BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Pittsburgh @ West Virginia

February 27, 2006


The first time West Virginia and Pittsburgh met this year it was the first time both teams were ranked when meeting during the long rivalry. Tonight, both teams are ranked once again as the 'Backyard Brawl' has another edition on the hardwood.

Here are the pregame stories and articles on tonight's game:


WVU Seniors in a Class by Themselves (Charleston Gazette)
Mountaineers Class of '06 Going Out in Style (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Pitt Needs Win Tonight to Gain Top-Four Standing (Post-Gazette)
Bye Bidders Pitt, WVU Set for Rematch (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Gansey Likes WVU Coliseum's Edge (Tribune-Review)
Pittsnogle Aims to Reverse Fortune (Tribune-Review)
WVU, Pitt Clash for 3rd Spot in LEague (Register-Herald)

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Eighteen days ago, Pittsburgh and West Virginia met in Pittsburgh, with the Mountaineers 8-0 in the Big East and riding high. The Panthers were coming off two tough road losses and were looking to avoid a three-game losing streak and end their rivals unbeaten run in the conference. Pitt did just that with a 57-53 win, holding WVU's leading scorer Kevin Pittsnogle scoreless on 0-12 shooting.

Since their loss at Pitt, West Virginia has faced a brutal schedule which has had them play six games in 16 days and the Mountaineers have dropped four of them. This has made the rematch with Pitt all the much bigger as the winner will likely claim the three seed in the Big East Tournament. Pittsburgh must win tonight in Morgantown and on Friday against Seton Hall to earn a bye and the third seed. A loss would put Pittsburgh into the tie-breaker scenarios, likely with Georgetown and Marquette and possibly West Virginia, and a 6th seed as the tie-breakers go against Pitt. West Virginia still has to get past Cincinnati, on the road, this weekend. However, an 11-5 conference record is good enough for the Mountaineers for a bye with all the tie-breakers mostly in their favor.

Tonight, Big Monday, senior night for a special Mountaineer class and their biggest rival is in town, so the Morghantown Crazies will be ready to go and Pittsburgh will be walking into a tremendous atmosphere. It is almost a certain that Pittsnogle will hit some shots tonight, but Pitt will challenge him on both ends of the floor with big Aaron Gray. In the first match-up, the Panthers also did a great job in limiting Mike Gansey and taking away much on the perimeter, they will need another big defensive effort and take care of the basketball better tonight.

This should be a classic Big East battle between two long time rivals. The Mountaineers are around 4-pt favorites. Expect another one coming down to the wire. I just do not see the WVU seniors going out with another loss.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

West Virginia 65 Pittsburgh 63

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Louisville @ West Virginia

February 24, 2006

In a match-up of last year's classic Elite 8 overtime game, Louisville and West Virginia meet as members of the Big East conference. Like nearly every game in this conference, this means a lot to both teams. West Virginia desperately needs to get back on track after losing four of their last five and seeing the rest of the league begin to challenge their hold on one of the top four spots in the conference. Louisville is fighting for their lives to participate in the Big East Conference Tournament in Madison Square Garden.


To read our preview and see our game prediction, click read more below and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section!

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The most important elements in defeating West Virginia seems to be an experienced guard knowing how to break down the 1-3-1 zone (Carl Krauser, Donald Copeland, Marcus Williams and Gerry McNamara) and a frontline that comes to play and can finish inside (Aaron Gray, Kelly Whitney, Josh Boone and Terrence Roberts). Louisville, with all the injuries they have been facing and new faces in the mix, might not be the kind of team right now to pose a real challenge in Morgantown. With David Padgett out for the season and a freshmen at the point, Andree McGee, for the majority of the time, Louisville might have some trouble in this game. Last year, Louisville dialed in from long distance, hitting 11-28 from 3-pt range to pull off the OT win propelling the Cardinals to the Final Four. This season, they do not have the same 3-pt markmanship, despite the offense geared to the perimeter game.

