Tale of Two Halves Once More as West Virginia Falls 77-67 to TCU

Same game, different night. West Virginia fails to perform at a consistent level for 40 minutes as the Mountaineers falls to TCU in Fort Worth, 77-67.

West Virginia (14-13, 3-11 Big 12) scored 42 points on 55 percent shooting in the first half, while only scoring 25 points in the second on 35 percent shooting. The Mountaineers showed a lot of promise on the offensive end in the first half, having arguably their best shooting half of the season. WVU was scoring at all three levels of the court, even hitting their threes. The second half was a different story as multiple droughts resulted in West Virginia playing behind the entire time.

TCU (17-8, 6-7 Big 12) was just another team that was able to bully their way into the paint and score on easy shots. Mike Miles, Damion Baugh, and Emanuel Miller helped the Horned Frogs put up 40 points in the paint on Monday night. West Virginia was out-rebounded 42-24.

With 4:24 left in the first half, TCU’s Chuck O’Bannon Jr. hit a transition three to extend the TCU lead to 11 points. Then, it was time for the Taz Sherman show. A mid-range jump shot and 2-three-pointers later and Sherman brought the Mountaineers all the way back within one point at the end of the half. Sherman ended the night with 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field.

Isaiah Cottrell showed a lot of promise in the early stages. The redshirt freshman shot the ball efficiently for the first time in a while, ending the night 3-of-3 from the field. Cottrell scored seven points in the first six minutes of the game, even expanding his range out to the three-point line.

Freshman guard Seth Wilson ended the nearly five-minute field goal drought in the second half. Wilson received ample playing time once more, checking into the game for 13 minutes, scoring three points. Another freshman in Jamel King got great playing time at the end of the game, hitting a three with two minutes left in the game.

A three at the left wing in the first half gave Sherman 1,000 career points at West Virginia. The fifth-year senior became the 55th Mountaineer to reach this accomplishment. The Missouri City, Texas native has spent three seasons at WVU after spending two seasons in JUCO ball. Sherman raised his point per game average over his three seasons averaging 5.3 points his junior year, 13.6 points his senior year, and 18.6 so far in his fifth-year. The 6-foot-4 guard is shooting 41.7 percent from the field in his career.

Notable scorers for West Virginia were Sherman (23), Keddy Johnson (12), Bridges (9), and Cottrell (9).

The Mountaineers will stay on the road and head to Ames, Iowa, to go up against Iowa State. WVU and ISU will meet for the second time this season, as the Mountaineers beat the Cyclones in Morgantown on Feb. 8, 76-60. West Virginia will take on Iowa State on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.