In sports, there are losses and then there are losses like the West Virginia University men's basketball team experienced Thursday night. Losses that suddenly pop up after you've controlled the game. After it has looked for the better part of the game that a victory was imminent. We saw it earlier this year when the football team lost to TCU. A fun game to watch. Great atmosphere. West Virginia in control. Yet, at the end of the game the scoreboard shows the Mountaineers on the losing end. Thursday night against LSU was one of those type of games for the basketball team.

 

Will we look back at this one in much the same way we looked at the Virginia Tech loss last year? A game against a Power Five opponent in which West Virginia had a double figure lead, but couldn't hold on for the win. There are some that believe the Virginia Tech loss last year was the game that kept WVU from dancing in March. Will the LSU game do the same this year? 

 

In a wildly entertaining game between two teams with NCAA Tournament hopes, WVU did enough things well to get the win. How many times do you lose a game when you get 19 steals and force 24 turnovers? Not very often. West Virginia held LSU's best player, Jordan Mickey to six points and four rebounds in 22 minutes. If I had told you before the game that those three things would happen, you would have said West Virginia walks out with the win.

 

However, give LSU credit for staying in the game even though it faced a double digit deficit in the second half. The Tigers hit shots on Thursday night. In 2013 LSU set a school record for three pointers made with 234. Last year's squad nearly matched that total with 231. Last year LSU had seven games in which it made at least nine three pointers. This year's team has been a different story. Against Weber State, the Tigers only ATTEMPTED two three pointers. Against McNeese, only three attempts from beyond the arc.

 

That all changed against West Virginia on Thursday night. LSU went 8-15 beyond the arc. Good for 53%. A team who's strength came from inside, suddenly found its outside game. That's never a good sign. When a team excels in an area it usually struggles in, it is generally tough to overcome.

 

LSU also won the rebounding battle 44-35. The press seemed to cause some trouble for LSU as evidenced by the steals and turnovers. However, as you may have heard Bob Huggins say after the game, WVU's half court defense struggled.

 

"I thought when we pressed this way that the half¬court defense would suffer and it has really suffered," Huggins said following the loss.

 

That was no more evident than the final possession. A defensive breakdown allowed LSU's Josh Gray to drive uncontested for the game-winning layup. 

 

The loss to LSU was only the fourth at home to an unranked opponent in the last 59 games. The Mountaineers have been a virtual lock in those type of games over the years. Interestingly, LSU had lost 14 straight road games to ranked teams. It's last win? Against number 13 WVU in 2005.

 

The good news … unlike football where you only have 12 chances a season, this Mountaineer basketball team has plenty of opportunities left to impress the NCAA selection committee. Yes, a win over SEC-LSU would have helped. The Tigers have enough talent that it should be a team that is in the mix for a bid to the Big Dance come March. When people start placing 'Good Win' and 'Bad Loss' tags on games as Selection Sunday approaches, a win over LSU would have most likely been the former.

 

It was probably unrealistic to think that this West Virginia team could roll through the non-conference season undefeated. Not impossible, but not probable. Opportunities still exist, though. NC State in Madison Square Garden and Virginia Tech from the ACC still remain on the schedule and early indications are that the Big 12 will once again be a strong league. There will be multiple chances for WVU to knock off ranked teams once conference play begins. 

 

The key for West Virginia now is to regroup and fight through some adversity. Let's not forget, this is a team with a bunch of newcomers. Six guys that weren't on the roster last year played double digit minutes for the Mountaineers last night. How will they respond to the first loss of the season? How quickly can they regain their focus and get back to winning? How quickly can this group of new faces understand that you have to move on to the next one? The next game for West Virginia is Saturday on the road against Northern Kentucky followed by a week off for finals. 

 

Yes, a win over LSU would have looked good come March, but all is not lost. More opportunities await down the road.

 

Is West Virginia an NCAA Tournament team, in your opinion? Leave a comment below or send me a tweet: @bradhowe07 and let me know what you think.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows a dismayed Bob Huggins, while Juwan Staten - in the middle photo - is a big reason WVU is off to a good start despite Thursday's heart-breaking loss. In the bottom picture, Jonathan Holton is one of the many newcomers that has made a difference for WVU. Photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.