West Virginia seems to be a tired team of late. for much of the season, Mike Gansey and Kevin Pittsnogle have been counted on to lead the Mountaineers, but of late, they do not seem to be playing well at the same time. Fatigue has looked like it has set in in regards to their defensive rotations in the paint and ability to knock down the 3-pt shot. WVU has yet to find any reliable offense outside their top six players who get the majority of the time. After wrapping up a grueling of five games, four on the road, in 11 days, the 4 days off between Monday's loss to Syracuse and Saturday's game with Louisville must seem like a vacation for WVU.

To put things in perspective for the Mountaineers, since they opened Big East play on January 5th, they have been going really hard for 46 days, playing 15 games. Usually, teams have at least a couple stretches in the conference with 6, 7 or 8 days off, but WVU played non-league games with UCLA (on the west coast) and Marshall to eliminate any chance for rest. Their top six guys have logged a lot of time.

Getting back home against a Louisville team that has been racked by injuries should be what the doctor ordered for the Mountaineers. With Pittsburgh coming to town Monday, they need a game to get their legs back under them and some confidence in their shooting. They are a veteran team that has been through tough times before and understand the tough schedule they have faced recently, but they do need to get a win for their psyche heading into the stretch, which also includes a road game with Cincinnati.

Taquan Dean is the big scoring threat for Louisville, but finding a couple other spots on the floor to contribute offensively is needed to break the WVU defense.

Look for WVU to enjoy some home cooking. Louisville is not a team to take lightly, there is talent, especially in Juan Palacios, Dean, Terrence Williams and others. Louisville is also fighting for their postseason lives, so effort will be there, but West Virginia's skill and experience will shine down on this one.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

West Virginia 74 Louisville 62

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: West Virginia @ Syracuse

February 20, 2006


Another edition of Big Monday and Syracuse looks to end their Big Monday struggles tonight against West Virginia. Syracuse has lost six of eight after starting off 3-0 in the conference and finish out conference play with WVU tonight and Villanova at home with road games with Georgetown and DePaul in between. Syracuse needs to win one and probably find a way to win another to assure themselves of a ticket to the Big Dance. If they finish 7-9 in the conference, they will REALLY be sweating out selection Sunday.

West Virginia started conference play 8-0, but has seen the schedule turn much more difficult and drop three of their last four. They did manage a very good road win at Georgetown in between road losses to Pittsburgh and Seton Hall. They returned home over the weekend and dropped a game to Connecticut and have to hit the road again tonight for a meetin in Syracuse. A tall order for a team that relies on 3-pt shooting and only plays seven in their rotation. Tonight is their 5th game, 4th on the road, in 11 days.

Here are the internet stories and previews on tonight's game:


WVU Seeing Orange Tonight (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)
Fatigue May Be Problem for WVU, SU (Register-Herald)
McNamara Draws a Crowd (Charleston Gazette)
Gansey Upgrades His Game (Syracuse Post-Standard)
WVU Looks to End Big East Slide (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Next Test for SU's Defense (Post-Standard)

To read our preview and see our game prediction, click read more below and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section!

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The good news tonight for the Syracuse Orange is that West Virginia is unlikely to put them at the foul line very much. In their win Saturday night against Louisville, Syracuse was a horrid 19-46 from the foul line. The bad news, West Virginia is extremely vulnerable on the inside, and Syracuse struggles to get offense from their interior players.

Being a strong outside shooting team, West Virginia would be a perfect candidate to shoot holes in the Syracuse 2-3 zone. However, Syracuse has had success coming out of their zone against the Mountaineers in the past and the SU length and athleticism could make WVU work harder for points and wear down their outside shooting. Syracuse will never defend as hard or as smart as Pittsburgh, but I think they can use that defensive blueprint as a model tonight.

