Bob Huggins says West Virginia did the opposite of what he game-planned

Things only continue to get worse for Bob Huggins and his West Virginia Mountaineers. One game after upsetting No. 14 TCU, West Virginia gave up a first half lead and lost to No. 7 Texas by eight points at home. Following the loss — West Virginia’s sixth in the last seven games — Huggins voiced his frustration about his team not properly executing the game plan.

“We did everything pretty much opposite of what we planned to do,” Huggins said. “What we drilled to do as much as you can drill on, you know, a day’s rest and, you know, in a day. I don’t know what to do, man. … We have some guys that are pretty good film guys. We have other guys who, doesn’t mean a whole lot to.”

West Virginia’s defense was clearly a major factor in the loss to the Longhorns. Four different Texas players scored double figures, led by Marcus Carr, who went 8-for-14 from the floor and scored 23 points to help carry Texas to the win.

The Mountaineers also got a big game from a key player, as Kedrian Johnson had a team-high 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting. But Tre Mitchell was the only one of his teammates that joined him in scoring double figures, as he had 12 points. Huggins made it clear after the game that he does not feel his team lacked any preparation in the game.

“We went over the stuff in a in a practice facility, Mike, before we came over here for the game,” Huggins said. “What else am I supposed to do? We went over it several times in the practice facility. And that’s — those are things that we ran before successfully. You can only talk about and demonstrate a dribble-pull so many times. You know, it’s kind of like going to school with the, you know, the kid you went to school with that set beside you and he got the same teaching that you got, he got the same instruction that you got, he had the same book that you had and he didn’t do a damn thing. You just sit there.”

With the loss, West Virginia now sits at 11-8 overall and 1-6 in Big 12 play. Only 0-7 Texas Tech sits lower in the standings than the Mountaineers. Huggins will get his chance at those Red Raiders on Wednesday, when he takes his team to Lubbock, Tex., for a 6 p.m. CT tip.