MORGANTOWN - There were a lot of wrecks around the Coliseum Wednesday on another snowy night.
And make no mistake: No. 6 West Virginia was certainly in one.
Unranked Texas came in and Shaka-ed the world - or at least the Mountaineers - in a Big 12 battle by a final of 56-49 before 9,881.
It was a nice crowd considering the weather. In the end, though, it was a disappointed crowd. And WVU coach Bob Huggins knew it.
"They went through snow and traffic and all to watch that," he said. "It's an embarrassment. I apologize. I'm embarrassed. I appreciate you all coming."
Indeed, there wasn't much to see unless you were a Texas fan. It was the biggest road win for the Longhorns (12-6) since defeating Kansas way back in 2011. It was certainly the biggest win in Shaka Smart's tenure as coach.
And here are the snowballs to the head. UT was without standout Cam Ridley. Big man Prince Ibeh was in foul trouble, as WVU went in hoping. And guard Isaiah Taylor was 0 for 8 from the floor.
It wasn't a recipe for a Mountaineer win, it was THE recipe for the win. Oh yes, and Texas didn't make it to the Coliseum until 37 minutes before game time.
"No matter what time you get to the arena, it's about the mentality you bring," Smart said. "You can get there five hours or five minutes before if you don't have the right mentality in this league. Give our guys a lot of credit. We got here 37 minutes before tipoff. No one was flipping out on the bus. We kept our composure and controlled what we could control."
In particular, Texas controlled the ball, turning it over just eight times.
"First we were trying to handle their pressure," Smart said. "West Virginia is the best pressing team in the country. They turn you over more than anyone. I have a lot of experience with that because that's how we were at VCU. I know how devastating that can be. But our guards did a good job leading the way. Between Javan [Felix] and Isaiah [Taylor] they played 65 minutes and had one turnover between them.
"Also, we knew offensive rebounding was a big strength for West Virginia. We didn't do a good job keeping them off the glass, but we were able to get some stops and crucial rebounds down the stretch."
Meanwhile, WVU turned the ball over 11 times. The team's handle was sloppy. There were air balls and bricks shooting. (The team finished hitting but 19 of 61 shots, 3 of 21 from beyond the 3-point arc.)
WVU was short on shots. It had trouble getting the ball inbounds. There were fouls at the end of the shot clock. Huggins kept putting in new players - to no avail. In addition, the balls and officials' calls were going the Longhorns' way.
Also, there was something else. It seemed the hosts were expecting to win. Perhaps they were a little high at being ranked No. 6.
"It was a lack of effort, a lack of team effort," said WVU's Devin Williams. "We just came out flat. That's pretty much it. We turned them over eight times. We turned the ball over 11. That's not our identity."
He continued.
"It's a league in which you can't relax at all. That's just the way the league is. I think it's a learning experience. We'll be back. It's something we needed. We just got a little too comfortable. We just have to get back to how it all started, how it all came together: preparing the right way. ... It's possible to get it back."
It just may take a few repairs.
nnn
Huggins won't have reason to grumble about home attendance at any point again this year. And, largely, he and his team have earned that.
The Mountaineers' high ranking and success has translated into brisk ticket sales.
"We have seen a spike in sales," said WVU associated athletic director Matt Wells. "As we've gotten into January and the way the team has been going, it's picked up."
On Wednesday, the Mountaineer ticket office announced the Feb. 13 game is a sellout.
"We sold out the Oklahoma game in December," Wells said. "This week we've announced sellouts for the Baylor and TCU games. To announce three sellouts by this time is better than average."
If you noticed a trend, yes, the Feb. 6 Baylor, Feb. 13 TCU and Feb. 20 Oklahoma games are all on Saturdays. Here's an update on the weekday games:
"We have about 1,500 tickets left for the [Monday, Feb. 22] Iowa State game," Wells said. "We have about 2,000 left for the [Wednesday, March 2] Texas Tech game and about 2,500 left for the [Tuesday, Jan. 26] Kansas State game."
Overall?
"Very positive," Wells said. "We're tracking to be up."