Attacking the West Virginia 1-3-1 zone is the Syracuse key. Knowing where they can get open shots, in the corner and foul line extended, are the key and how to make the zone contract and dish to the soft spots. If they can find Gerry McNamara and Demetris Nichols in those areas and Eric Devendorf can penetrate to score and dish, the Syracuse offense should be able to click and that will open the back line for dunks from Terrence Roberts and Daryl Watkins. Syracuse needs to be smart with the ball and not turn it over, because when they do, it is usually followed by a defensive breakdown, too.

This game is an absolute must have for the home underdogs as Syracuse is fighting for their NCAA tournament lives. In order to get to 8-8 in the conference and to be safely in the Field of 65, this is one they have to have. If there ever was a right time to play West Virginia as their schedule has certainly taken some of the life out of their legs. They will not have the fired up home crowd to give them additional energy and when Syracuse's backs are against the wall, Jim Boeheim usually pulls out all the stops. I think Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey will get their share, but the Orange will put the clamps on the rest of the team, will SU take care of the basketball? That is where the game will hinge. Valuing their possessions and taking good shots is the key. With their season still hanging in the balance, I think SU will pay attention to details and pull out an important win.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Syracuse 66 West Virginia 63

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Connecticut @ West Virginia

February 18, 2006


Connecticut closes out a daunting three-game road swing with a meeting in the always hostile environmant of Morgantown, West Virginia. This will be a nationally televised game featuring two highly ranked clubs with grand thoughts for March.

This game taks on added importance in the conference seed race with both teams coming off a loss earlier this week, both on the road. The Huskies lost at Villanova on Monday and look to stay within striking distance of the Wildcats in the league standings. West Virginia lost for the 2nd time in three games and will look to stay in front of Pittsburgh for the third spot in the conference.

For our the rest of our preview and prediction on the game, click below!

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Connecticut enters the game still as the #1 ranked team in the nation. They saw a 12-pt 2nd half lead evaporate quickly on the road against Villanova as the Wildcats on-the-ball pressure and quickness on offense seemed to take UConn away from what they do best and lose focus on getting the ball inside. West Virginia is a different challenge on defense as they will use 1-3-1 trapping schemes, but are very vulnerable inside. WVU will not hit the boards with UConn, but they will spread out the floor on offense and look to hit the 3-pt shot.

West Virginia will have to contend with the size and athletic ability of Connecticut and try to play their "three-beats-two" game at their best. The only worry I have with UConn is their dedication to defending on every possession. They do seem to get a little lax in chasing players through screens and the WVU offense involves a lot of movement, so I do expect the Mountaineers to get opportunities to hit from 3-pt range.

Marcus Williams will be the focal point in this game. He is bound to get a welcoming that only one can receive from the fans in Morgantown from the time he takes the floor for warm-ups until he leaves the floor after the game. He has been very good at keeping his composure on the floor and seems to thrive a little bit on the heckling he gets. On saturday, how he manages the UConn offense against the 1-3-1 trap, attacking the soft spots, and dishing the ball down low for Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone and Jeff Adrien or finding Rashad Anderson for an open look beyond the arc and running the break with Rudy Gay in transistion. This is a game where it will all have to go through him.

West Virginia will need Mike Gansey to play like a Big East conference player of the year candidate. In the first seven league games, he was doing just that. However, little swoon has seen his 3-pt shot fall a little less frequency and the pinch on the Mountaineers to score points has followed. They are very dependent on Gansey scoring, along with Kevin Pittsnogle, and everyone else can fall into place. To keep up with the Connecticut firepower, WVU will need both their scorers at the top of their games.

Coming off a loss, the Huskies want to make sure they are in position to battle Villanova for the league crown. They should come into this game with a renewed focus on what they need to do on offense and defense, a very big key to playing WVU, and exert their power. They are deeper than the Mountaineers and their size and ability to run, run, run should wear down WVU, even at home.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Connecticut 75 West Virginia 67

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: West Virginia @ Seton Hall

February 14, 2006


West Virginia finishes off their three game road trip as they look to move back into a 1st place tie in the conference with Villanova when they take on Seton Hall at the Continental Airlines Arena tonight. The Mountaineers have a quick turnaround after their impressive 69-56 win at Georgetown Sunday night to prepare for the Pirates. WVU also must resist the urge to look ahead to Connecticut, who will be coming to Morgantown for a nationally televised game this coming Saturday.

