I’m confident this is a sign that Bob Huggins is fed up with free-throw shooting, with his players not heeding warning or outcomes, with having to discuss the topic because there is no alternative. It’s been on his mind for a while, and now it’s in his mailbox.

I asked if his players were practicing the right way. There’s a difference between making 100 every day and just getting through 100 every day, and I wondered if they rehearse the same rituals and routines in practice that they exhibit in games.

Fair question, I thought. Amazing response, I know.

The Mountaineers have lost two games this season to the foul line. A lot of other stuff happened against Texas Tech and Oklahoma … and especially Oklahoma. It can be lazy to say, “Free throws are why they lost.” Had WVU done one or two or three other things right in either game, it wins and survives its flaw.

But foul shots mattered dearly in both, and the story was the same Saturday up until the ending, when a 3-for-8 run and some torrid Texas A&M offense was slightly altered by Esa Ahmad going 2-for-2 with 4 seconds to go. That was unlikely, and folks were nervous when Ahmad caught the pass and stood there waiting to be fouled. He was 4-for-10 to that point, and he is among the many who have had issues at the stripe.

So it made no sense he clinched the game, but did it make sense to think he’d shake free from a slump and go out and get 27 points against Kansas? The team that can make you shake your head and grimace can also make you shrug your shoulders and smile.

“It’s confidence,” said Ahmad, who could have passed the ball and avoided the line but chose to accept the challenge instead. “You can’t let the last miss affect the next shot. I wasn’t shooting well at the free-throw line, but I just had to go up there thinking the next two shots were going in.”

WVU ended a six-game losing streak to SEC teams and is now 1-3 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, but this was much more difficult than it needed to be. The Mountaineers led by 20 early in the second half and by 11 with 90 seconds to go, but Texas A&M’s J.C. Hampton made three 3-pointers while Ahmad, Jevon Carter and Tarik Phillip went 1 for 2 at the foul line and Elijah Macon went 0 for 2.

“That’s why you can’t let teams stick around,” Carter said. “They start hitting shots like that, and that’s when miracles happen.”

WVU (17-4) finished 12 for 23 at the free-throw line, the second-worst percentage of the season and lower than the failing marks earned in overtime losses to Texas Tech and Oklahoma. Following the loss to the Sooners, when the Mountaineers were 18 for 29 and 4 for 9 in overtime, WVU was a combined 40 for 47 against Kansas State and Kansas.

I think we’re naive to think this won’t matter again. There comes a point in every season for every team when — all together now — you are who you are. The Mountaineers are really good at getting ahead. They were, for a long time, very good at staying there. But they’ve played poorly with leads for a while now, so I don’t know which is the blip.

I think you can wake up and realize you better play better to finish games. That’s an energy/effort thing. But I also know opponents are wise to foul the Mountaineers late in games and make them walk to the line and hit foul shots to earn the win. That could make for some white-knuckle moments the rest of the way.

So it’s time to live and learn or … not.

As the Mountaineers move toward an NCAA Tournament berth, one figured it would be a nice learning experience. Somewhere along the way, WVU will have to deal with a lineup like Texas A&M’s, which started 6-foot-10 Tonny Trocha-Morelos, 6-10 Tyler Davis and 6-9, 237-pound Robert Williams. (The Aggies played without 6-9 freshman D.J. Hogg, a Top 30 recruit.)

In the end, though, what West Virginia learned wasn’t noticeable. Instead, it’s what the Mountaineers haven’t learned.

In short, they haven’t learned to avoid letdowns. They haven’t learned to put the proverbial hammer down against lesser teams. They haven’t learned to stay mentally focused after building a nice lead.

Yes, WVU won over what is now an 11-9 Aggies team. Yes, the victory is in the books and the Mountaineers are now 17-4.

Yet West Virginia was winning by 20 early in the second half — and had to hold on for dear life at the end.

WVU coach Bob Huggins never found comfort.

“I’ve seen too many leads disappear,” he said.

Indeed, the Mountaineers were up by 19 against Kansas, even though they still won convincingly. In Manhattan a week prior to Saturday’s game, they were up by 12 to Kansas State and fell 79-75. Against Oklahoma in the Coliseum, they held a 15-point lead and shockingly lost 89-87 in overtime. Back in the loss to Texas Tech, they held a seven-point lead in the second half before falling.

It’s to the point where Bob Huggins is troubled.

“I’d say that’s a fair statement,” said the coach.