Busting Brackets
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Big 12 Basketball: Each team’s worst performance of the last decade

By Joey Loose

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 08: Head coach Lon Kruger of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts to a lead over the USC Trojans after a timeout with Trae Young
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 08: Head coach Lon Kruger of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts to a lead over the USC Trojans after a timeout with Trae Young /
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CLEVELAND, OH – MARCH 26: Willie Cauley-Stein #15 of the Kentucky Wildcats goes up for a dunk in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the Midwest Regional semifinal of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on March 26, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – MARCH 26: Willie Cauley-Stein #15 of the Kentucky Wildcats goes up for a dunk in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the Midwest Regional semifinal of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on March 26, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

West Virginia

March 26, 2015 (Kentucky 78, West Virginia 39) (GS: 4)

Once a member of the deep Big East, the Bob Huggins-led Mountaineers have been successful in recent years. Three of the last four seasons have ended in Sweet Sixteen’s and this team was in the Final Four as recently as 2010. Though they’re quickly becoming a steady Big 12 powerhouse, there have certainly been some less than desirable games for the Mountaineers in recent years.

With a few exceptions, West Virginia has been pretty solid in regular season play, so we turn our focus to a few of their NCAA Tournament losses. As a 10-seed in 2012, West Virginia got mashed 77-54 by Gonzaga after a pitifully slow start and poor shooting. If you’re dissatisfied by this game (West Virginia was the lower seed after all), there was their 70-56 loss to 14-seed Stephen F. Austin in 2016, spearheaded by 30 points from Thomas Walkup. If you’re dissatisfied by this game, then let’s remember what happened in 2015 when West Virginia was a 5-seed.

Having already beaten Buffalo and Maryland, the Mountaineers faced the unenviable task of doing battle with undefeated Kentucky. Suffice to say, it did not go well for West Virginia. Kentucky ran away with this game early and never looked back, ravaging the Mountaineers, even to a greater extent than their wins over Hampton (79-56), Cincinnati (64-51), and later Notre Dame (68-66). This was just plain awful for West Virginia, punctuated by a meager 24% shooting percentage. Kentucky had five players with at least 12 points and led this game 18-2 very quickly.

Being doubled up in the Sweet Sixteen is bad, but West Virginia will bounce back. They’ve put together some quality teams and should contend with Kansas at the top of the Big 12. On the other hand, we likely haven’t written the last ugly chapter for the Mountaineers and you never know when another effort like that Kentucky game will emerge.

dark. Next. Big 12 Preseason All-Conference Teams and Awards

Every Big 12 team has their rough moments and we’ve seen some of the worst of the last decade.  While there have been some remarkably bad losses among these teams, we don’t know what the future will bring from these ten (not twelve) teams. Only time will tell just how awful these performances will be and how they will rack up to future disappointments.

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