Seton Hall will look to bounce back after the 42-pt drubbing they were given by Connecticut on Saturday night. The loss, which came at home, snapped the Pirates six game winning streak which has put them in the NCAA Tournament mix. WVU is the middle game of a three game homestand which concludes with Notre Dame on Saturday. This is a pivotal stretch for Seton Hall to see really how good they are.

Here are the pregame stories and previews from around the internet:

Seton Hall Looks to Get Defensive (NorthJersey.com)
WVU Basketball: Seton Hall No Pushover (Charleston Gazette)
Pittsnogle Not Singing Baby Blues (Charleston Gazette)
WVU Likely to Run Into Mean Bunch of Pirates (Register-Herald)
Mountaineers Height a Big Test for Hall's D (Star-Ledger)
Seton Hall's Sheriff Hopes to Restore Order on D (Courier News)
WVU/SHU Scouting Report (Courier News)

To read our preview and see our game prediction, click read more below and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section!

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On Sunday, I thought the key to the West Virginia/Georgetown game was which team would tire first, I thought, playing on the road, it would be West Virginia. I was flat out wrong! West Virginia finished th egame strong as it was Georgetown that clearly tired. Tonight, the Mountaineer's stamina will be tested again as they play their third road game against a winning conference foe in less than five days! It all started Thursday night at 9 PM at Pittsburgh and concludes tonight at 7:30 against Seton Hall.

Last season, Seton Hall closed out the regular season by beating West Virginia, 66-63, at the Continental Airlines Arena. In that game, the Mountaineers shot just 8-26 from 3-pt range. Seton Hall will look to apply the same defensive magic tonight when the two teams meet again.

Even though the Pirates had won six straight games, they were allowing their opponents to shoot 48% from the floor, which is a high number for the defensive minded Pirates. Of course, Connecticut took full advantage of the defense, shooting 53% from the floor and scoring 99 points. The Pirates were also outrebounded by the Huskies 60-32! Seton Hall will look to rebound tonight on the defensive end, otherwise, the veteran group of Mountaineers could put on a clinic. One thing working in Seton Hall's favorite is the expected return of their defensive ace, Stan Gaines, who has been out with broken bones in his face after taking an elbow to the face in their loss to Villanova. Gaines will be wearing a mask, but is expected to be ready to go tonight.

Last Thursday West Virginia dropped their first conference game at Pittsburgh when Kevin Pittsnogle went 0-12 from the field and fouled out without scoring a point. Pittsnogle and the Mountaineers rebounded Sunday by winning at Georgetown as Pittsnogle led the way with 25 pts. As we all know, WVU is not a deep team. For the most part they will play 7 players, five of which are seniors, for the most part. Three tough road games in five days is bound to have an effect on their game in some way, especially when you factor in they could be looking ahead, even ever so slightly, to getting back home to meet Connecticut this weekend. It is only natural.

Seton Hall is a rather small-ish team, especially in their backcourt and that will cause a tough match-up against the 1-3-1 zone defense of West Virginia as they will look to trap the Pirate guards and make it tough for them to make entry passes to the post. Mike Gansey, Frank Young and Joe Herber are most likely to find smaller defenders on them. Gansey could be the one to draw Gaines. I do not think they can put Gaines on Pittsnogle, because that would force Kelly Whitney to guard one of their smaller, perimeter orinetated forwards. Seton Hall has some quickness they would like to use to their advantage, but the WVU 1-3-1 trap has a way of negating those advantages. With Whitney likely to be defending 20-feet from the basket, rebounding could be another factor. WVU is the worst rebounding team in the conference, but they get by as they force twice as many turnovers as they commit and rely on 3-pters to make up for the difference.

