MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Wednesday night was the final home game of the season for West Virginia men’s basketball and for the Mountaineers it was a game they were never in.
TCU couldn’t miss early, while it was one of WVU’s slower starts and they could never catch up, dropping their fourth straight game, 93-81.
Slow starts have been a problem for West Virginia all season long. On Wednesday night, TCU looked crisp and put together on offense, while the Mountaineers couldn’t get anything going on either end of the floor.
The Horned Frogs were very reliant on the three early and that decision was a wise one. TCU’s first nine shots were from beyond the arc, and they made five of them.
At the same time TCU was raining three-pointers, West Virginia couldn’t get anything going on the offensive end. WVU went more than four minutes without a basket, starting 0-for-3 from the field to go along with three turnovers.
TCU had leads of 5-0, 12-2, and 23-12 all within the first 8:04 of the game, as WVU called their first timeout of the half.
West Virginia’s defense could never slow down TCU in the first half, as the Horned Frogs went on runs of 7-0 and 13-2, as they were in front 43-20 with 5:29 to play.
The Mountaineers would find some sort of offense late in the first half, cutting TCU’s 23-point lead to 15 as they trailed, 53-38 at halftime.
TCU made nine three-pointers in the first half, something they had only done five times in a game this season. The Horned Frogs shot 64 percent from the field, while WVU shot 50 percent, but went 2-for-7 from three, as they missed their first six in the first half.
The start of the second half for TCU was just a continuation of the first. TCU’s Jameer Nelson Jr. made a three-pointer 13 seconds into the half, while the Horned Frogs tied their season-high in three-pointers made (11), with 16:55 to play, leading, 63-45.
West Virginia would slowly start to creep back into the game, focusing on getting the ball to Jesse Edwards, who scored 18 points in the first half.
The Mountaineers trailed by 21 but went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 13 with 10:00 to play. RaeQuan Battle scored four of those points at once on free throws, while Kerr Kriisa cashed in on a three.
Edwards would continue to be targeted on offense but struggled to convert at the free throw line. In the second half, Edwards missed three free throws during WVU’s 8-0 run. In all, he shot 6-for-18 from the free throw line.
West Virginia played well offensively all night, but their struggles on defense were once again the biggest problem. WVU shot 67 percent from the field in the second half but couldn’t match TCU from beyond the arc.
WVU only attempted five shots from deep in the second half, compared to their seven in the first, and made the same number of three’s.
Edwards finished with a career-high 36 points and 13 rebounds, the first WVU player to reach a 30-point double-double since 2016, and the first to have at least 36 points and 13 rebounds in a game since Rod Thorn had 38 points and 18 rebounds in 1962.
WVU concludes their regular season on Saturday on the road against Cincinnati. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
