MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – How narrow are the margins in the Big 12 these days?
 
Well, for last-place Texas Tech (10-9, 0-7), a matter of a couple of possessions has meant the difference between its current winless Big 12 record and possibly being 5-2. 
 
The Red Raiders opened conference play with a six-point loss to TCU. Four days later they lost by three to Kansas. A five-point loss to Oklahoma followed. After a 34-point loss at Iowa State, Texas Tech lost to Texas and Baylor by margins of two and seven points.
 
Most recently, at Kansas State last Saturday, Tech led the Wildcats by five at halftime before faltering late.
 
West Virginia, too, has seen its fair share of disappointing endings. The Mountaineers' six defeats in conference play have come by six, seven, 14, five, one, and eight points.
 
A play here, a free throw there, or some poor decision making are the difference between victory and defeat. Lose your head, say the wrong thing at the wrong time or lose your poise and winnable games become a lost cause.
 
Assistant coach Josh Eilert, subbing for head coach Bob Huggins on today's media call because Huggins had a scheduling conflict, said playing with better discipline and poise is what it's going to take to win some of these close games.
 
"These games come down to one or two possessions in many cases," he explained. "When you take possessions off the board offensively, it's going to be a struggle.
 
"We need to play with more discipline and poise," he continued. "Those are general terms, but for example, discipline – Let's not foul 30 feet from the basket and put them at the free throw line three consecutive times. Let's make them make tough shots. Otherwise, why send them to the line and put more pressure on our offense to score every single possession? The grabbing of jerseys and some of the technical fouls we've been plagued with – those are things that we can control."
 
He's right. 
 
West Virginia players have been assessed eight technical fouls in 18 games so far for things such as taunting, flagrant fouls and arguing calls. That's one fewer than West Virginia had for the entire season last year, and three more than what the Mountaineers received in 2021 when WVU reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
"Coming down the stretch, (poise is) what is going to come down to winning and losing," Eilert admitted.
 
The Mountaineers (11-8, 1-6) are hunting for their first conference road victory since defeating TCU 74-68 in Fort Worth, Texas, on Feb. 23, 2021. West Virginia was 0-9 on the road last year and has dropped its three league road contests so far this season.
 
However, getting a win at United Supermarkets Arena will not be an easy task, regardless of Texas Tech's record. The Red Raiders saw their 29-game home winning streak snapped earlier this year against Kansas in the conference opener - a stretch that began following an 82-71 loss to West Virginia on Feb. 9, 2021.
 
The Mountaineers are 5-5 in Lubbock but dropped last year's game there 78-65. Eilert said the atmosphere at United Supermarkets Arena is among the best anywhere.
 
"The last two or three years, going back to Chris Beard, he really got that environment going," Eilert explained. "They really show up for games, and they're locked in. That student section is good, and they're still packing that place regardless of what they've done record wise.
 
"We've got to get in there, stay together, work together and try and come out of there with a win," he added.
 
To do so, Eilert believes ball movement on offense is going to be vital against coach Mark Adams' traditionally tough Red Raiders defense.
 
"More than ever, we are really going to have to move the ball," he said. "If we don't move the ball from side to side, pass it and share it, we're going to struggle. If we get into a mode where we're selfish and guys want to go one-on-one, they're going to run guys at you because they have extreme help side, and they do a really good job defensively."
 
Eilert, who's Big 12 scouting assignments this year are Texas Tech, TCU and Kansas State, said West Virginia did a good job of moving the ball in its victory last Wednesday night against 14^th-ranked TCU.
 
That was probably West Virginia's best all-around performance since nonconference wins over Pitt and Florida.
 
"If we get good looks out of our offense, we are a heck of a lot better offensive rebounding team because we know where the shots are coming from," he said. "If the selfishness starts to creep in and guys are taking shots out of the offense, it does us no good."
 
Eilert admits the current 1-6 stretch in conference play has been difficult for everyone associated with Mountaineer basketball.
 
"Life is easy when you're winning, but when you're struggling a little bit, you are staring at the ceiling a lot more, struggling to sleep while trying to figure out what you can do differently or better," he said, adding, "but we're still right there. We're 30 in the NET and there are a lot of things that can go our way if we can get this thing turned around."
 
Wednesday night's game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPNU (Bob Wischusen and Sean Farnham). Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage begins at 6 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the mobile apps WVU Gameday and The Varsity Network. 
 
Satellite radio coverage is on SiriusXM channel 388.