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