ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY EXPERIENCE

Special Night or Not, Mountaineers Loss Is a Tough One


By Matt Whitfield

This past Saturday’s match-up between Louisville and West Virginia was the most anticipated college basketball game in Morgantown in ten years.

Besides being the hottest ticket and largest sellout crowd since 1999, ESPN College Gameday was on hand, as well as the class of 1959 basketball team that were led to the NCAA finals that season by legendary alum Jerry West.

Despite all the anticipation, Alex Rouff had a night to forget (0 points, 4 fouls & 6 turnovers) on Senior Night and Da’Sean Butler’s shot was cold all game long as the Mountaineers valiantly fought but just did not have enough to hang with the bigger and more experienced Cardinals.

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Read More on the ESPN College Gameday Experience at WVU...Click 'Read More' Below for the rest of the story and a photo diary of the day in Morgantown!!

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Mountaineer morale was high going into the locker-room at halftime. After trailing by as much as 10 points, the Mountaineers went into the locker room being down only by three, 32-29.

In the second half the rabid crowd really spurred the home team on. The Mountaineers took a one point lead with a Da’Sean Butler free throw at the 7:44 mark in the game. This really got the crowd rocking, but as was the case all game, Louisville quelled any West Virginia momentum as freshman Samardo Samuels took the ball right back down the court for an easy layup. West Virginia fought hard down the stretch and even had a slight lead with less than five minutes left, but with leading scorers Ruoff and Butler unable to supply their normal offensive output, WVU was hurt when it counted the most.

Louisville and coach Rick Pitino always seemed to have a play to counter the Mountaineers. However, WVU still had a chance. After Terrence Williams missed a pair of free throws with under 5 seconds left, Butler took the ball down the court and got a good look from 22-feet, but the ball hit the back of the rim and the Cards escaped Morgantown with a 62-59 win and the #1 seed in this week's 2009 Big East Tournament.

Despite the loss, Mountaineer faithful caught a glimpse of the future Saturday night as freshman Kevin Jones connected on nine of 11 shots from the floor to score a career-high 19 points. Jones also added 8 rebounds in 33 minutes. Classmate Devin Ebanks showed the special versatility that makes him potentially a star very soon. Ebanks scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished 6 assists (with just one turnover) in the pressure-packed game.

Da’Sean Butler was also impressed with Jones' performance, "When we got the ball to Kevin in the middle of the floor, we scored every time," Butler said. "He had a great game. If we would have just kept going to him, we probably would have won."

Unfortunately, outside of Ebanks and Jones, the rest of the Mountaineers were just 9-35 from the field, with Butler and Ruoff combining on a 4-21 night.

Terrance Williams of Louisville led all scorers on the night with 20 points, most of which came off his five three-point shots. As a team UL connected on nine of 17 from beyond the arc.

"The reality of the situation is that they had three seniors on the floor, along with a junior who is going pro at the end of this year," WVU head coach Bob Huggins said following the game. "That's four guys who won't be there next year. We have three freshmen among our top six players, and our only senior didn't score tonight."


Here is a photo diary of the long day in Morgantown...




Photos:
1) ESPN COllege Gameday Bus (row 1)
2) Jerry West Statue outside of WVU Coliseum (row 2)
3) WVU Coliseum an hour before ESPN Gameday goes on air at 11 AM (row 3)
4) Jerry west prepares to be honored with 1959 WVU squad (row 4)
5) Dick Vitale waiting to broadcast from WVU (row 5-left)
6) ESPN's Erin Andrews chats with Alex Ruoff prior to tip-ff (row 5-right)
7) Packed Coliseum moments into UL/WVU contest (row 6)