BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: CINCINNATI @ WEST VIRGNIA

January 30, 2008

For the first time since being forced to resign his position as head basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati, Bob Huggins will be coaching against the Bearcats. Huggins, who led UC for 16 years, will host Mick Cronin's squad tonight at the Coliseum in Morgantown.

What makes this game even more interesting is the Cronin was an assistant under Huggins at Cincinnati. So, you have the teacher vs the pupil and the whole UC vs. Bob Huggins storylines...not to mention and interesting Big East Conference game to boot!

Here are the local media previews on tonight's game:

UC to Praise, Top Huggins (Cincinnati Enquirer)
WVU Men on Rebound Against UC (Times West Virginian)
It'll Be Mentor vs Protege Tonight (Charleston Gazette)
No Night for Nostalgia (Charleston Gazette)
Huggins: We Just Need to Win (WV Metro News)
Not Just Another Game for UC (Enquirer)
Huggins Was Mentor to Cronin (Enquirer)

West Virginia is a 14-pt home favorite tonight when they host the Bearcats of Cincinnati. The Mountaineers love playing at home and they seem to shoot th eball much better in the comfort of their own building. The Bearcats will work hard to make the game a low-scoring, defensive battle. They have really been buying into that philosphy for coach Mick Cronin and they are strong and athletic and could pose some problems for the Mountaineers.

West Virginia will be keyed up for the game. The players know how badly coach Bob Huggins wants this game. He may say he just wants to win, but you know he wants to win by a lot. Cincinnati has been in a similar position when they went to Louisville and came up with a stirring road win in Freedom Hall on New Year's Day. Mick Cronin was also an assistant for Rick Pitino at Louisville, so he has already beaten one of his mentors this season.

The key offensively for Cincinnati is Deonta Vaughn. He is th eonly player capable of carry the team on offense. Look for Bob Huggins to design some quirky defensive schemes to take Vaughn out of the mix, forcing someone else to step-up and beat them. Over the weekend, Seton Hall limited Vaughn's opportunities and the rest of the Bearcats had trouble scoring. John Williamson, UC's 2nd leading scorer, was limited due to an injury and foul trouble making things even tougher.

West Virginia will rely on Alex Ruoff from the perimeter and Joe Alexander slashing to the basket and Darris Nichols managing the game. West Virginia likes to be effecient on offense while Cincinnati's goal is to muck up the game so nobody is very effecient on offense.

It is a classic game of different styles, I do think the majority of th egame is played in a style that favors Cincinnati, much like St. John's was able to do at WVU, but in th eend, the home crowd and a few more outside shots tilt things in favor of the Mountaineers.

NBE Blogger Prediction: West Virginia 66 Cincinnati 59

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: GEORGETOWN @ WEST VIRGINIA

January 26, 2008


Here is a great match-up between Georgetown and West Virginia in Morgantown slated for Saturday night. The West Virginia faithful will be ready to roll as the Hoyas come to town.

West Virginia is coming off a shaky 66-64 win over in-state rival Marshall in Charleston Wednesday. Bob Huggins has been publicly issuing challenges to his team to be tougher and better going forward and is not satisfied with their progress thus far in the season. With his calling into question the mental toughness of his squad, look for a sprited effort backed by a rabid fan base from the Mountaineers.

Georgetown has seen it all before. The Hoyas are a team with four returning starters from their Final Four squad of a year ago. With two seniors and a junior among that group, do not expect Georgetown to be rattled by the atmosphere. The Hoyas will go and run their system to generate offense and use their mental toughness on the defensive side of the court. With 7'2 Roy Hibbert inside, he could be a major factor for the Mountaineers who like to go to the basket.

One thing Georgetown must be careful is settling for 3-pt baskets without getting the ball inside. In a similar atmoshpere that is expected Saturday night, the Hoyas got away from getting the ball in to Hibbert against Pittsburgh. Hibbert is an excellent passer and when he gets a touch, defenses have to react. It is true that Pitt did a good job in denyinh him the ball, but he could have worked harder. WVU does not have much of a post presence to combat Hibbert. From there, DaJuan Summers can post and cut to the basket and shooters like Jonathan Wallace, Austin Freeman and Jesse Sapp can find their range. If they settle for the 3-pt shots against the WVU defenses, they could find themselves in trouble again.

This season, nobody seems intimidated by anyone on their home floor. The Mountaineers have an experienced group lead by the steady senior, Darris Nichols, and juniors Joe Alexander and Alex Ruoff. This is a group that loves playing in the Coliseum on their campus and their home offensive stats support that feeling. Although the style used most by John Beilein is not one that Bob Huggins has used previously, the former Cincinnati coach has put the 3-pt shot and zone defense into his gameplan. Huggins is not afraid to try out of the box ideas, like using 6'2 Joey Mazzulla to guard 6'8 Kentrell Gransberry last week, defensively to slow an opponent. It will be very interesting to see what the Mountaineers use against Georgetown.

