I Bleed Blue and White

Lots at stake on the line tomorrow for both Villanova and West Virginia: #8 vs. #9, NCAA Tournament seeding, Big East Tournament seeding, possible revenge for the Mountaineers.  We have been waiting for this game for awhile now.  Below are some articles in anticipation of the big showdown.

-Villanova’s rematch with West Virginia has large implications

-Villanova story awaits final chapter

-Rested WVU to battle Villanova

-Jay Bilas analyzes the matchup as a part of ESPN’s Weekend Watch

I am excited to be going to the game tomorrow, but I read that Gus Johnson is calling the game on CBS, which pisses me off that I won’t be able to hear him on TV.  Johnson and Bill Raftery have the best college hoops voices by far.  If you have never heard Gus’ “Rise and Fire” youtube video, please do so ASAP; it’s flat out awesome. 

I rewatched the win over Pittsburgh for the first time tonight, and I can’t tell you how enjoyable it was. Not only to see the game from a different angle, but you just pick up on so much more than when you are there. At the game, I was an out of control lunatic screaming and jumping and cheering. I couldn’t analyze what was happening at all. Now I finally can. Here are some more thoughts.

• With 12 minutes left in the 1st half, Shane Clark had outscored Pitt 9-8. I cannot overstate how huge he was early in the game. His three triples deserved a Puuurrreee call from Gus Johnson. None of them touched the rim.
• With just over 8 minutes left in the 1st half, Sam Young scored to get Pitt within 5. Jay Wright immediately called timeout. Great job there to stop things before Pitt made a huge run.
• We did not shoot well at all, and still put 78 points on Pitt, and won. I’m very, very impressed by that.
• We stopped attacking the rim near the end of the first half, and that is why we were losing at the half.
• Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery did a phenomenal job calling this game, although I thought the last play could have been better called.
• At the game, I thought Sam Young killed us. After watching him play, he destroyed us. We harrassed him, double teamed him, poked him in the eye, stepped on his toes, everything. He was just that good.
• I will not miss Levance Fields, Sam Young, and possibly even DeJuan Blair at all. Good luck to them, and good riddance. I hated playing them. They are freaking good.
• Corey Stokes made one three, but it was a big one.
• Dwayne Anderson was ice cold all night, and then came up huuuuuuuuge down the stretch.
• The last play will be played for years and years. I’ll never forget that moment. It was pure heroics by Reggie Redding, Dante Cunningham and most of all Scottie Reynolds.
• I love this team.