There’s actually something really comforting about preparing for a game with zero implications. Like, it would take a literal act of the basketball gods to place us in the tournament at this point, and no matter what we do, we’re a lock for the NIT. That’s just so… freeing: no pressure, no stress, no worries. Normally I would be talking about this game because Oklahoma State is playing pretty poorly in the Big 12 so it shouldn’t be a problem, and then I would get SUPER stressed because we would inevitably play down to our competition and ultimately ruin our postseason chances. Now? Hakuna Matata.
I’m no longer stressed, but I do hate being right about this ALL THE TIME. There were times that we played well; Honor Huff had 9 in the half, Eaglestaff had 8, and everyone seemed to play pretty aggressively. The problem was our defense. We couldn’t stop a runny nose if our life depended on it, and Oklahoma State too advantage of that scoring 46 points in 20 minutes. I’m not sure how to check this stat, but I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that this was the highest scoring half they’ve had all year. Of course it would happen against us.
If there is any silver lining in this it’s that no one single player is killing us. Their entire team is just playing very well; not one person has hit double figure scoring so this is very much done by committee. Oklahoma State is shooting better from 3 and the field, outrebounding us, and turning us over more so it really isn’t any surprise that they’re up 46-33 at the half.
In a very out of character move from the Mountaineers this year, we actually stormed back. We were able to overcome the 13 point deficit and pull it to about even at the 5 minute left mark in the half. Treysen Eaglestaff and Honor Huff both doubled their scoring output in the half and for a while there it started to look like we would take this one on the road. So much so that we took the game into overtime. I will say that we tried our hardest to steal it in overtime, but that just wasn’t our destiny for this game.
The “win by committee” approach this team had in the first half continued in the second half as they had 6 players hit double figures in scoring. The deficits that we had in the first half were also a theme in the second; outrebounded, outshot, and out hustled. Es lo que es, I say.
The Roundball Big 3 of the Game:
Honor Huff – 20 points, 6 3PM
Treysen Eaglestaff – 18 points, 3 stocks
Chance Moore – 14 points, 10 rebounds
We’ve got 3 games left in the year before the Big 12 tournament, so I’m about ready to coast the rest of the year. This kind of game is the epitome of why I wish we’d be in a mid-major conference. If we compete with the Arizona, Kansas, and Iowa States of the conference, that’s cool. If we lose to the bottom of the barrel, it makes me want to never play in a Power 5 conference again. I’ll probably write about that soon, but for now I’m heading to bed. I love you, Dad. I miss you.
Round The Game 
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