Blowout...

Continued from page 1

OSU depended heavily on Boone during an eight-game stretch during which it won seven and got back into NCAA Tournament contention. Boone averaged 15.5 points a game during that stretch and gave defenses problems down low, which opened up the offense.

With Boone on the bench, the Cowboys struggle offensively in the paint and rely more on perimeter shooting, which wasn’t great Monday.

Other Cowboys were in foul trouble. John-Michael Wright and Bryce Thompson each had four, and Woody Newton was ejected for leaving the bench.

Turnovers and offensive rebounding

West Virginia went on a 16-0 run during a 6:42 stretch in the first half. During that stretch, OSU turned the ball over six times and took only five shots.

The six turnovers led to nine points for WVU.

West Virginia also had five offensive rebounds during that run and turned it into seven second-chance points. The OSU defense played well at times, but just like the two previous games, the Cowboys couldn’t come down with a rebound.

The Mountaineers made them pay for it with easy offense, as the Cowboys gave up at least 85 for the third game in a row.

OSU gave up 17 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 21 secondchance points. Between that and the 18 turnovers, West Virginia took 14 more shots than the Cowboys. That’s a huge advantage, made even worse by 38.5% shooting.

3-point shooting no-shows

The Cowboys shot better than 54% from inside the arc. Pretty good.

The problem was OSU shot 10.5% from 3-point range. Yes, 10.5%. And the Cowboys took 19 of them.

Wright, who led the team in 3-point shooting at 38.3% before the game, went 0-for-8. Caleb Asberry and Thompson, OSU’s two next-best shooters from deep, combined to go 2-for-9.

When the Cowboys have been at their best, such as in wins against TCU and Oklahoma, they’ve scored in the paint. OSU scored 30 in the paint Monday, but it was mainly from drives by guards, not by big men at the post. With Boone in foul trouble, the