Remember when WVU Against a Zone Defense was a Thing? I think I do, but I’m not certain. It could have happened, sure, but given the way the Mountaineers have performed against zones lately, I think we can use a lowercase t now.

There was a time when teams like Baylor or Texas could prevail with a 2-3 as a go-to defense, and there were times when teams like Kansas State or Iowa State … or TCU or Texas Tech … would throw it out to and have success because WVU would have struggles.

That seems to be in the past now, and WVU has to feel pretty good about what it’s doing offensively as it heads to No. 19 Baylor — piping hot, by the way — and its 2-3 zone, if for no other reason than getting Texas, of all teams, to bail Tuesday night.

There was also a time when many thought this would be a long season, and that remains true, because 31 regular-season games and 18 weeks is a long time and as such ample time for a team to figure out how to do a few things or how to do a few things better. Look at WVU’s improved passing and avoidance of deadly errors against a zone, to say nothing of unveiling a zone of its own, and witness little pieces come together here and there over the past two weeks and you get the idea the Mountaineers are improving at the most ideal time.

“We’re getting better, we’re getting closer, but it’s a big jump, a bigger jump certainly than what they realized and probably everybody else realized,” coach Bob Huggins said. “I think they’re getting better, and those guys are starting to understand things better. The practices are better because they understand what they’re doing. We don’t have to spend so much time trying to over-explain things to them.”

The first game against Texas this season, a 77-50 loss on Jan. 17, was the worst the Mountaineers have played. They set season lows in points, baskets, shooting percentage, assists and points off turnovers, but there was one problem at the root of all their struggles.

It was something Huggins could point to and discuss with his players and something they could accept was out of character.

“We watched the film and looked at our effort out in Texas, and the effort from when we were in Texas to here is totally night and day,” said forward Devin Williams, who had 14 points Tuesday after totaling 13 in the first four games of his career against the Longhorns. “You could tell the difference, you could feel the energy from the bench and see the focus from everybody.”

The Mountaineers had 14 baskets in the first half Tuesday. They had 13 in the first game against Texas. Eleven of those 14 baskets came with an assist, and nine players had at least one. There were only five assists last month. Fourteen of the first 17 points came in the paint, and the attack inside forced Texas to adjust. WVU responded by scoring 12 of the next 16 points from 3-point range.

Proof of their progress came when Texas ditched its 2-3 zone in the first half, and then when the Mountaineers had to change tactics and abandon its full-court press in the second half to play a 1-1-3 zone they hadn’t shown all season.