WVU Mountaineer Sports: Basketball | Football | News |Perspective from a WVU Student and Fan

It's been a rough stretch for West Virginia's basketball team. It wasn't all that long ago that some were talking about the Mountaineers being a possible three seed in the NCAA Tournament.

But on Saturday, with the seconds ticking down in a home game against Louisville, West Virginia tried to hold onto a lead that would resulted in a high quality win.

That lead vanished, though. Thanks to too many turnovers by WVU, Louisville erased a 13-point lead and another defensive stop to preserve a tough road win.

A missed Kyle Kuric three-pointer eventually gave Gary Browne the ball. The freshmen guard brought the ball up the court with the tension of a team and an entire fan base on his shoulders.

Not only had the Mountaineers allowed Louisville to climb back into the game and take a one-point lead, but with their recent struggles, had let the NCAA Tournament bubble talk to creep back into the picture.

With one big play, that could have been silenced for a time, and Morgantown could go back to celebrating, just like it had been doing a few short weeks ago.

So, Browne brought the ball across half court, looked to Kevin Jones, and threw the ball right into the hands of a Louisville defender. Browne would then commit the necessary foul to put Louisville at the line.

As the fans looked on and Bob Huggins stood, shaking his head, the players walked down the court to the free throw line, where Kuric would make two shots to extend the lead to three. Those would be the last points scored.

There were two players that did not partake in the precession to the foul line, though. Browne and Jones stayed behind- Browne, face down on the court, and Jones picking him up.

As upset as the 11,254 in attendance may have been, there wasn't a person in the building that felt as sick as Browne did. His was not the only turnover West Virginia committed on the day, not by a long shot. But his would be the last one, and it would be the one dissected from the moment Truck Bryant's potential game-tying three-pointer failed to reach the rim.

That caused Browne to stay behind after the play, lying on the court, needing his senior teammate to pick him up and get him ready to finish the game. Like the rest of the team, he had just been part of yet another heartbreaking loss.

Thus has been the story for West Virginia over the past few weeks. Since an overtime win over Cincinnati at home in January, the Mountaineers have lost five of their past six games, and those talks of a high seed have become talks of hoping for any seed.

Browne's reaction to his late-game turnover made it obvious that it isn't a lack of effort or caring that is producing the losses. This young team needs something to go right, though.

Despite the slump they find themselves in, the Mountaineers are still definite contenders to earn an NCAA bid, but they've got to start winning in order to get it.

The next two games will prove difficult for WVU. First, comes Pitt on the road, and then a trip to South Bend to take on Notre Dame. It's not as though this team's not capable of winning those games. The last four games the Mountaineers have lost have been close, but as the players said, they need to get over that hump in the last five games.

However the last stretch of the season plays out, this team's desire to win can't be questioned. Browne's reaction may have looked like a moment of weakness, and you did have to feel a certain measure of sympathy for a freshman that was trying to make a play, but it also shows that he's just as sick of losing as everyone else.

The entire team finds itself down right now, and it's going to take a strong finish to the season to help lift them up. If they do turn things around, the Mountaineers could be a pretty dangerous team.

After all, Gary Browne made it pretty obvious that this team has had about enough of the losing.