West Virginia found out a tough lesson on the road at Pittsburgh falling 86-62 for their first loss of the season in the Backyard Brawl.

The Mountaineers shot only 39-percent from the field and 21-percent from three, while the Panthers were close to 50-percent from the field in convincing win.

“We didn’t come out and play the way we wanted to. I thought Pitt got going early, got a little confidence shooting it from three. Thought we had some decent looks early in the game that didn’t go down and could never really get some traction to claw back into it,” head coach Darian DeVries said.

The Panthers were able to get to the rim and kick the ball out for open looks which was something that the Mountaineers were aware could be an option but wanted to prevent dribble penetration.

“It was a little bit of give and take from our standpoint and from a strategy standpoint we were wrong and they made us pay,” DeVries said.

West Virginia now sits at 2-1 on the season with an upcoming home contest against Iona before the program is set to play some more challenging games beginning with a match up against Gonzaga in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. From there more challenges will lie ahead.

The focus for this team is to use what unfolded against the Panthers and learn from it moving forward. That is easier said than done at times, but the Mountaineers will need to try to turn things around in short order as the schedule is only going to continue to get more difficult.

“We didn’t respond the way we wanted to but I’ve still got faith in my group. We’ve done it before and faced adversity and came back from a large deficit or deficit in general,” point guard Javon Small. “We just didn’t respond the way we wanted to today but we’ll make sure we get back into the film.”

Pittsburgh is a good basketball team and it was on the road, but there are bigger challenges ahead.

“Tonight we’re obviously incredibly disappointed with how we played and how the game went tonight but this group is a good group and they’re going to bounce back we’re continue to grow and get better and better and tonight is a great learning opportunity for us. A lot of things there as a coaching staff, as a team that we’re going to get better at and move on and try to improve each day,” DeVries said.

Garrett Greene appeared in a game for the first time since mid-October for West Virginia on Saturday.

Unfortunately for Greene and company, though, after a strong first half, they couldn’t sustain it in their 49-35 loss to Baylor.

“I kind of knew on Tuesday or Wednesday I was going to be good to go. Body felt really good,” Greene said.

Greene had missed time dealing with an upper-body injury, missing WVU’s game at Arizona and Cincinnati. He was cleared before the game against Cincinnati but served in an emergency quarterback role.

“I felt good. The coaching staff and everyone did a good job of kind of getting me ready to go this week in practice, specifically with looks and stuff. I felt good out there,” Greene said.

Early on, Greene was leading this offense in large part because of his legs. Greene rushed for a 3-yard score on WVU’s opening drive as well as a 1-yard scoring rush as the clock expired prior to halftime.

Greene finished the game with 22 total carries. Greene said the coaching staff didn’t want to try and limit him in the run game, even with his recent injuries.

“They just told me to play how I always play. When you try to play scared or try to play skittish or whatever, that’s when bad stuff happens. They just told me to go play my game,” Greene said.

In the first half, WVU scored 28 points, compared to the second half, they scored only seven, with it coming in the final minute of the game. Greene said part of the reason for the lack of success in the second half was what Baylor did on third down.

In the first half, WVU was 3-for-6 on third downs, compared to 2-for-7 on third down in the second half.

“They made some good second-half adjustments to what we were doing on third downs. Their guys made some plays, they showed me some looks on third down they hadn’t shown on tape, so hats off to their [defensive coordinator],” Greene said.

Overall, Greene thought he played alright in his first game back. He threw for 237 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, adding another 129 yards and two scores on the ground as well.

“I feel like I played okay. There’s some third-down decisions that I’d like back, but I feel like I played okay, just not good enough to win,” Greene said.

Now, Greene and the Mountaineers have to find a way to regroup in a hurry for what shapes to be a potentially emotional week for him.

Greene will be one of many seniors honored in WVU’s home finale against UCF on Nov. 23, marking the last home game of his career.

“Obviously, I think before all that, we’d just like to win these next two. I know I’m looking forward to Saturday. Kind of bittersweet because it will be my last time here. I think we’re more looking forward to finishing strong these next two games and then kind of handling business after that,” Greene said

West Virginia (5-5, 4-3) will close out the home portion of their 2024 campaign next Saturday when they play host to the UCF Knights (4-6, 2-5).

Although the Mountaineers appear to be the better team on paper, the sportsbooks don’t like their chances in this matchup with one of the newer members of the Big 12.

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, UCF is currently a 2.5-point favorite, with the over/under set at 64.5.

I always say they don’t build those massive, fancy buildings in the desert for nothing. However, I struggle to see how the Mountaineers are the underdog in this game. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be shocked if this eventually flips to WVU as the favorite, or at least down to a pick’em.

The Knights are going to rely on its ground game, and that’s the one thing the Mountaineers have done well all year on the defensive side of the ball. UCF doesn’t throw the ball a whole lot, and I expect that even against a soft pass defense, Gus Malzahn will be stubborn and rely on the ground game to get the job done.

Plus, it’s also senior day for West Virginia. The season has not gone the way anyone had anticipated it, but they still have a chance to end the year on a strong note by winning these final two games and taking whichever bowl game they get invited to play in.

Quarterback Garrett Greene has gone through on-field struggles and injuries all year long, causing the fanbase to want redshirt sophomore Nicco Marchiol to take over the reins of the offense, who has won each of his two starts. Even if West Virginia’s last two games were on the road, I don’t believe Neal Brown would make a switch. He seems content with riding out the rest of the season with his senior.

With it being Greene’s final game, you’d have to think he’s going to go out a winner. Whether he actually does or not remains to be seen, but when you stack these two teams side by side and look at the situation, I think it favors the Mountaineers.

West Virginia is 4-6 against the spread this season.

The total has gone OVER in four of West Virginia’s last five games.

The Mountaineers are 1-5 against the spread in their last six games played at home.

Eight of West Virginia’s last 10 Big 12 Conference game have gone OVER the total.

The total has gone OVER in each of West Virginia’s last five games played in the month of November.

UCF is 2-5 against the spread in their last seven games played.

The total has gone OVER in eight of UCF’s last ten games.

The Knights have won nine of their last twelve games played in the month of November.

UCF has lost four of its last five games played on the road.

UCF has lost six of its last seven games straight up.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

Between The Eers: The Morning After Baylor

Big 12 Power Rankings – Week 13

Sunday Morning Thoughts: West Virginia Deserves Better

Mountaineer Postgame Show: Baylo 49, WVU 35