The 74-72 loss to Iowa State Saturday night left West Virginia’s coach wanting more from a team that didn’t give a whole lot in defeat.

I might be the outlier here, which is fine, and I do see the woeful shooting numbers … but WVU’s two losses are to two pretty good teams by a combined three points. In both games, at home, no less, the Mountaineers did so many singular things wrong that had one or two not been botched they probably win one or both of those games.

Huggins said something in his press conference about game slippage and how it’s tied to preparedness, and it makes sense in context. The belief here is those things tend to get better as the season goes on. First-year players, for example, have no idea about scouting reports in conference play. They’re different animals, far more complex and informed against better opponents, and the other side knows more and more as the season progresses, as well.

The real trouble, as you know, came on offense. Twenty-nine 3-point attempts is too many for a team only good enough to make seven, and the issue was those were sometimes early shots or the best shots. Neither is a good thing for the Mountaineers. They need to get their early shots at the rim, because a 3 will always be there for this team, and the best shots aren’t often going to be 3s for this collection of players. There are exceptions, and if Jaysean Paige can step into one up top or Jevon Carter can get settled on the sideline, you’ll take those. But Juwan Staten sizing one up off the dribble? Nate Adrian pretty much anywhere right now? Jon Holton? You’d rather not see that early in a possession.

Just WVU should be able to motion and cut and pass and screen with increasing effectiveness throughout the game because the press and the offense inflict that cumulative effective. Didn’t happen Saturday because the passing was so, so bad. I mean, non-existent at times. The ball stopped a lot, which gave Iowa State time to recover and protect, and the team with the fewest blocked shots in the Big 12 wasn’t asked to block too many drives to the basket, things that happen when the offense works quickly and facilitates drives and cuts. Of course, WVU missed seven more layups.

WVU’s passing problems were most noticeable and most critical against the zone defense Iowa State hadn’t shown all season. The Mountaineers couldn’t get inside with drives or passes and the Cyclones, forced into the tactic because of foul trouble, ultimately prevailed because of it.

That had Huggins heated afterward.