West Virginia was down 19 points late Monday on the road with a little more than 11 minutes left in regulation to an Oklahoma State team led by the player some believe will be the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft -- Cade Cunningham. In other words, things weren't going well. So it appeared the Mountaineers were about to drop to 1-3 in the Big 12 and 0-2 since Oscar Tshiebwe left the program last week for what was officially described as "personal reasons."
Then Miles McBride took over.
"He loves those moments," said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, whose team rallied to beat Oklahoma State, 87-84, thanks in part to McBride scoring 14 of his 21 points in the final four minutes. "He loves the opportunity to take charge. … He's a guy who doesn't shy away from the challenge."
The improbable comeback improved West Virginia to 9-3 overall, 2-2 in the Big 12, and resulted in Huggins recording his 300th win as the Mountaineers' coach. His career record is now 890-375.
That's Hall of Fame stuff.
I mention that only because Huggins is once again nominated for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. It's the fourth consecutive year he's been on the ballot.
It's time for him to get in.
Huggins has won a bazillion games despite never working at anything close to a blue blood program. He's led multiple schools to the Final Four. And, don't ever forget, he had the country's best team in the 1999-2000 season until National Player of the Year Kenyon Martin broke his leg in the C-USA Tournament. If not for that injury, many believe Huggins would also have a national championship on his resume.
I once asked Huggins if he ever wonders what would've happened if Martin's injury never happened. His answer was perfect.
"I don't have to wonder," Huggins said. "I know what would've happened. Big fella wasn't gonna let us lose. … And, yeah, the Kenyon thing still bothers me."
You know what bothers me? That Huggins has been on the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame ballot three times previously and been rejected each time. That's nonsensical and something that shouldn't happen a fourth time. So here's hoping the people with the power to do the right thing finally do the right thing this year. Better late than never.
West Virginia remains No. 11 in Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Mountaineers' next game is Saturday against Texas.
Tuesday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Drew Timme finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 85-62 victory over San Francisco. The Zags' perfect record also includes double-digit wins over Kansas, Iowa and Virginia. | -- | 27-8 |
| 2 |  | Jared Butler finished with 21 points, five assists and four steals in Saturday's 76-65 victory at Iowa State. The Bears' perfect record is highlighted by a double-digit win over Illinois. | -- | 24-11 |
| 3 |  | Collin Gillespie made six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points in Wednesday's 85-68 victory at Marquette. The Wildcats' lone loss is an overtime loss to Virginia Tech. | -- | 18-16 |
| 4 |  | Courtney Ramey made three 3-pointers and finished with 18 points in Saturday's 84-59 victory at Kansas. The Longhorns' lone loss is a single-digit loss to Villanova. | -- | 21-13 |
| 5 |  | The Jayhawks missed 20 of the 23 3-pointers they attempted in Saturday's 84-59 loss to Texas. KU's other loss is a neutral-court loss to Gonzaga. | -- | 23-11 |
| 6 |  | Marcus Zegarowski made six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists in Saturday's 67-65 victory at Providence. The Bluejays' resume also features wins over UConn and Xavier. | -- | 25-10 |
| 7 |  | Kofi Cockburn finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 66-58 victory over Purdue. All three of the Illini's losses are to schools also ranked in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 29-9 |
| 8 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 19 points and three rebounds in Sunday's 85-66 victory over Northwestern. The Wolverines' perfect record also includes wins over Maryland, Penn State and UCF. | -- | 8-24 |
| 9 |  | Luka Garza finished with 25 points on 11 field goal attempts in Saturday's 77-75 victory at Rutgers. The Hawkeyes' resume also includes wins over Northwestern and North Carolina. | -- | 19-15 |
| 10 |  | The Vols missed 17 of the 21 3-pointers they attempted in Saturday's 71-63 loss to Alabama. Tennessee's resume is highlighted by wins over Missouri and Colorado. | -- | 27-9 |
| 11 |  | Derek Culver finished with 22 points and 19 rebounds in Monday's 87-84 victory at Oklahoma State. Two of West Virginia's three losses are to Gonzaga and Kansas. | -- | 9-23 |
| 12 |  | The Scarlet Knights allowed Iowa to shoot 46.4% from the field in Saturday's 77-75 loss to the Hawkeyes. It was only Rutgers' second loss at home in its past 26 games at the RAC. | -- | 15-17 |
| 13 |  | The Cougars missed 17 of the 21 3-pointers they attempted in Tuesday's 65-64 loss at Tulsa. Houston is still projected by KenPom to win the AAC by multiple games. | -- | 32-5 |
| 14 |  | Kevin McCullar missed nine of the 11 shots he took in Saturday's 82-77 overtime loss to Oklahoma State. Texas Tech is 1-3 in games against top-50 KenPom teams. | -- | 23-11 |
| 15 |  | Micah Potter finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's 71-59 victory over Minnesota. The Badgers' resume also features wins over Louisville and Loyola Chicago. | -- | 22-14 |
| 16 |  | Jeremiah Tilmon finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 81-68 victory at Arkansas. The Tigers' lone loss is a home loss to Tennessee. | -- | 8-24 |
| 17 |  | Liam Robbins made 12 free throws and finished with 27 points in Sunday's 77-60 victory over Ohio State. The Gophers' resume also includes wins over Iowa, Saint Louis and Michigan State. | -- | 19-15 |
| 18 |  | Northwestern missed 13 of the 18 3-pointers it attempted in Sunday's 85-66 loss at Michigan. Two of the Wildcats' three losses are to teams ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 22-12 |
| 19 |  | Matthew Hurt finished with 18 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 75-65 victory at Notre Dame. The Blue Devils have only played one game in the past three weeks. | -- | 27-9 |
| 20 |  | CJ Walker missed all five shots he attempted in Sunday's 77-60 loss at Minnesota. Two of the Buckeyes' three losses are to teams ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 22-14 |
| 21 |  | Chris Duarte finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 73-56 victory over Stanford. The Ducks' lone loss is a season-opening loss to Missouri. | -- | 24-12 |
| 22 |  | David Johnson made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 76-64 victory at Boston College. The Cardinals' lone loss is a shorthanded loss at Wisconsin. | -- | 8-24 |
| 23 |  | Jordan Goodwin finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 62-46 victory over UM Kansas City. The Billikens' lone loss is a single-digit loss at Minnesota. | -- | 13-20 |
| 24 |  | DJ Funderburk finished with 21 points and five rebounds off of the bench in Wednesday's 79-76 victory over Boston College. The Wolfpack's lone loss came at Saint Louis. | -- | 26-15 |
| 25 |  | Aamir Simms finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists in Saturday's 66-65 victory at Miami. Six of Clemson's eight wins are over top-100 KenPom teams. | -- | 24-12 |
| 26 |  | Tyrese Martin finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 82-61 victory over DePaul. The Huskies' lone loss is an overtime loss to Creighton. | -- | 37-3 |
