Every now and then you see something you haven’t seen in a while, if ever before. You might not think much about it. After all, it’s either relatively or completely new.

Then you see it again. And again. And you wonder.

Monday’s game was the fifth straight in which WVU was outscored in the second half. Given the Mountaineers don’t score much and play close games to begin with, that’s noteworthy. And I thought it was worth noting in my mind a while back. You see, that fifth straight game Monday was the sixth in seven games. And the 10th in 13 Big East games. You now have a theme.

Within that theme is another. The Mountaineers haven’t kept a team from scoring fewer points in the second half than they did in the first half in 15 straight games — including all 13 Big East games.

Qualify that a little bit: WVU can lock you down and allow USF 16 points or Pitt 23 points in a first half. The Mountaineers are still a good — though not as good — defensive outfit. And then there are the opponents. The Bulls stink and can lay a 16-point egg. The Panthers do not stink and can get 48 in the second half on the road.

Of course, WVU can also allow 48 in a half at home and waste an 11-point halftime lead on the road at Louisville or give up 30 points in the first half at Villanova and then 39 in the second.

So out of all this  talk about trends and streaks comes an ironic conclusion about the Mountaineers. They critically lack consistency.

 That’s not an easy habit to break this late in the season. 

“It shouldn’t be hard because it should be something we’ve done all season,” WVU point guard Joe Mazzulla said. “If we really care about the game and we want to win these next five games, we have to put two halves together.”

That’s been WVU’s failing. This is a team that doesn’t play two good halves. That’s going to be an issue in a finish that features four games against ranked teams.

WVU is 2-4 against ranked opponents and has only one win against a team above it in the standings – Georgetown, which has won its past eight Big East games and started 1-4 in conference play.

The Mountaineers were in a similar spot a season ago. They didn’t begin with a great record agaisnst ranked teams and needed far longer to beat a team situated higher in the conference standings. That team got its act together late and did OK, yes?

These Mountaineers aren’t as good in some areas and do seem to be wheezing, just a little. The four remaining ranked opponents can be a bad finish or a good opportunity. The league wins, the RPI and the strength of schedule are solid and the bubble won’t be crowded this season, but WVU still needs wins at the end. Status quo won’t do it.

In the past 16 years, the highest RPI to be excluded from the NCAA Tournament was No. 21. The Mountaineers today are No. 22