I still think Georgetown is, by s slight margin, better than the rest of the pack in the Big East. The Mountaineers are one of those teams inching their way to the top of the pack trailing the Hoyas. If they want to reach that next level, they have to win this kind of game on their home floor. I think Bob Huggins pulls the right card from his sleeve to keep WVU ahead by just enough at the final horn.

NBE Blogger Prediction: West Virginia 68 Georgetown 66

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: ST. JOHN'S @ WEST VIRGNIA

January 17, 2008


St. John's kicks off a stretch of games with West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Louisville and Georgetown tonight with a trip to Morgantown. The Redstorm are 1-3 in Big East play and their young squad will really begin to learn about life in the Big East the next couple of weeks.

West Virginia loves to play in the Coliseum and they are home tonight, fresh off an 81-61 win over Syracuse last Sunday. The Mountaineers average just 55 PPG on the road (0-2) in conference play, but at home it is a different story as they average 80 PPG (2-0) with wins over SU and Marquette.

Here are the local media previews on tonight's game:

WVU Win Streak on Line vs. St. John's (Times West Virginian)
Streaks at Stake as WVU Welcomes St. John's (Journal Gazette)
WVU's Butler Has to Play Smarter (Daily Mail)

This one looks to be a big mismatch. West Virginia is an experienced and deep group that excels on their home court. St. John's does play up to 11 players, however, seven of them are freshmen and life away from home has been difficult.

St. John's will scrap and compete, especially on the defensive end. They have some length and athleticism, but their youth can cause breakdowns and WVU will make you pay for breakdowns with lay-ups and 3-pt shots.

The Redstorm will look to get points in the middle, the soft spot of West Virginia. Freshman Justin Burrell could have a big game with points and rebounds, but they will need someone else to step up offensively and keep pace with West Virginia. Anthony Mason Jr is certainly capable, but he will likely be the one guy Bob Huggins game plans against, forcing someone else to step up, with the Redstorm, I am not sure if there is anyone else at this point.

West Virginia will likely have four or five offensive weapons on the floor at all times, led by 3-pt marksman Alex Ruoff and the athletic Joe Alexander. Darris Nichols will run the effecient offense and WVU should cruise, again, on their home floor as 16-pt favorites.


NBE Blogger Prediction: West Virginia 78 St. John's 59

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: WEST VIRGINA @ LOUISVILLE

January 9, 2008



Rick Pitino and his Louisville Cardinals look to earn their first Big East win of 2008 when they host an old nemesis, Bob Huggins, and his West Virginia Mountaineers at Freedom Hall tonight.

Here are the local media previews of tonight's game:


Could Be Another UofL-WVU Classic (Kentucky.com)
WVU Men;s Welcome Challenge of Facing Louisville (Times West Virginian)
WVU Needs Short Memory (Charleston Gazette)
It's Huggins vs. Pitino...Again (SI.com)
Cards Hope They are Over Hump (Louisville Courier-Journal)


Louisville is a home favorite tonight, but it is slight, just 2.5 points over the visiting Mountaineers. West Virginia hit the road once already in the Big East and lost at Notre Dame, suffering their worst offensive showing of the season in the process. Louisville was surprised by Cincinnati, at home, in their Big East opener on New Year's Day.

West Virginia rebounded from their loss to Notre Dame over the weekend by cruising past Marquette at home. The Mountaineers got back to the effecient offense that makes them very difficult to play and Bob Huggins has been mixing in several different defenses to incorporate his strategies while meeting the strengths of his players.

For Rick Pitino, things have not been easy. They have already been through injuries with seniors Juan Palacios and David Padgett and frustrations with a talented, but inconsistent sophomore class. Palacios had his most productive game since returning to the line-up from a knee injury in the Cards' 89-75 win over Kentucky last weekend. Padgett had a quality showing in his first game back, in the loss to Cincinnati, and will continue to get stronger. Both players add experience and an element of comfort for Pitino, they also offer options if sophomores Derrick Caracter and Earl Clark are not playing up to their massive potentials. Thus far, it can be hit or miss with the talented forwards.

As frustrated as Pitino has been with the play of his forwards, it has been sophomore point guard Edgar Sosa that has been the most puzzling situation. Sosa is naturally a scoring guard from the tough CHSAA league in New York City. Pitino is trying to get his sophomore guard to be more of a true point guard, but all too often Sosa's natural instinct to hunt out his own offensive opportunities take over. This has led to Sosa spending a lot of time on the bench, but his talent is definitely needed on the floor.

One player coach Pitino has no worries about in terms of effort is Terrence Williams, the athletically gifted 6'6 junior forward. Few have the athletic ability of Williams int he college game and he can hurt an opponent in many ways. The effort is always there, sometimes he can be a bit out of control and needs to allow the game to come to him. With the veteran presence of Palacios and Padgett in the line-up more, it should begin to work that way for Williams.

The backcourt is completed by Andre McGee and Jerry Smith, a pair of quality guards that are capable of scoring in a hurry, especially Smith, one of the best 3-pt shooters in the league. Will Scott adds a deep threat and Terrence Farley rounds out the frontcourt rotation.

