BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: CONNECTICUT @ WEST VIRGINIA

January 6, 2009

by Matt Whitfield

West Virginia faces its toughest challenge of the season tonight when they host the #5 ranked Connecticut Huskies, led by big men Stanley Robinson, and Hasheem Thabet. If West Virginia is to the win tonight the Mountaineers must be the aggressors under the boards and play the way they did in the last two victories as Connecticut is not a team known for giving away easy rebounds.

Coming into tonight game the Mountaineers have history on their side. The last time the two teams meet in Morgantown Wellington Smith and Da’Sean Butler were freshman, and the Mountaineers knocked off Connecticut 81-71. Furthermore, the last time the two teams played the Mountaineers knocked off the Huskies in last years Big East Tournament by a score of 79-72. This is not the same Huskies team as previous years though. Players like Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien, who were unproven stars several years ago are now season veterans and have undoubtedly matured and improved their game. West Virginia while it has players like Da’Sean Butler and Alex Ruoff who have stepped up their game, and freshman in Devin Ebanks, and Darryl ‘Tuck’ Bryant who could be superstars in the making is undoubtedly without their go-to guy superstar of the previous two years as Joe Alexander is now a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.

History on their side or not the Mountaineers must rebound well tonight. The team collectively ranks amongst Big East leaders in offensive boards; however no one player for the Mountaineers ranks in the top 15 statically of that category. The Huskies however aren’t too shabby either as they rank 6th in the Big East in rebounds per game, and have two players in Thabeet and Jeff Adrien who average about 10 rebounds a game. Defense is often the best offense though, and that should key one team to victory tonight.

Starters for the game tonight should look like this Da’Sean Butler, Devin Ebanks, Wellington Smith, Alex Ruoff, and Darryl Bryant going against Connecticut’s Jeff Adrien, Stanley Robinson, Hasheem Thabeet, Jerome Dyson, and AJ Price. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM tonight as the Coliseum should be loud and rocking tonight and the latest the latest NCAA basketball odds have WVU as a three and a half point favorite.

For the links to pregame stories and previews on the web, as well as the prediction from the NBE Blogger on tonight's game, you can also check out the Connecticut Team Blog Site for more on tonight's game.