I see that WVU is an early 4.5-pt favorite and I see them coming up with a win tonight, but in a tighter than anticipated game. SHU will come at them, try to be physical and grind it out, but in the end, their lack of offense might just bite them as the Mountaineers have a couple more answers from the arc.

NBE Blogger's Prediction:

West Virginia 67 Seton Hall 64

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: West Virginia @ Georgetown

February 12, 2006



West Virginia will look to rebound from their first conference loss of the year when they travel to face Georgetown on Sunday evening. West Virginia heads into the weekend in a three-way tie with Villanova and Connecticut at 8-1 in the conference, but are in the midst of a very difficult portion of their schedule.

Nipping at the heels of the three leaders are the Georgetown Hoyas. At 7-2 in the conference, the Hoyas, winners of seven straight games, are playing as well as anyone in the conference, or country, for that matter.

To read our preview and see our game prediction, click read more below and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section!

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On Thursday night, the Mountaineers lost at Pittsburgh, 57-53, ending their unbeaten run in the conference at 8 games. West Virginia looked tired, especially new father Kevin Pittsnogle, who went scoreless, shooting 0-12 from the field before fouling out. As a team, they shot 6-27 from beyond the arc. Their defense was forcing a lot of turnovers early on, but in the 2nd half, they seemed to be a step slower than the Panthers to the ball and on the defensive side. It was surprising the game was a close as it was.

Georgetown has been playing tremendous defense over the last four games, giving up just 50 PPG in that span. They have unleashed a devastating match-up zone that nobody has been able to solve of late. Georgetown likes to play a deliberate style and, even with superior size, they can match up very well with Georgetown with Jeff Green and Brandon Bowman able to play the post positions on offense and cover the perimeter shooters of West Virginia. Roy Hibbert will pose another stiff test to Pittsnogle with his ability to move and shoot over his 7'2 frame.

With consecutive road games with Pittsburgh, Georgetown and Seton Hall, before returning home to face Connecticut and then travelling to Syracuse (all in the span of 11 days), the lack of depth and dependency on perimeter shooting will test West Virginia to their limits. They have already looked to be tirning from a tough non-conference schedule that had them playing Texas and Kentucky in the Guardian's classic out in Kansas City, taking a flight out to UCLA in the middle of conference play, playing rival Marshall in the same week, along with another out of conference trip back in December to face Oklahoma in Oklahoma City really looks to have taken a toll on a team that really has played only 7 guys all year long. Add in Kevin Pittsnogle being a new Daddy, it will not be surprising to see this team run out of gas.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Georgetown 71 West Virginia 61

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: West Virginia @ Pittsburgh

February 9, 2006


The West Virginia Mountaineers travel to arch rival Pittsburgh tonight and will put their 8-0 conference record on the line against the Panthers. West Virginia has the only unblemished conference recrod, in large part due to their ability to win close games, winning four conference tilts by five points or less.

Pittsburgh concludes their toughest stretch of the scheudule tonight against the top-10 Mountaineers. Pitt lost on the road to Connecticut and Georgetown last week as both games came down to the wire, but the Panthers could not make the vital plays down the stretch to get the tough road win. Pitt will look to avoid a 3-game losing streak.

Here are the pregame stories and previews found around the internet:

WVU's Motto: Bombs Away! (Beaver County Times)
National Spotlight Enhances Rivalry (Tribune-Review)
Pitt Mission: Don't Get 'Pittsnogled' (Tribune Review)
Pitt Notebook (Tribune-Review)
WVU Opens Brutal Stretch at Pitt (Charleston Gazette)
Vitale Will Do Color for Pitt/WVU (Post-Gazette)
WVU Stepped Up, Out to Down Pitt Last Year (Post-Gazette)
Panthers Facing a Difficult Schedule (Tribune-Democrat)
#9 WVU Seeks Third Straight Win over Pitt (Register-Herald)
Q&A With Mike Gansey (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

To read our preview and see our game prediction, click read more below and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section!

