WVU basketball: After Arizona loss, are the Mountaineers a top 25 team or falling back to reality?

The moment the final second ticked off the Coliseum clock Tuesday, the 21st-ranked WVU men's basketball team hit its first major hedging point of the season.

No. 21 West Virginia dropped its first game at home this season Tuesday night as No. 14 Arizona rolled to a 75-56 victory in Morgantown.

The Mountaineers (13-4, 2-3 Big 12) were led by Javon Small, who finished with a team-high 16 points. Jonathan Powell added 12 points off the bench, while Emmitt Matthews Jr. chipped in with 10 points.

Arizona (15-3, 4-1 Big 12) was led by Azuolas Tubelis, who had a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds. Kerr Kriisa added 15 points for the Wildcats, while Cedric Henderson Jr. chipped in with 12 points.

WVU was without starting guard Tucker DeVries and backup point guard K.J. Tenner for the game. DeVries has been dealing with a foot injury, while Tenner suffered a head injury in Saturday’s win over Oklahoma State.

The Mountaineers also played just seven players in the game, with Matthews fouling out with 5:03 left in the game.

“I mean we played seven guys, we’re fine,” said WVU head coach Darian DeVries. “Injuries happen, foul trouble happens. We’re going to play. That’s just part of it.”

The Wildcats took control of the game early on, jumping out to a 12-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game. WVU would eventually cut the lead down to five points, but Arizona closed out the half on a 10-2 run to take a 39-22 lead into the break.

WVU shot just 28.6% from the field in the first half, while Arizona shot 50%. The Wildcats also outrebounded the Mountaineers 23-14 in the first 20 minutes of the game.

The Mountaineers came out of the break firing on all cylinders, cutting the Wildcats’ lead down to 10 points just three minutes into the second half. However, Arizona would quickly push its lead back up to 15 points and maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

WVU shot just 35.5% from the field in the game, while Arizona shot 46.6%. The Wildcats also outrebounded the Mountaineers 42-28.

“They had us on the defensive end, they had us in a lot of different ways,” said Darian DeVries of the Wildcats. “When we countered with something, they were just able to make a quick adjustment.”

WVU will return to action on Sunday when it travels to Colorado for a 3 p.m. ET game. The game will be televised on ESPNU.