I Bleed Blue and White

Expert bracketologist Joe Lunardi returns for the 2009-2010 campaign with his initial breakdown of the field of 64.  As we all know, this means absolutely nothing, and this bracket will look very different come March.  Anyway, for what it’s worth, Villanova is ranked as a 2 seed in the East (Syracuse) region.

There were a few things that caught my eye right away in terms of the Big East.  First, I don’t think Marquette will be challenging for a bid this year, as Lunardi has them as “one of the first four out.”  Losing Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, and Wesley Mathews is too much to overcome this year in my opinion.  In the “next four out” Lunardi has Cincinnati.  No, this program has not had much success since the Bob Huggins era, but this year’s team has a good chance to make the tournament and even be a decent seed.  They bring back a good nucleus to go along with freshman phenom Lance Stephenson.  Lastly, Pittsburgh was given an 8 seed.  I think Jamie Dixon is a great coach and always admire the toughness of the Pitt teams, but it wouldn’t shock me to see the Panthers on the outside looking in.  No doubt, though, they will be very well prepared and play each game extremely hard.

We will see how it unfolds over the course of the season.  The excitement continues to build as we head towards Friday night and the Fairleigh Dickinson game.

Added by Chris:

I do not like Joe Lunardi one bit, and frankly I am surprised to see him give us this kind of respect this early on. I think we would all sign up for a 2-seed right now, especially with the inexperience of some of our team. That projection is entirely dependent on a lot of guys growing up fast.

As for the other Big East projections, I agree that I have a tough time seeing Marquette in the at-large mix. Hayward is a great player but too many new parts to go along with not much experience. If Jimmy Butler can become a go-to-guy though, they could sneak in. Cincinnati is a near lock for the tournament to me. Too much talent. I actually think Pittsburgh will be higher than an 8 seed. Whenever they are highly-rated they underachieve (last year is a good example) and whenever people think they are rebuilding they tend to exceed expectations.

The NCAA just handed out a punishment to West Virginia freshman Deniz Kilicli for the first 20 games of the season. Apparently Kilicli played on a Turkish team that included a professional player. So for now it appears that although Truck Bryant and Joe Mazzulla got away Scot-free, at least one Mountaineer finds himself suspended.

Bob Huggins declined to comment.

…Of course he did…pretty much the only thing he could say is “I screwed up”…

Oh, and by the way. The game that Kilicli is eligible to come back: February 8th vs. Villanova. I have no idea if they even expected this kid to make an impact, but if that adds to the storyline, so be it.

Adam Zagoria, creator of ZagsBlog, reported a few Big East occurrences today.  First, Daryl “Truck” Bryant, a very good sophomore from West Virginia, has been reinstated by head coach Bob Huggins.  Bryant was suspended this past July due to a traffic incident.  According to Huggins,

Darryl has done everything that has been asked of him on all fronts.  I believe he has earned the opportunity to be reinstated to our team.

No one should be surprised about this move.  We all know Huggins would get one of his top studs back before the season started. 

Second, Marquette has lost freshman Junior Cadougan to a torn ACL he suffered during conditioning drills.  This may not seem all that important, but for a team that lost a bunch of really good seniors, any significant injury definitely impacts the team in a negative way.

What a shock (sarcasm, indeed). PG Joe Mazzulla has been reinstated to the West Virginia basketball team by Bob Huggins after being suspended due to his arrest for domestic battery when he grabbed a woman by the throat (I kid you not) at a bar in April.

The arrest, which had been Mazzulla’s 2nd in the past year (he was charged with aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and underage drinking — all in one day) was pleaded down to disorderly conduct.

Mazzulla has not missed a single game for either arrest, and pretty much has gotten away Scot-free in both instances.

…I can’t help but laugh…it is Bob Huggins, and it is West Virginia, so what did you really expect?…I’d imagine that Darryl ‘Truck’ Bryant will be reinstated shortly as well, after all, he was only suspended because he committed a hit and run…

…This does affect Villanova though, because West Virginia and us are considered the class of the Big East this year…we all always assumed that Mazzulla (and Bryant) would be back, but I actually thought they might miss a game or two…

West Virginia, the patron state of burning stuff.

In anticipation of the Villanova’s trip to Morgantown on Friday, I chatted with John who covers West Virginia at Mountainlair. Below are some questions that I asked John about his beloved Mountaineers. John has some personal matters to attend to, so no return questions this time around, but thanks to John for taking the time to do this. And away we go…

Chris (I Bleed Blue and White): First things first; Bob Huggins’ all-gold getup. Yay or nay? I can’t decide if he and Bruce Pearl are on to something or if I want to set that thing on fire.

John (Mountainlair): Throw it on a burning couch! Man, that picture of him in all gold makes him look like Goldmember! I like the look he’s sporting now with the dress shirt and jacket without the tie. The pullover look was a little too casual.

John (ML): That was really the two key players on the team last year. If either one was back this year, we would be a completely different team. Nichols was just clutch and had an unbelievable assist to turnover ratio. Alexander’s absence speaks for itself. We really lack an inside game that freed up Ruoff and Butler. Butler has been able to shine at times this year, but Ruoff’s game has been hurt because people are paying more attention to him. Our problems at the point guard position were compounded with the loss of Joe Mazzulla. Bryant is improving, but I think it’s a bit much to ask most freshman point guards to be the only option without a dropoff.

John (ML): It’s happened in football and basketball. I think it’s mostly because of the success and expectations. And being spoiled by the likes of an Alexander or Slaton and White in football. You get bandwagon fans that are there to be seen more than to show support combined with higher ticket prices. Huggins has every right to complain about it. Especially with such a young team, it can make a huge difference to have that kind of home court advantage. But as of right now, there’s nothing intimidating about playing in Morgantown.

John (ML): I don’t think Ebanks and Bryant can carry the team without Ruoff and or Butler on the floor. Even when those two aren’t on their game, they lead on the floor. Ebanks kept us in the game early against Pitt and has a world of tallent, but he’s probably a year away from being a dominant player. Bryant is fearless, but it gets him in trouble sometimes.

John (ML): I’m hoping you guys shot your load the last two games and will have a big dropoff Friday. West Virginia has done well against teams we match up with size wise. The bigger teams have just worn us down, though. So that gives me hope. Also when the Coliseum is rocking, that’s worth 10 points. It’ll be interesting to see how Bryant deals with the quality of guard play he’s going to face. If he can hold his own I can see West Virginia winning. I’ll say WVU 70-66.

There you have it, John sees a West Virginia win on Friday night. Before Villanova caught fire, I had this game marked down as a probable loss. Villanova just seems to struggle going to West Virginia for some reason, and their hot streak has to end sometime (doesn’t it?). But how am I going to pick against our boys when they have been playing so well? With Anderson probably out, this will be tough. Antonio Pena, Corey Stokes and Shane Clark will all need to step up to account for that loss. I still think Villanova gets it done, they just seemed to be locked in. Villanova edges one out 76-70.