Mar 13, 2025
West Virginia’s Javon Small (7) shoots as Colorado’s RJ Smith (5) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
KANSAS CITY Mo. — Cinderella just didn’t take a bite out of West Virginia on Wednesday, she took off one of her glass slippers and beat the Mountaineers in the back of the head with it.
Colorado, a team that won just three Big 12 games during the regular season, now has two more in the Big 12 tournament, as the underdog and 16th-seeded Buffaloes took out eighth-seeded WVU 67-60 inside the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
The Mountaineers (19-13) were denied any opportunity of building some type of momentum heading into next week’s NCAA tournament with the second-round loss.
Instead, the Mountaineers were simply out-hustled and outplayed by the last-place team in the conference.
The only possible solace WVU could take away from this one is, at the very least, they aren’t alone on Colorado’s upset tour. The Buffaloes (14-19) also took out TCU on Tuesday.
Colorado advances to play top-seeded Houston today. WVU returns to Morgantown with a lot of time to think about this one before Selection Sunday arrives.
“We needed it today,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. “We got it. These guys delivered.”
At the top of WVU’s list of things to ponder has to be generating some type of offense other than Javon Small.
The WVU senior point guard finished with a curious 23 points — more on that in a second — while the rest of his teammates combined to shoot just 39% from the floor and the Mountaineers also turned the ball over 15 times.
WVU forward Amani Hansberry, who had scored 30 points over the final two games of the regular season, was held to just two points and those didn’t come until the 2:13 mark of the second half.
As for the peculiarity of Small’s game, he came out with 13 points over the first 11 minutes, 30 seconds of the first half. That led to WVU surging out to a 27-14 lead.
Over the final 8:30, Small didn’t score again and was held scoreless until he knocked down two free throws with 10:38 remaining in the game.
By that time, the Buffaloes already had their comeback in motion.
And they did it behind the play of center Elijah Malone, who scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
What you need to know about Malone is he was playing NAIA-level hoops in Indiana this time last season, but the Mountaineers had no answer for him down low.
“I thought we had great, great performances in the second half by Elijah Malone, who was beast down low,” Boyle said.
And when Malone didn’t score, he kicked it out to teammate R.J. Smith for a 3-pointer that gave Colorado a 49-46 lead with 6:03 remaining.
That lead grew to as much as eight points and the Mountaineers never tied or led after Smith’s dagger.
“We just felt like when we were scratching and clawing to get back in the game, whether it was the first half or the second half, I felt like if we could get it tied or take the lead that they might tighten up a little bit,” Boyle said.
Meanwhile, Small — other than those two free throws — went nearly 14 minutes of the second half without taking a single shot.
That changed with 2:47 remaining, as he tipped in a missed shot by Jonathan Powell. He then nailed two 3-pointers — both came with under a minute left — but the Buffaloes’ was already secured by then.
“I’ve got to be more aggressive throughout the whole game,” Small said. “They had me running around, and then I’m just a natural playmaker, in my opinion, so I just thought I could make the right play.
“I started dishing the ball off, but, yeah, I just got to be more aggressive.”
Smith finished with 13 points and was 3 of 5 from 3-point range, as Colorado shot nearly 61% (14 of 23) from the floor in the second half.
WVU entered the Big 12 tournament projected as a No. 9 seed for the NCAAs, but it’s possible a loss to the Buffaloes could drop WVU to a No. 10, or lower, depending on how other bubble teams perform around the country.
The Mountaineers certainly didn’t look like an NCAA tourney type of team in Kansas City, going one-and-done in the Big 12 tournament for a second straight year.
“I think the biggest thing for us is certainly disappointed with the loss, maybe how it happened,” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said. “We can’t change that now, so the biggest thing for us is, hey, we’re going to have another opportunity to play and we’re going to get a chance to go back and regroup like we have all year. We’re going to reset.”
Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox
MORGANTOWN — West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, like all football coaches, wants his players to show up on time, …
Copyright © Weirton Daily Times | https://www.weirtondailytimes.com | 114 Lee Ave., Weirton, WV 26062 | 304-748-0606
