Fansided

West Virginia player gets ejected for tripping from bench

By Brad Berreman

AMES, IA - JANUARY 30: Head coach Bob Huggins of the West Virginia Mountaineers coaches from the bench in the second half of play at Hilton Coliseum on January 30, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones won 93-68 over the West Virginia Mountaineers.(Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA - JANUARY 30: Head coach Bob Huggins of the West Virginia Mountaineers coaches from the bench in the second half of play at Hilton Coliseum on January 30, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones won 93-68 over the West Virginia Mountaineers.(Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

West Virginia went home with another blowout loss Monday night, but the signature moment came courtesy of forward Logan Routt.

The West Virginia Mountaineers lost for the fourth time in five games Monday night, 81-50 on the road against Texas Tech.

They’ve lost three road games against ranked teams in a 10-day span, by 17, 25 and now 31 points respectively, and each of their last six losses have been by at least 12 points with three by at least 25.

Early in the second half Monday night, Texas Tech guard Matt Mooney closed out on a 3-point attempt. That was an exhibition of noted defensive effort with a 22-point lead at the time, surely noticed by his coaches, and he wound up in the West Virginia bench.

A fairly simple moment didn’t end there though, as Mountaineers’ junior forward Logan Routt escalated it in plain sight and wound up being ejected.

Routt was sitting on the bench, as he typically does since he’s averaging just 8.4 minutes per game this season. Even in Monday night’s blowout loss, which was never in doubt from midway through the first half on, he didn’t even register a full minute on the floor while picking up a foul.

So what did Routt do to warrant an ejection?

Routt clearly closed his legs around Mooney’s left leg, sending the Red Raiders’ guard to the floor as he tried to get back into the play.  A well-deserved Flagrant 2 came after a review and Routt was ejected.

Apparently, two of Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard’s assistant coaches saw the offending play.

"“I didn’t see it personally. Two of our coaches did. The refs did a good job of finding the play,” Beard said."

Bob Huggins’ team dropped to 10-13 (2-8 in Big 12 play) with the loss Monday night. Their NCAA Tournament hopes are in peril with eight regular-season games to go, to the point they may have to win the conference tournament and earn an automatic bid.

Next. 2019 NBA Mock Draft: Movement at the top. dark

West Virginia last missed The Big Dance in 2014, with their last below .500 overall record (and their only losing record in Huggins’ tenure) coming the season before that with a 13-19 mark in 2012-13.

Without some sort of turnaround over the next few weeks, and at minimum a deep run in the conference tournament, both things are in line to happen this year.