Big East! WOW!

Unfortunately, WVU has become the blemish on what is becoming an unbelievable performance by the Big East in the Tournament.  Currently the Big East has a record of 14-2 with two games scheduled for tonight and 3 teams playing in 2 games tomorrow.  There was pressure on the Big East to perform well following a season of being touted the toughest league in the history of college basketball.  As the season wore on, people still believed that the BE was extremely tough, but maybe not as tough as it was thought to have been.  Fading teams like Notre Dame and Georgetown, along with no respect given to Providence ended dreams of breaking the record for number of teams from one conference to make the field of 64.  But a 14-2 record at this point of the tournament has to be unprecedented.   The Big East has assured at least one spot in the Final Four and still has a possibility of all 4.   And oddly enough, it is the Big 12 and not the ACC who is pushing the Big East for dominance with a record of 10-3 and having 3 teams still with a chance for the Final Four.  

Huggins Needs Offensive Help.

First of all let me start by saying that Coach Huggins and this team did a very good job this year and for the 5th straight year finished 2 or more spots ahead of where they were predicted in the Big East.  However, this is the first year that we haven't continued that success into postseason play.  One thing that needs to be on the list of improvements next year is to beat Cincinnati.  This team has been the worst team to beat us each of the last two seasons.  (this may be more of a personal issue since I can't stand Cronin)

The other thing that is glaring about this team is their lack of offensive production for long stretches.  We appeared to be very unprepared for Dayton offensively.  I might have chalked this up as being youthful and very inexperienced, however it was two freshman who played well and kept us in the game.  Ebanks had another very solid performance.  And Truck Bryant may have played his best game of the year.  Even a couple of the turnovers that Truck committed seemed to be a result of other players in the offense not being on the right page, resulting in his passes going out of bounds.   There's no question the future is bright for this group, but we have to be a better prepared offensive team by the coaching staff to be able to take it to the top level.  

NCAA's are upon us...

WVU is in the Mid-West Regional with a 6 seed and is scheduled to play Dayton on Friday sometime around 3:00pm, in the first round of the tourney. The Eers will have to travel north to Minneapolis. This particular section includes the Match-up between Eers and Flyers as well as the 12:30 game between North Dakota State and the defending national champion, Kansas Jahocks. Thus, the reward for beating the Flyers will be a likely date with Kasas. The team is not looking past Dayton though as they are a very good team which was noted throughout the regular season as one of the toughest defenses from a non-"big-six-conference". The team appears to be excited by this opportunity and look forward to getting on the court. Tonight Coach Huggs will have his last call in show of the year. I would suggest going to www.MSNsportsnet.com to listen to the show online if you don't have local access.

Go Eers!!!

DaGeek

Not to be lost in the Madness EERS Rifle team National Champions Again!!!

Yup the ship has been righted. WAY TO GO, Musket wielding women and men. :)


DaGeek

Seeding

After our little run in the Big East I'm thinking we're a 6th seed. Actually, I'm kind of hoping we are. First, that may put us in the Greensboro sectional for the first round which may be too close to pass up going. Second, the 6-11 game is a tough game but would match us up with a good bubble team. Can anyone say WVU-Michigan?? Actually Michican probably won't make it if the conference champs didn't already have a bid, but you get the idea. We get a bubble team. Third, the 6th seed matches up with the 3rd in the second round. In Greensboro, this would probably be Duke. Other sectionals might have a Missouri or Kansas. Another winnable matchup. And finally, you're in the lower half of the bracket so you don't see the #1 seed until the elite 8. So maybe you get lucky and hit an overated Memphis team. Of course they may get a #1, but they really haven't beat anyone. So, let's hope for a 6th seed and some good matchups. I like the path and the way we've been playing. The Sweet 16 may not be probable but it's highly possible.

sPitt goes down... Nuff said!!!

I love this stuff.

DaGeek

Tuesdays Big East 1st Round games:

Depaul over Cincinnati 67 57. Guess that bubble burst. I love the Big East!!! The madness begins with this upset. Moral of the story is come to play or go home.

News and Notes for WVU Basketball...

WVU's Alex Ruoff was named Big East Sportsman of the Year... He is also a candidate for Student Athlete of the Year to be named tonight. He received an honorable mention to the All-Big East team.

DeSean Butler was named to the All Big East Second team.

Devan Ebanks was named to the Big East All Rookie team. He is a candidate for Big East Rookie of the Year Honors to be announced tonight.

The Mountaineers will begin Big East Tourney play Wednesday night at 7:00 against the winner of the Notre Dame/Rutgers Tilt.



WVU received a commitment from 6' 4" , 215 lb., (Rivals.com ***)Juco-Guard, Casey Mitchell on Sunday. "I'll tell you one thing. I can't wait to get to West Virginia this summer. ... I'm happy to be a Mountaineer," said Mitchell, who has two years of eligibility remaining. (Photo from Rivals.com)

Big East Tourney Bracket Released

Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday:

16. Depaul 8. Providence 1. Louisville
9. Cincinnati
(Noon)

13. St. Johns 5. Marquette 4. Nova
12. Georgetown
(2:00 p.m.)

15. Rutgers 7. West Virginia 2. sPitt
10. Notre Dame
(7:00 p.m.)

14. USF 6. Syracuse 3. U Conn
11. Seton Hall
(9:00 p.m.)

ESPN Game Day Comes to Morgantown...