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This will be the 169th meeting between the two "Backyard" Rivals and for the first time, both teams find themselves ranked. ESPN's Rivalry Week would not be complete without a rendition of the "Backyard Brawl", whether it was played outdoors on the football field or inside on the hardwood. ESPN will be there tonight for the 9 PM tip-off, complete with Dick Vitale paying a visit to the Oakland Zoo, which should be in rare form for their rivals from West Virginia.

Pitt enters the game as a 5-pt favorite at home. Last year, WVU rallied from a 15-pt defecit in the 2nd half in both games to sweep the Panthers, 83-78 in OT at West Virginia and 70-66 at Pittsburgh. Kevin Pittsnogle scored 49 pts in the two contests and the Mountaineers hit 24 shot from beyond the arc in the contests. Both games were tightly contestes, but Pittsnogle's shooting made the difference.

Numbers-wise, these two teams are rather similar. Both score about 74 PPG and shoot 45% from the floor, but how they get there is quite different. Pittsburgh outrebounds their opponents rather significantly and gets to the free throw line alot more while the Mountaineers shoot a ton of threes and limit their turnovers to less than an average of 9 per game, which is quite an amazing stat. They have a TEAM assist to turnover ratio of better than 2:1. WVU commits and absurdly low amount of fouls and will not look to get into a physical match with Pitt. WVU prefers to spread out the floor and hit open threes. With a seven man rotation that features five seniors, which all of them can shoot, WVU will not beat themselves and does provide a match-up that Pittsburgh sometimes struggles with, especially if they get into a habit of trying to answer with three point shots themselves. Pittsburgh will use a 10-man rotation with 5 of them being freshmen and sophomores and only have two seniors. These teams are very different.

With seniors that can shoot the ball as well as West Virginia, you have to beleive they have a chance to beat anyone, anywhere. Relying on the 3-ball has its downfalls, because when it is not falling, they can look ugly. So far, they have gotten away with it in the games things weren't falling in the conference. However, seeing that they can lose to Marshall in Charleston, but beat Villanova in the Pavilion shows how high or low they can go.

The Mountaineers seem to have been flirting with defeat a little more lately. Pittsburgh, at home, knows how big this game is and I expect them to be really charged up and ready to go, especially defensively and on the boards. Aaron Gray will cause Pittsnogle to work a little extra harder on the defensive end and on the boards and could cause him to wear down. Of course, Gray having to shadow Pittsnogle on the perimeter is an interesting dynamic in itself as that takes Pitt's best rebounder away from the hoop and puts him in unfamiliar territory defensively. If Pitt can get 30 minutes, or in the neighborhood of, from Gray, that means they should have their game go they way they want it. If they have to adapt and go smaller to counter, I think that it will pull them out of their comfort zone and WVU will slowly carve them up.

Tonight, I think it is Pitt that gets the game to go their way. I think WVU is draggin just a bit and they are due to see one of these close games not go their way, and Pittsburgh is.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Pittsburgh 71 West Virginia 67

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Cincinnati @ West Virginia

February 4, 2006


Cincinnati got a much needed win over South Florida earlier in the week to even their Big East record at 4-4. Theoretically, the Bearcats would still be "in" the NCAA Tournament if the season ended today, but the effects of a tumultuous season off the court, which started this summer, looks to be really taking a hold of this team as they have lost 5 of their last 7 games and things are not going to get easier for Cincinnati here on out with a trip to Morgantown Saturday and trips to Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Seton Hall ahead of them with home games with WVU, Villanova and Louisville as well.

The Mountaineers continue as the only undefeated team in the conference. They continue to live by the 3-pt shot and taking care of the basketball is a must for the team that does not rebound very well. They are led by their five seniors and will only go 7 deep, so their depth issues might even play a little bit into the hands of Cincinnati, that will also play just 7 players.

For our the rest of our preview and prediction on the game, click below!

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Where the lack of depth really hurts the Bearcats is with their inability to adapt to the unique style of West Virginia. The Mountaineers will spread out the floor, forcing UC to guard the perimeter with players that might not be accustomed to spending time out there. The Bearcats are tough on the boards and should find success rebounding the ball against the soft middle that WVU has, will it be enough?

