Tony's Take is a monthly sports column written by veteran West Virginia University play-by-play man Tony Caridi.
 
Yes, West Virginia did win the Basketball Brawl against Pitt. However, the Mountaineers lost the turnover battle, which continues an alarming trend. 
 
WVU's 26 turnovers were not only a season high, but they have placed the Mountaineers in a position where no Bob Huggins team has gone before. Through nine games the Mountaineers are averaging 16 turnovers. That's more than any team in Huggins' WVU tenure, which began in 2007.
 
Here's the scary part of the team's inability to value the ball. Each turnover equals one less possession, which leads to fewer shot attempts, which leads to fewer points. 
 
One of Huggins' secret sauces to winning is taking more shots per game than the opposition. You don't have to necessarily make more shots, just take more shots. The Mountaineers have accomplished that over the years by intense offensive rebounding and most recently by using a series of presses. 
 
This is where things get concerning. Through nine games, the Mountaineers have taken just 13 more shots than their opponents. Last season's team had taken 129 more shots at this point. That's an 892 percent decrease, which is unsettling for so many different reasons considering the challenging scheduling that awaits.
 
The cold, hard truth is that the Mountaineers have played two games against high-major opponents (Florida and Pitt) and turned the ball over 47 times. 
 
Can it be fixed? 
 
Yes, but exactly when remains the question. 
 
Meanwhile, it's a quiet week for the team as it takes final exams.
 
I haven't done the school thing in a long time, but it seems finals used to generate a lot more fear. I'm talking real fear, the kind that haunts you in your dreams years after your school days are done. At the end of finals, we all would look horrible, tired, pale, just a mess. 
 
Ah, the good ole days. 
 
When finals finish Friday the Mountaineers will head to Connecticut for a neutral-site date against Rhode Island. If you were born any time after 1995 you may not realize that the Mountaineers and Rams once belonged in the same conference.
 
Seriously. 
 
Through associations with the Eastern 8 and Atlantic 10, WVU and Rhode Island have played 32 times with the Mountaineers holding a 20-12 series advantage. WVU dominated the series early, winning 10 of the first 11 games; however, Rhode Island is 11-10 against the Mountaineers over the last 21 games. 
 
Rhode Island has a 4-3 record under first-year coach David Cox, who was promoted from assistant after Danny Hurley left to take over at Connecticut. Cox knows the Mountaineer program well. He once served on staffs at Pitt under Jamie Dixon and Georgetown under John Thompson III. 
 
Cox's ties go one step farther with Bob Huggins. Cox coached the DC Assault AAU team that produced numerous stars such as Michael Beasley, who played for Huggins at Kansas State. 
 
The Rams have been staying close to home in Cox's inaugural season. Six of their seven games have been against teams based in New England with the exception of a 66-55 loss at the College of Charleston. 
 
The Mountaineers and Rams tip off on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the first of three games being played as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase. 
 
Be sure to catch us on the radio. Our pregame coverage begins at noon.