preGame: #13 Villanova at West Virginia

Posted by Chris on February 13, 2009
Big East Play
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The Game: #13 Villanova (20-4, 8-3) at West Virginia (16-8, 5-6).

Location: The WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV.

Time: 9:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast: ESPNwest-virginia-logo1

Brief Rundown: Villanova is now officially the hottest team in the country after routing Marquette 102-84 at The Pavilion on Tuesday. The offense is smoking hot and the team is clicking as they enter the home stretch of the Big East. Senior leader Dwayne Anderson is questionable for tonight’s game with a knee injury.

It has been a struggle for West Virginia this season as they’ve beaten up on the bad teams but have struggled against the elite. They are coming off a second loss to Pittsburgh on the season, and have lost 4 of their last 6.

Villanova has not won in Morgantown since 1999, and goes into this game a 3-4 point underdog.

3 Keys to Victory:

  1. Step up for Anderson — He’s never going to dazzle the crowd, but nobody worked harder than Dwayne Anderson on the floor and his presence will sorely be missed. It brings Villanova to just a 7-man rotation. Somebody is going to need to fill in for Anderson and work the glass and defensive end hard tonight. My pick is Corey Stokes, as he’s shown an increased attitude defensively as of late.
  2. Take Bryant to school – The Mountaineers are lead at the point by true freshman Darryl ‘Truck’ Bryant since Joe Mazzulla was lost for the season. Bryant is talented, but very inexperienced and prone to mistakes. Corey Fisher and Scottie Reynolds need to run him ragged on the offensive end and force him into some bad decisions when defending him to get some easy buckets.
  3. Be prepared for a fight — Bob Huggins recently called out the students. My guess is that on a Friday night, the students will respond and make this a hell hole for Villanova. ‘Nova hasn’t won in Morgantown since 1999, and West Virginia is only allowing 61 points per game. It’s likely Villanova won’t be running anyone out of the gym, so they’ll need to remember how to win the dogfights.
Links:

…Lets Go Nova…a lot of what I’ve read has ‘Nova losing tonight, let’s discuss that below…

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8 Comments to preGame: #13 Villanova at West Virginia

Chris
February 13, 2009

As I wrote the other day, I see Villanova squeaking by at the end. I think this is going to be a fight though, and I’m a little concerned about how the team responds if their offense isn’t working.

Corey Stokes is going to be huge. He’s going to need to step up and fill Anderson’s void on the boards. He has it in him, and hopefully he’s prepared because WV works the offensive glass hard.

Jay's hair gel
February 13, 2009

I think there’s a legitimate concern we could lose tonight, but no more so than against most of the other Big East teams. No i’m not expecting us to win out the rest of the season, but at the same time each remaining game is very winnable, so I expect us to win tonight. The team is on fire right now and I don’t see any reason for that to stop tonight.

After the Louisville loss I think the consensus was to lower our expecations for the year, the team was good but not THAT good. I think somebody must have posted that comment in the locker room because ever since this team has been playing with an edge. When they take the court you KNOW they’re going to win. Mark my words, this team is going to be making some deep runs this year.

Nova 82
WVU 71

Camden Gritt
February 13, 2009

Is it definite that Anderson will be out tonight? Guard play will dominate this evening, and expect Nova to put up a fight and possibly pull this upset.

Chris
February 13, 2009

If Anderson plays I will be shocked. It really makes no sense at all if he needs the rest. He’s an important cog and tonight isn’t worth it to risk further injury. I would bet the farm that he plays on Senior Night vs. Rutgers though.

Camden I’m not sure if you are a WV fan, but I would hardly call it “an upset” if Villanova won. I know they are the underdog according to the bookmakers, but WV isn’t ranked and ‘Nova is on the verge of the Top 10.

Publisher
February 13, 2009

Hello, Chris-

Very good preview. I agree with you that Anderson’s presence on the glass and on the defensive end will be sorely missed. I’ll be curious to see who’s going to take the lion’s share of his minutes. Likewise, the fact that WVU is now forced to have a freshman point guard is a major disadvantage, especially given the talent level of our own backcourt…

Go Wildcats!

Publisher
February 13, 2009

Very good preview. In particular, you noted the strength that WVU has on the offensive glass, and that could be the difference in this game – and the extraordinary success that WVU had in last year’s tournament. They are very much on the bubble and they could certainly use a win over us, with our #12 or so RPI, come March…

Go Wildcats!

Publisher
February 13, 2009

Hello, Chris-

Scratch that second comment – that one was written for the VUHoops preview (as you can undoubtedly tell, because it refers to stuff that wasn’t in your preview). I pulled up the wrong Firefox application window, and typed that comment into this blog instead…

Chris
February 13, 2009

Ha! Don’t sweat it, although I was initially confused when you posted twice in a few minutes time.

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