West Virginia’s Sunday showdown with Texas Tech couldn’t have started much worse - and unfortunately, that’s starting to sound familiar.
Before the first media timeout, Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge was already burning a timeout, trying to stop the bleeding. Texas Tech came out firing, hitting shot after shot, and the gap between the two teams - one ranked, one reeling - widened quickly. It was a script WVU fans have seen too often lately.
The result? Another loss, and another game where West Virginia found itself in a double-digit hole it couldn’t climb out of.
That makes it 2-7 this season when trailing by 10 or more points - and here’s the kicker: five of those nine slow starts have come in just the last six games. That’s not a trend.
That’s a red flag.
Sunday marked yet another game where the Mountaineers never held a lead. That’s now happened against Houston and Arizona - both on the road - and now at home, where WVU has dropped two straight after starting the season a perfect 13-0 in Morgantown. What once looked like a fortress has suddenly sprung some leaks.
Hodge didn’t sugarcoat it after the game. “In large part,” he said, “the start again is kind of what got you.”
And he’s not wrong. When you’re consistently playing from behind - especially against ranked opponents - you’re not just battling the scoreboard.
You’re battling momentum, confidence, and time. That early deficit doesn’t just show up on the stat sheet; it weighs on every possession that follows.
For a team that showed so much promise early in the season, the Mountaineers are now searching for answers - and fast. Because if they can’t figure out how to start stronger, they may find themselves watching the postseason from home.