For West Virginia, they have an experienced point guard in Darris Nichols who understands the importance of running the team and putting players in position to score. One of the things coach Huggins has tried to get Nichols to do more is be aggressive and show it is ok to make mistakes being aggressive. Nichols, a senior, can hit the perimeter shot and makes very few mistakes with the ball, almost ensuring WVU has a chance to score on each and every possession.

Nichols' backcourt mate is Alex Ruoff, a solid ballhandler, fundamentally sound defender and excellent 3-pt shooter. Joe Alexander is their go-to forward who plays within the system and uses lenght and ahtleticism to produce points and rebounds. The pair of juniors have progressed into all-league type of players in the Big East.

Maybe the west Virginia x-factor is DaSean Butler, a do-everyting 6'7 sophomore forward. Butler can shoot, pass, defend or just plain score. He is the type of player that excels in any system or any type of game. Again, he is one that can be too unselfish, but when WVU needs a play, he is typically the one to make it, on either side of the ball.

West Virginia's glaring weakness is inside presence. Jamie Smalligan is 7-foot in height, but is more prone to be out by the 3-pt line on offense. He will battle and hustle, but his game is not really suited for the physical Big East. A pair of forwards, Wellington Smith and John Flowers, are quickly developing into quality Big East reserves, capable of having good games against anyone and Jou Mazzulla adds quality depth to the backcourt.

Louisville got a much needed confidence boost with their win over Kentucky. No, Kentucky is not the Kentucky of old, or even the Lentucky of Tubby Smith circa 2006-2007, but winning on your rivals home floor with a dominating 2nd half can give you a lift. They need to carry the intensity back to the court tonight and defend the perimeter with their athleticism and hit the boards with their size. We are starting to see Louisville with the personnell they expected to have this year, maybe now we will start seeing the Louisville team we expected.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Louisville 74 West Virginai 69

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: WEST VIRGINIA @ NOTRE DAME

January 3, 2008

Notre Dame enters Big East competition on an 8-game winning streak and that streak will be put to the test against Bob Huggins and the West Virginia Mountaineers. Here are some of the media articles previewing tonight's game:

It's the Real Deal for Irish, Mountaineers (South Bend Tribune)
Huggins Young Mountaineers Provide Challenge for Irish (Chicago Tribune)
WVU Looks to End Losing Ways Against Irish (Parkersburg News)
City Friendly Place for Huggins (Journal Gazette)


A very interesting conference game for both West Virginia and Notre Dame to open Big East play with. Playing at home, the Irish have been picked as the 2-pt favorite by the oddsmaker. The match-ups between the two teams are very tough to seperate and find a team that is clearly better.

For the Irish tonight, it is all going to start inside. The one area they should have a decided advantage is in post offense with sophomore Luke Harangody in the post. The 6'8 bull is averaging nearly 18 points and 9 rebounds a game. He plays very well on both ends of the court and has a fellow forward in senior Rob Kurz that compliments him well. While Harangody has been nicknamed 'Bam-Bam' by Irish fans for his physical style in the paint, Kurz utilizes more skill with a deft shooting touch out to the 3-pt line (48% on 3's this year) and is an excellent passer and ball-handler for his size. Adding 14 PPG and over 7 rebounds, whiler leading the Irish in blocked shots, shows he is not afraid to mix it up either.

On the perimeter the most important keys tonight could be the shooting of juniors Ryan Ayers and Kyle McAlarney. We all know WVU will rely heavily on 3's, but so does ND and Ayers (26-51) and McAlarney (37-86) have already combined for 63 made three-pointers at a 46% clip. With lightning-quick point guard Tory Jackson penetrating the defense, having a pair of sharp-shooting wings setting up for the longball keeps the offense flowing effeciently for Mike Brey's squad.

On the West Virginia side the Mountaineers have four players who consistently score night in and night out: Alex Ruoff (16.1 PPG), Joe Alexander (15.9 PPG and a team high 6.8 rebounds), DaSean Butler (13 PPG) and Darris Nichols (11.3 PPG). The Mountaineers are still a team that does not turn the ball over often and they do provide more of an effort on the boards than recent editions under John Beilein. Coach Bob Huggins is running a similar offensive philosophy that the players grew into under Beilein, but he is instilling his toughness on the boards and on defense, but it is still an area that could possibly be exposed in the Big East.

Notre Dame, along with Georgetown, has played the easiest schedule to date in the Big East. The only major conference schools they have faced have been Kansas State, Baylor and Georgia Tech, none of which have an RPI among the Top 50 in the nation. The Irish also dropped two of the three games, beating Kansas State at Madison Square Garden.

West Virginia has beaten Duquesne and Winthrop among top 50 RPI squads, but have lost their only two contests against major conference foes (Tennessee and Oklahoma) in very tight contests. Tonight will represent a different atmosphere for both teams and a change in intensity as both teams need to start off on the right foot, otherwise the questions will begin to arise about their gaudy OOC records.

With the extra pressure of conference play, I am going to lean the way of the team that will be playing more in their comfort zone, making the 3's fall easier, having the crowd behind them and, also, the Irish have a decided advantage in the paint which will allow them to buckle down and get some baskets the easy way when they need them.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Notre Dame 74 West Virginia 68

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