We’ve officially arrived at the last game of the regular season and I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, this season has felt like a marathon and I am ready to see the finish line. On the other hand, it feels like we left so much meat on the bone that I wish we had more time to eat. Of course we still have the Big 12 Tournament and any potential postseason tournament invites, but I just hope that we sprint through the finish line instead of limp to it.
UCF has managed to sustain their level of good play this year, even after they suffered a loss against us last month. They come into this game with a 20-9 record and when you see them play they very much show why they have that record. They aren’t the best in the conference by a long shot but they are very gritty and have earned some gutsy wins this year.
I expressed my displeasure with this team’s play the last couple of games because we are playing our best when our season is effectively over, and that theme continued in the first half. Every major outlet still has us just missing the tournament and I’m not sure if a win here would change their minds.
Despite that, we did play very well for 20 minutes. We end the half up 32-21 and it really was a team effort as 4 Mountaineers had 5+ points. I wouldn’t say that either team is playing up to their potential; both teams are shooting less that 50% from the field and less than 33% from 3, but I will say that they’re playing a pretty even game. The defensive effort, rebounding effort, playmaking, and foul count are all basically neck and neck. The only differentiating factor has been the amount of 3 pointers made which we led 5-1. I’m not going to count this team out, mostly because I’ve seen us underestimate our opponent in the second half WAY too many times. If we don’t have many games left in the year, though, I do hope we can finish this one out strong.
It took an additional 10 minutes of play but we really started to find our groove. Or, I should say, Honor Huff found his groove and how fitting it is that he led the charge again on Senior Night. Huff finished the game with 24 points, hit 4 3’s, and also got shooting fouls on two additional 3 point attempts for 6 easy points. Huff has been our leader the entire year and I didn’t expect anything less out of him on this night.
Really all of the Seniors were able to contribute to this win. Brenen Lorient had 14, Jasper Floyd had 10/4/3, Harlan Obioha finished with 4 stocks, and Treysen Eaglestaff had 9. This was the most cohesive that the Seniors have played all year long, and while I wish they could have done it the entire season, it’s nice that they all went out with a bang in Morgantown.
I seems only fitting that I give The Roundball Big 3 of the Game honors to all of the Seniors. Is it a cop out? Yes. Is this my website? Also yes. I’ve certainly had my ups and downs with some of the Seniors (looking at you Eaglestaff and Obioha) but I certainly do appreciate all of them for taking a chance on Coach Hodge and WVU as a whole after the DeVries debacle last year.
With this win we did secure a first round bye in the Big 12 Tournament. We’re still at the bottom of the bye list so we will have stiff competition regardless, but I will always take a bye game.
I’d love to see this season end with a Big 12 Tournament trophy but I’m not going to get my hopes up. We’ll just have to see how it plays out. I love you, Pops. I miss you.
Round The Game 
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