One day after a major upset in overtime and the corresponding jubilation, West Virginia wasn’t treated nearly as kindly on Day 2 of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
The Mountaineers will settle for playing for third place at the tournament when they meet No. 24 Arizona on Friday in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
West Virginia (4-2) stormed back for a thrilling 86-78 OT win over No. 3 Gonzaga in the first round of the tournament, but the Mountaineers had to feel what it was like from the other side on Thanksgiving Day.
They lost an early 11-point lead and were outclassed by Louisville in the five-minute OT session, when Chucky Hepburn scored 10 of his 32 points as the Cardinals won the semifinal 79-70.
“I thought Louisville did a nice job, made some plays, got to the foul line and there were certainly plenty of opportunities we could have capitalized on to come out on top,” West Virginia coach Darian DeVries told the school’s athletics website.
Javon Small continues to power the Mountaineers’ offense. The veteran guard had 31 points against Gonzaga and 26 versus Louisville, leading West Virginia both nights. He approached triple-double territory by adding seven rebounds and seven assists Thursday, and he paces the team with 19.8 points per contest.
The Mountaineers also continue to rely on forward Amani Hansberry, a transfer from Illinois. He has scored in double figures in four of six games this year and followed a career-high 19-point effort against Gonzaga by scoring 19 again versus Louisville.
West Virginia will catch a Wildcats group whose November isn’t going according to plan.
After Arizona (3-3) trounced Davidson 104-71 in the first round in the Bahamas, Oklahoma held on for an 82-77 win in Thursday’s semifinals.
The Wildcats have throttled winless Canisius, 2-6 Old Dominion and Davidson, but they’ve lost to Wisconsin by 15, Duke by 14 (at home) and Oklahoma by five.
The Sooners made seven more 3-pointers than the Wildcats, outshooting them 41.4 percent to 26.3 percent in that area.
“They put us in some tough situations with coverages, and they hit some big shots,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “Maybe some of those threes are shots you’re going to kind of live with the attempt if they make them. But other ones, they were kind of subbing in and out different lineups.”
Caleb Love led the Wildcats with 17 points but shot 7-of-18 from the floor to get there.
What comes next is a college basketball oddity. As of this season, Arizona and West Virginia share a conference, with the Wildcats joining the Big 12. Before the two teams meet in Morgantown, W. Va. on Jan. 7, they’ll get a preview of one another in the Bahamas.
“I’ve never been in the same conference with them, so we’re just gonna approach it like any other game in the tournament,” Lloyd said.
Jaden Bradley leads the Wildcats with 14.3 points per game, including 16 against Oklahoma.