KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— What started as a glimmer of hope quickly turned into just another setback for West Virginia.
Over the course of the first nine minutes of Saturday’s 83-66 loss against No. 1 Tennessee, the Mountaineers led 19-7 and offered a glimpse of optimism that rivaled its upset against Kansas one week earlier.
It was the next 9 1/2 minutes that spelled their eventual doom in the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
To be exact, it was 9:31 in which the Mountaineers missed 12 consecutive shots and clanked two free throws that kept them at 19 longer than Zac Efron.