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.

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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