Of course, the Pittsnogle family could come into play here as Kevin Pittsnogle and his wife are expecting their first child any day now and you have to wonder if this will impact WVU in any way. Pittsnogle did not show any effects with his play against Notre Dame the other night, as the night before the due date he went over 20 pts once again to lead the Mountaineers to the victory.

This is the type of game that could be a possible pitfall for WVU. They have been finding some ways to escape of late and they have a possible distraction with the impending birth of a little Pittsnogle and a potential look-ahead game with Pittsburgh around the corner. WVU has five seniors, so their focus should remain consistent, but look to Cincinnati to make this game very interesting.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

West Virginia 69 Cincinnati 66

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Notre Dame @ West Virginia

February 1, 2006


West Virginia finds themselves alone atop the Big East conference standings with an undefeated 6-0 mark in conference play. Nearly at the other end of the spectrum, Notre Dame continues to shuffle along with a 1-6 record in the Big East and finding life very tough this season with every loss in the conference coming by 6-pts or less.

Here are the stories from around the internet on tonight's game:

Irish Hope Stork Provides a Break With Early Arrival (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)
Irish Ride Three Game Slide into WVU (Charleston Gazette)
Mountaineers Hope to End Irish Hex Tonight (Register-Herald)
Confidence Sky High for Gansey & Crew (South Bend Tribune)
How Have Irish Won at WVU? (South Bend Tribune)
Luck of the Irish? (MSNSportsNET)

For our preview and prediction on the game, click below!

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The main downfall for the Irish this season in the Big East is their lack of athletic ability and the willingness to play physical inside against their Big East foes. Tonight, they find themselves matched up against another team that relies on skilled perimeter players making shots from beyond the arc with little in terms of inside power. However, nobody seems to be able to play the stle as well as West Virginia.

Maybe the match-up in style preference is the main reason for this series being heavily in the favor of Notre Dame. The Irish have been victorious in their last four trips to Morgantown under Mike Brey and the Irish have won the last 11 games in the series overall.

“Notre Dame is like looking into the mirror at us as far as the type of players that they have,” Beilein said. “They take care of the ball, they all can shoot it and they all can pass it".

So, why is one team 6-0 in the conference and the other 1-6? Beilein offers up an explanation, “They’re going through all these things that in every tight game the ball didn’t bounce their way. In three of four tight games we had, the ball bounced our way". The game that didn't bounce the Mountaineers way was their stunning loss last week to in-state rival Marshall. Also, WVU is the best in the Big East in league games for scoring margin (+9.2), assists (20.3), steals (9.6), turnover margin (+11.6) and assist/turnover ratio (+2.77) (South Bend Trib Article).

Again, tonight, there is a wildcard, and that is with the arrival of anyday of a little Pittsnogle. Kevin Pittsnogle's wife Heather is due to give birth to the couple's first child tomorrow, but if an early arrival happens, Pittsnogle might be in a delivery room, rather than delevering 3-pt bombs on the Irish.

Both teams have experience, but nobody is as experienced as the Mountaineers with 5 seniors, 1 junior and 1 sophomore comprising their 7-man rotation, led by Mike Gansey and Pittsnogle. The Irish have 3 seniors, 2 juniors, 1 sophomore and 2 freshmen in their rotation and are led by Chris Quinn, Torin Francis and Colin Falls.

The style of game should fit Notre Dame's strength's perfectly, but winning in a sold out Coliseum on the WVU campus is going to be one of the toughest things any team does this year. If there ever was a team outside the top two or three in this league that could do it, it might very well be Notre Dame. I expect ANOTHER close game for the Irish, will some of the bounces go their way? Will an early arrival by the stork keep Pittsnogle away? I am not so sure of that...but, this should be an very tight game and the 8-pt favored Mountaineers will be very glad to pull out a tight win.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

West Virginia 74 Notre Dame 71

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