DaGeek had the distinct pleasure of attending the first visit by ESPN's "Game Day" in Morngantown. I must say that it was a load of fun and the locals were in loud and proud form from the beginning till the end. I had the pleasure of seeing the Logo among other notables. It was an exciting time and it must have been because I had to get up early to attend it. But I digress it was great exposure for our beloved school. Thanks Huggs for making us relevant again. Anyway, I took a few photos and wanted to share them with you.

Looking forward to tonights game. As you can see on the last photo 3 out of 4 picked the good guys to win.

GO EERS!!!

DaGeek

Pat White on NFL.com This guy is getting such possitive pub it is awesome.

Check out this link and watch and admire as I have. He carries himself so well. He doesn't do things that hurts him. Humble, hungry, confident, knowledgeable, and an incredible interview. Oh yeah and he can play. Anyway, check this out: PAT WHITE ON NFL.COM

DaGeek

Finals Week.

We're now at the last week for teams to make an impression on the committee.  Of course those that come up a little short will still have a chance to earn some extra credit in the conference tournament.   WVU splits this week against Cincy and USF meaning they technically still have work to do.  They will need to win one of their final two home games against DePaul or Louisville.  If they are upset by DePaul and fall to Louisville, they would still possibly be alive for  a birth, but they would be on life support after dropping 3 of their last 4 games against questionable competition.   Unfortunately, for WVU they come up short against all the teams they are battling with in tiebreaker scenarios.  Head to head losses against UC and Syracuse 'cause them to come up short against them and in any three way scenarios, Providence has an advantage over WVU because of their victory over Pitt.

I can't believe that Providence could finish tied for 6th in the Big East, knock off the #1 team in the country, and not make the NCAA Tournament, but that is what is shaping up to happen.  They were only 8-4 in their pre-conference schedule and the competition was very sketchy.  13 of the Friars' 18 wins are against teams outside of the RPI top 100.  The Friars have one game left at Villanova and if they win that and finish 11-7, I can't imagine they would be left out.  But they will likely lose that game and that means their Big East Tournament games will be very important.   Oddly enough, the victory over Pitt would give Providence the edge in a three way tie with WVU and Syracuse/Cincinnati and earn them the 6 or 7 seed.  WVU would have the advantage over Providence only if Syracuse and Cincinnati are not involved in the tie.  

Syracuse is also looking at a possible split in their remaining two games having to face Rutgers and travel to Marquette.   Though Syracuse could very well upset Marquette as they will still be adjusting to the loss of James and they did not impress this weekend.  Additionally, Marquette will be coming off a stretch of playing UConn, Louisville, and Pitt.   Syracuse will be in the NCAA tourney if they split as their strength of schedule and RPI are impressive enough.  Syracuse will finish ahead of WVU in all tiebreaker scenarios.

Cincinnati must win both of their final games to have a chance.    They travel to South Florida and finish up at home versus Seton Hall.  Their RPI (53) is right on the edge for a bubble team and they cannot afford to be at 9-9 and in 9th place.  If that happens, they may need to win 3 games in NY to convince the NCAA committee that they are worthy.  They would also hold an advantage over WVU in a tiebreaker with 2 or 3 teams.   

Georgetown and Notre Dame are finished.  They would have to win out their final 2 games and probably win three games in the Big East Tournament.  It's certainly not impossible, but I'd be willing to bet against it heavily at this point.  

As I look at all this, it appears the Louisville game becomes very important.  However, it's only important for seeding in the Big East tournament.  If WVU beats DePaul and loses to Louisville, they could still end up as the 9 seed in NY, but it shouldn't affect their status for the NCAA's given their huge advantage in RPI and schedule strength over Cincinnati and Providence.  

WVU bounces back from Cincy let down to take number 20 from USF, 64-50

To say the least this game was more or less a must win to keep WVU where it needs to be for both NCAA and Big East tourney. WVU got win number 20 overall and 9 in the Big East today. As it appears today, WVU can finish anywhere from its current 8th to at best 6th in the Big East going into the Big East tourney. A win over Depaul and a loss by Cincy or Prov assures WVU a first game bye. I look forward to Weezie's conference breakdown as it were this week. Anyway, WVU gets a necessary win today. (Photo from Rivals.com.)

As of Sunday at 7:00pm here is the Big East Standings:

TEAM	CONF. W-L	OVERALL W-L
Uconn	15-2	27-2
UL	14-2	23-5
sPitt	13-3	26-3
Marq	12-4	23-6
NOVA	11-5	23-6
Prov	10-7	18-11
Cuse	9-7	21-8
WVU	9-7	20-9
Cincy	8-8	18-11
ND	7-9	16-12
GU	6-10	15-12
SH	6-10	15-13
SJU	5-11	14-15
USF	3-13	8-20
RU	1-15	10-19
UD	0-16	8-21

Congrats!!!

DaGeek