… this essential site has been wrong, I think, twice this season on its projected outcomes (Virginia Tech and Purdue, I believe). And right now, the great KenPom.com predicts WVU will finish 15-16 and 10-7 7-11 (no clue what I did there to kick that one) in the Big 12 with wins at home against Baylor, Kansas State and Oklahoma and no additional wins on the road.

That’s a tough row to hoe, of course, but it’s tough to disagree, too. Imagine losing seven out of eight to end the season. That was going to be tricky anyhow because WVU’s last nine games alternate home/away. Then it’s off to the Big 12 Tournament needing wins just to get into the NIT. It’s been a long time since Mountaineers missed the postseason altogether in back-to-back seasons.

WVU, of course, believes it won’t happen and Eron Harris had his own prediction Monday night: “If somebody believes this the end of the world right now, they’re wrong.”

Well, Harris has to do his part to make sure he’s not wrong because all of a sudden he’s not right out there. That puts a lot of weight on the shoulders of Juwan Staten and Terry Henderson to score for a team that, honestly, has three reliable scorers.

And I’m not certain who the third is.

Harris is in a funk — and Huggins had some interesting things to say about that Monday night, did he not? — and Staten can get his. I know Devin Williams can get a double double, but WVU’s offense does not run through the low post. WVU hasn’t been especially successful when Henderson shoots a lot.

He’s taken 10-plus shots in four losses and nine in another (he was injured against Virginia Tech and he was benched against Wisconsin). WVU has won twice this season when he shoots 10 or more times. One was William & Mary, which, fine, whatever, and the other was TCU, when he was 3-for-10. I think it’s fair to say he has to be better if he’s going to more active, and I think it’s fair to say WVU needs Henderson to be more involved. Especially now.

Then again, WVU could use more of Remi Dibo and Nate Adrian. Putting the offensive contributions of Williams and Brandon Watkins aside, the Mountaineers can find themselves in a world of trouble against probably every Big 12 team if they don’t make 3-point shots.

Still, the Mountaineers also have this compulsion to take a lot of 3-point shots.

That 4-for-25 Monday was bad, but was it because of the four makes, the 21 misses or the 25 attempts? Opinions didn’t necessarily vary afterward for a team that’s seemingly relied too much on the 3 on its losses.

“When our 3-point shots are going well for us, I think we can ride with it,” point guard Juwan Staten said. “When they’re not, we’ve got to find something else to do. When we start to rely on the 3 to bring us back, we dig ourselves a hole. We need to understand when we’re not making 3s we need to get closer shots and not live and die by the 3.”

In 10 wins this season, the Mountaineers have shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range. In seven losses, they’ve shot 32.3 percent. Worse yet, they attempt five more 3-point shots per loss.

WVU has attempted 20 or more 3s in nine games and won just four. The Mountaineers have made seven or more 3s 12 times. In the five games with six or fewer 3s, they’re 2-3.

They were 6-for-17 against Mount St. Mary’s but shot 22-for-33 from 2-point range with 26 points in the paint. In a win against Marshall, WVU shot 4-for-15, but made 20 of 28 free throws and had 36 points in the paint.

WVU was 4-for-19 in a loss to Missouri that saw a season-high 25-point deficit. The 36.9 percent shooting in a loss to Purdue was the second-lowest of the season and sunk by a 3-for-18 day from 3-point range. The 80-69 loss to Texas saw WVU give up a season-high shooting percentage (52.7) and finish with a season-worst minus-19 rebounding margin.

“I’m not lying to you – we don’t guard,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “We don’t guard the way we’ve guarded in the past. We sure as hell don’t rebound it the way we’ve rebounded in the past. So we have to make shots. Will we get better at guarding? Absolutely. Will we get better rebounding? Absolutely.”