The No. 8 West Virginia men’s basketball team lost to No. 16 Colorado in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament Wednesday afternoon after receiving a first-round bye.
While the Buffs made it on the board first, the Mountaineers responded quickly with a three from Javon Small. They kept their momentum up, dominating in the first half with an 8-0 run after being tied just three minutes into the game. Forcing Colorado into seven turnovers, West Virginia scored six points and put up 10 points in the paint.
While they were in the lead, the Mountaineers struggled to find the net shooting 37.9% from the field, 40% from behind the arc, and 50% at the free throw line. The half ended with a score of 29-23.
The second half didn’t come so easily for the Mountaineers. The Buffs inched closer during the first 10 minutes before going on a 15-0 run over five minutes to take the lead and extend it by six. West Virginia was unable to recover falling to Colorado by seven with a final score of 67-60.
Small single-handedly kept the Mountaineers in the game with 23 total points, 12 of them from behind the arc. Colorado’s Elijah Malone led Colorado with 14 points going 7-10 from the field.
Colorado will move on to face No. 1 Houston tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. EST. The Mountaineers will look to regroup for the NCAA Tournament starting next week.
