Tried to warn you, but I get weird when I’m on the road for spots or stretches. Those plane rides and solo meals and hotel sequestrations send the wheels spinning and then things happen.

Certainly for a while now we’ve been trying to figure out WVU, who the Mountaineers are and what makes them tick. How and why do they win and lose? What’s the key to one and an explanation for the other?

There’s no easy answer. It’s not a static conversation. But I like statistics and numbers, probably a bit too much, and I value some and lean away from others.

Example: I think rebounding margin can be really overrated. Not to get too detailed, but very simply, if you have a very good shooting percentage, you have fewer chances to rebound the ball and outrebound an opponent — and you probably hold the lead a lot, which skews things further with opponents who have to shoot more to try to stay with you. And if you can’t shoot, you have more chances to create a misleading stat.

I also think the ways you measure efficient offenses means more to the outcome. Points-per-possession is a pretty valuable metric because it sort of combines shooting percentage, 3-pointers, turnovers and rebounding in one roundabout way.

So the more and more I looked at WVU’s season and statistics, I started to realize a few things that I thought were telling. The team was better when it scored more.

Shocking, I know, but try and follow me here.

Two things go into that. When the Mountaineers make a larger amount of shots and attempt a large number of free throws, they tend to score and outscore and usually win.

That’s indicative of two things that would lead you to believe they’re playing well.

If they make a lot of shots, they’re probably getting stops and rebounds, and thus extra possessions, and not turning it over much. More baskets is good and usually expands enough incorporate more 3-pointers. When WVU has had a high number of baskets, the 3-point line has helped.

If the Mountaineers are attempting a large number of free throws, they’re doing something right, be it on offense or defense or when rebounding, and the chances are the points will go up as the number of attempts go up.

Again, points are good.

So I narrowed it down and found a magic number: 45. If WVU combined for 45 or more made field goals and attempted free throws (FGM+FTA), it was very hard to beat.

How hard? The Mountaineers are 10-2 this season when they’re at or above 45 FGM+FTA. That means 2-9 when at 44 and below.

Think of it this way. Say to get to 45 WVU makes 23 baskets (that’s the average this season). That leaves 22 free throw attempts — because, believe it or not, WVU’s average FGM+FTA this season is 45.1.

The 23 baskets is good for 51 points (WVU averages five 3s a game). The 22 free throws are good for 16 points (at the season’s rate of 69 percent shooting). WVU now has 67 points.

WVU is 9-3 when it’s at or above 67 points in a game. WVU is 9-3 when opponents score 66 or fewer points. WVU’s average points per game this season? Turn off your computer if you didn’t sy 67.

Really, twice all season have the Mountaineers  managed 45 FGM+FTA and lost and you can see why:

– The first loss to Oklahoma (55) featured 36.2 shooting and 10 missed free throws in 34 attempts. And Oklahoma had a 52 and only missed six of 25 free-throw attempts.

– The Kansas State loss (46) is a game the Mountaineers could have won if not for the suspect foul call on Dominique Rutledge right after WVU took the lead in the final seconds and then the late chaos on the game’s final inbound. Kansas State had a 39 that night. WVU did enough to win, but did more to lose.

Conversely, WVU’s two wins below 45 FGM+FTA are easy to understand:

– The Virginia Tech win (42) was nearly a loss, rescued by Juwan Staten’s basket and Virginia Tech’s late miss. The Mountaineers also made 10 3s that game, which really offsets 10-for-18 shooting at the foul line. The Hokies had a 37, second-lowest by an opponent this season, and were 8-for-10 at the line.

– Saturday’s win at TCU (40) featured a very efficient performance — 52.1 percent shooting from the floor, 7-for-10 shooting from 3-point range. Also, TCU is fairly terrible and finished with a 37.

On the other side, WVU opponents are 6-2 when they go above 45 and the two losses are again easy to grasp:

– VMI had a 47, but that’s sort of VMI’s game. Lots of possessions, lots of baskets. WVU was far better at it that night.

– Oakland had a 47, but, like VMI, tends to play that way in order to compete up a level. The Golden Grizzlies did well to battle that game and made 10 3s.

Those two ate trend-testers.

Opponents are 5-10 when below 45 and those wins are a little harder to explain, but a few came when WVU was just not good on offense:

– Davidson won with a 42, but WVU (41) shot 40 percent and missed 11 free throws in a seven-point loss.

– Duquesne won with a 40! I can’t understand this one because the Dukes only made three 3s and nine free throws. But the Mountaineers were very bad that night, especially in the second half, and had a 35 with nine made free throws and three 3s. Duquesne kind of crushed WVU on the boards, too.

– Oklahoma won the second game with a 38, but, again WVU was shaky with a 31, which included 11 3s. Just not a lot of offense a night when 57 points wasn’t nearly enough. Yet WVU had control of that game in the first half, but couldn’t rebound when it mattered and lost by 10.

– Kansas State won with a 38, but, as stated above, WVU had chances to win that game.

– Iowa State won with a 42, but the Cyclones could have lost that game, too, if not for the last-second shot. WVU scraped together a 38 and hung around thanks to nine 3s, but only tried 13 free throws on the road.

I looked around the Big 12 and the Big East, just for comparisons, and it’s a seems to fit many teams. Baylor, for example, is 11-3 when at or above 45 and 4-5 when its under. And that matters because the Bears are your hosts tonight.