Post by elp525 on Feb 16, 2011 10:35:25 GMT -5
Wednesday February 16, 2011
By Justin Jackson
The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
The WVU men's basketball team has become too consistent at being inconsistent.
"So many times throughout this season, there have been times during games where we needed to make some plays," WVU forward Kevin Jones said after Monday's 63-52 loss to 17thranked Syracuse, at the Carrier Dome. "We made those plays last year, but we're not making them this year. We have sometimes, but we're not being consistent."
The Mountaineers (16-9, 7-6 Big East) found themselves in that exact situation against the Orange (21-6, 8-6).
Trailing, 51-49, with 8:20 remaining in the game, WVU went the rest of the way shooting just 1-of-6 from the floor and turned the ball over five times.
Casey Mitchell's 3-pointer with 5:13 remaining was the final points WVU scored in the game. Syracuse finished the game on a 12-3 run to close the door.
It's the same storyline that has haunted the Mountaineers in many of their losses this season.
In six of WVU's nine defeats, the Mountaineers have had some severe scoring droughts.
How bad has it been? WVU went 11:35 without a basket in a loss to Marshall -- and that's not even the longest stretch without a field goal.
The reason for the droughts is simple, according to WVU coach Bob Huggins. WVU is simply not making shots.
For the most part, the Mountaineers got good looks at the basket against Syracuse. WVU pounded the ball to the foul line in the middle of Syracuse's 2-3 zone, but Jones and fellow WVU forward Deniz Kilicli finished a combined 3-of-15 from the floor. Neither player attempted a 3-pointer and the majority of those shots were from 15 feet or closer.
"We did what we wanted to do," Huggins said. "We still tried to throw it in there, but our inside guys didn't score the ball, and they had the same shots they have all the time. It wasn't like they had different shots. Those were the same shots. Those are two guys we depend on to score the ball for us."
It forced WVU to put its offense on the back of Casey Mitchell, who scored a gamehigh 23 points and he connected on seven 3-pointers, but he attempted only one shot after making his final 3-pointer, with 5:13 remaining.
"It's not that we wanted 1/8Mitchell3/8 shooting like that, but Kevin had shots and didn't make any. Deniz had shots and didn't make any," Huggins continued. "You go with the guy who was making shots."
"We found Mitchell," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim added. "Once we took Mitchell away -- that's who they were going to -- we took that away and they tried going inside and we made some plays in there."
WVU felt it got good looks at the basket in a loss to Villanova earlier this season -- a game in which WVU went without a basket for nine minutes -- but again couldn't knock down shots.
The consistent factor in the scoring droughts is they have come in road or neutralcourt games. Other than that, there is no telling factor on when they will happen. The droughts have hit WVU at the start of a game, or at the end of the first half. Some -- like against Syracuse -- have come at the end of games.
WVU players say there is no excuse for them happening at all.
"We just have to bear down and execute and guard," Mitchell said.
"Any team in the Big East is capable of making a run at you," forward John Flowers added. "We've been letting up on people and we can't do that."
By Justin Jackson
The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
The WVU men's basketball team has become too consistent at being inconsistent.
"So many times throughout this season, there have been times during games where we needed to make some plays," WVU forward Kevin Jones said after Monday's 63-52 loss to 17thranked Syracuse, at the Carrier Dome. "We made those plays last year, but we're not making them this year. We have sometimes, but we're not being consistent."
The Mountaineers (16-9, 7-6 Big East) found themselves in that exact situation against the Orange (21-6, 8-6).
Trailing, 51-49, with 8:20 remaining in the game, WVU went the rest of the way shooting just 1-of-6 from the floor and turned the ball over five times.
Casey Mitchell's 3-pointer with 5:13 remaining was the final points WVU scored in the game. Syracuse finished the game on a 12-3 run to close the door.
It's the same storyline that has haunted the Mountaineers in many of their losses this season.
In six of WVU's nine defeats, the Mountaineers have had some severe scoring droughts.
How bad has it been? WVU went 11:35 without a basket in a loss to Marshall -- and that's not even the longest stretch without a field goal.
The reason for the droughts is simple, according to WVU coach Bob Huggins. WVU is simply not making shots.
For the most part, the Mountaineers got good looks at the basket against Syracuse. WVU pounded the ball to the foul line in the middle of Syracuse's 2-3 zone, but Jones and fellow WVU forward Deniz Kilicli finished a combined 3-of-15 from the floor. Neither player attempted a 3-pointer and the majority of those shots were from 15 feet or closer.
"We did what we wanted to do," Huggins said. "We still tried to throw it in there, but our inside guys didn't score the ball, and they had the same shots they have all the time. It wasn't like they had different shots. Those were the same shots. Those are two guys we depend on to score the ball for us."
It forced WVU to put its offense on the back of Casey Mitchell, who scored a gamehigh 23 points and he connected on seven 3-pointers, but he attempted only one shot after making his final 3-pointer, with 5:13 remaining.
"It's not that we wanted 1/8Mitchell3/8 shooting like that, but Kevin had shots and didn't make any. Deniz had shots and didn't make any," Huggins continued. "You go with the guy who was making shots."
"We found Mitchell," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim added. "Once we took Mitchell away -- that's who they were going to -- we took that away and they tried going inside and we made some plays in there."
WVU felt it got good looks at the basket in a loss to Villanova earlier this season -- a game in which WVU went without a basket for nine minutes -- but again couldn't knock down shots.
The consistent factor in the scoring droughts is they have come in road or neutralcourt games. Other than that, there is no telling factor on when they will happen. The droughts have hit WVU at the start of a game, or at the end of the first half. Some -- like against Syracuse -- have come at the end of games.
WVU players say there is no excuse for them happening at all.
"We just have to bear down and execute and guard," Mitchell said.
"Any team in the Big East is capable of making a run at you," forward John Flowers added. "We've been letting up on people and we can't do that."
