at the free-throw line or taking higher-percentage shots.
“We have to value possessions better,” Eilert said.
At 16.8 points per game, RaeQuan Battle is West Virginia’s leading scorer. Emanuel Miller, who averages 15.9 points per game, leads the charge for TCU.
–Field Level Media