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.


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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