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If you tuned in for the duration of the WVU/Texas game on January 9th, 2013, you deserve this win. You deserve it much more than any of the teams that actually played in the game due to the fact that I firmly believe it could be in the Top Ten of worst college basketball games ever televised. WVU, at one point, was 0-14 from beyond the arc including having a mere 29 points in 30 minutes of game play. That being said, the Mountaineers went 19-62 (30.6%) from the field before a weird barrage of 21 points in the last four minutes sparked by.... a three from Kevin Noreen.
This three started a 10-0 run from the Mountaineers tying the game and forcing a Texas timeout with 86 seconds left. Any recording of basketball that came before the Noreen three should be immediately burned, shot, drown, and burned again. Both teams were awful. AWFUL. The hell with it. I'll move on.
After the Texas timeout, WVU ends up blocking a dribble drive layup that leads to a Harris three from the corner with twenty ticks left. The Longhorns set up a play and end up hitting a huge three to tie it up at 50 with three seconds left. Gary Browne goes the length of the court with no shot. This horrible, horrible game gets five more minutes.
AMERICA DEMANDS FIVE MORE MINUTES OF THIS
— Patrick Southern (@patricksouthern) January 10, 2013
Overtime starts and WVU ends up leading 54-52 after a Murray layup and two Gary Browne free throws with three minutes left. This is where the sorcery begins. WVU waits until the end of the shot clock to throw up a jumper... missed... offensive rebound. 2:30 left, the Mountaineers let the shot clock run down.... miss.... offensive rebound. AGAIN, MISSED JUMPER, OFFENSIVE REBOUND. The Mountaineers, inadvertently, took a full two minutes off the clock while up by two to make it a one possession game with the lead and the ball. After this, the Longhorns make the defensive stand, but never get those crucial two points.
DO NOT BE MISLEAD. Yes, you can say that WVU took the opportunity that was there at the end of the game. Yes, you can say that they didn't give up and had heart. Yes, you can say that, once it became a game, they kept composure. None of that matters if Texas had a competent enough night to already be up by 30 before the sorcery. This is a much needed win and I'll take it, but this is one that is more telling of a tale about the Longhorns rather than the Mountaineers.
All that being said. Who cares?
