BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: South Florida @ West Virginia

January 17, 2007


Thanks to the Cincinnati Bearcats, it only took South Florida three games before finding their first Big East conference win this season, they will look to make it two in a row when they travel to Morgantown to face the Mountaineers. West Virginia is not likely to allow that to happen, although the Mountianeers are on a two game losing streak, they return to the Coliseum where they are 9-0 on the season, including 3-0 in the Big East.

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

Struggling Ruoff Needs to Have Fun (Daily Mail)
Is USF the Cure for WVU? (Charleston Gazette)
WVU Looks to Regain Winning Touch (Register-Herald)
Bulls Latest Road Trip Presents Unique Challenges (Tampa Trib)




Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


West Virginia returns home to the friendly confines of the Coliseum on their Morgantown campus to host the South Florida Bulls. After running out to a 3-0 conference start, all at home, the young Mountaineers found things a little tougher on the road losing to Notre Dame and Marquette. Meanwhile, the South Florida Bulls are coming off just their second conference victory in their short Big East history, but they have yet to win one on the road.

They got a big lift at the point guard spot with Chris Howard finally being healthy and his 10-assist, 1-turnover performance against Cincinnati finally gave the Bulls quality PG play. They will need that type of performance against a very tough 1-3-1 zone by WVU with their long and athletic players to trap and force turnovers. Having Howard does make the Bulls MUCH better at handling the ball and can allow Jesus Verdejo and Melvin Buckley to look for the gaps and score the basketball. With McHugh Mattis and Kentrell Gransberry inside, the Bulls actually have the size and athletic ability to match-up well with the Mountaineers, if they can stay out of foul trouble.

West Virginia always relies on the great equalizer, the three-point shot, and when it is not falling, they could really struggles, like they did on the road in their last two games. Since they do not score much inside in a traditional offense and they are not much for rebounding, the other aspect of their game is turnover differential. The Bulls are very prone to turning it over and the WVU 1-3-1 should thrive against their inexpereinced ball-handlers. They will try and trap Howard and Solomon Bozeman and force them into bad decisions and rushed shots. West Virginia is not as great in taking care of the ball as last year's team, so they still need to improve as well.

The Mountaineers are projected as 19-pt winners by Pomeroy and enter as 15-pt favorites. I expect them to win and probably comfortably, but the Bulls might hang around a little more.

NBE Blogger Prediction: West Virginia 76 South Florida 64