PHOENIX, AZ. -- Xavier sends WVU to the mat with 79-75 overtime win.

What hurts more, this loss to Xavier today? Or the football team's loss to Pitt back in December?

Well nobody has been able to capably explain that football loss. But say this at least, tonight the Mountaineers definitely should have won. No bones about it. And it will all come down to the fact that their missed free throws were THE reason. Sure, for the game, WVU had a better free throw percentage than the Musketeers, 67% compared to 57%. But it was all about timing and pressure. WVU had neither of those factors.

Continue reading "Phoenix Regional- West Virginia sees its season come crashing down" »

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. --B.J. Raymond's three-pointer with just under 20 seconds remaining proved to be the fatal blow to West Virginia's hopes of reaching the Elite Eight. Xavier wins

(Raymond and the Musketeers celebrate his three-point shot)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- Joe Alexander just fouled out. Is that a bad omen? WVU still leads by four here in OT

(It was a weak call Joe)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 09:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- The gullywashing red Gatorade dump right behind the West Virginia bench has turned the entire carpet red and full of ice.

(No more ball in the house! It's all fun and games until somebody ruins the shag carpeting)

It's now Xavier 57-55 with 6:47. Hot damn, it looks like I'll finally be able to see a white-knuckler here in Phoenix.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- West Virginia forward Joe Alexander had a whisper quiet first half:

3 points.
3 rebounds.
2 fouls.
2 turnovers.

So far in this second half the 'Neer mountain man has already got nine of WVU's 22 points and is a lot more active on both ends of the court. He's been the difference as the Mountaineers look to make a big push in the second half.

I don't know what Huggins was saying during that last time out, but he was looking almost exclusively at Alexander and doing a lot of pointing. Not angrily, just informatively.

Right now it's still Xavier, 50-49 with 10:44 remaining.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ.-- Two things I noticed about those in these two teams' traveling circles.

No. 1:
Xavier's girl cheerleaders are taller than their male cheerleaders...

No. 2:
I don't know why, but it's pretty cool. WVU has a band member that is obviously older, maybe into his upper 50s, low 60s or so. And he also looks sorta like Paul Newman and uses a hearing aid...

It's now XU up 43-40 as West Virginia has made another push here to start the second half. I don't know what Huggins said to his team during the last time out, but most of the players came away laughing as they went to sit back down.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ -- It's now XU 32-25 at the midway point.

But early on in the game, we saw a lot of these kind of reactions from coach Huggins as the Mountaineers built up a big 28-12 lead. But the Mountaineers have been chipping away and playing good defense to make it a game at the half.

Jarrett Brown has come off the pine to lead WVU in scoring with eight points. Josh Duncan also has eight to lead the X.

The score could be much worse if the Musketeers were able to convert some inside layups. But to WVU's credit, they've had a lot of hands in XU's grills early. For the game, XU is 11-for-27 and the WVU is just 9-for-27.

Biggest stat of the game so far? Three-point shooting.
XU: 6-for-11
WVU: 0-for-6

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- West Virginia has been able to cut into XU's massive lead, chopping it to 28-20.

Maybe it's because this guy is in the crowd cheering on the Mountaineers. Although the whole time Nick Lashay has been here all he's done is check his text messages, send text messages and check out hot chicks sending text messages.

Xavier still looks like the much better team so far. And by the way, when did Mr. Bandwagon Lashay become a West Virginia fan anyway?

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- The reason West Virginia didn't score its first bucket from the field until the 14:59 mark of the first half...

The look in Drew Lavender's eyes says a lot here as the Musketeers have been all in the jock of the Mountaineers from the opening tap here in Phoenix. As witnessed by the fact that Bob Huggins didn't even wait until the first media time out to yell at his team about its lackluster play thus far.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ.-- We're about five minutes before game time and this arena is not even half full at the time. Not a lot of intensity/fire to the surroundings here in Phoenix. Just seemed like things were more of a "happening" in Omaha last week. Well as long as the games are more competitive here, I'll be alright with everything.

(Sean Miller and Bob Huggins talk just prior to the national anthem)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- So Bruin fans... you nervous?

Did the A&M game scare the bejesus out of you? It should have. Look, you guys have been a little on the spoiled side the last few years. Getting Ben Howland. Pac 10 titles. Final Four runs. But now things aren't looking so hot, having to get a handful of fortuitous referee calls (or non-calls) to pull out nip-tuck wins over Cal, Stanford, USC and, of course, Texas A&M over the last few weeks.

(Ben should be doing less howling this weekend in Phoenix. Emphasis on "should")

Well I've got good news for you, this weekend should go a little bit easier. You've got three teams from two or three time zones away coming out West and none of them are named Duke. Or maybe I should say, none of them are named "Duke when they're playing like Duke."

This is where Coach Howland usually puts his best foot forward. And to be honest, if the defense he preaches so well keeps holding opponents to under 70 points - as they've done in 11 of the last 12 games - the offense will figure it out better and UCLA should move on.

Continue reading "West Regional: The Day Before Preview" »

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 02:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Here are some West Virginia quotes:

Continue reading "WVU Postgame Reaction" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Washington -- We're waiting for West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins and a few Mountaineers to come out to the dais, and we're also waiting for stats, but here is my question: What was Duke doing on offense?

Continue reading "Offensive Offense" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- A strong second half performance which saw the Mountaineers outscore Duke by 11 gives West Virginia a big upset over the second-seeded Duke Blue Devils. Joe Alexander scored a game-high 22, Alex Ruoff added 17, and Joe Mazzulla had an amazing 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Back with more shortly.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- With Joe Mazzulla (the undisputed player of the game) at the line to put the Mountaineers up 12 with less than a minute left, the WVU players got on their feet and started raising the roof. They seem to sense that the upset is imminent. Each team has one timeout remaining as there are now 55 seconds left and a 10-point game.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Duke has missed three of its last four free throws after not missing in the first half. They're fortunate to be getting to the line; they can't keep missing.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- On a broken play, Joe Mazzulla, trapped in the paint, somehow muscled a pass through three Duke defenders to little-used Cam Thoroughman who kissed in a layup to put WVU up 11.

Continue reading "Sweet Dime by Mazzulla" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- With play stopped to correct a timing error, Duke fans started their customary Let's-Go-Duke cheer. Quickly, West Virginia's John Flowers got up off the bench and started waving to the Mountaineer fans to get a Let's-Gooo-Mountaineers rendition started.

Continue reading "Battle of the Fans" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Joe Mazzulla is quietly putting together one of the most well-rounded performances we've seen in D.C.

Continue reading "Joe Mazzulla Wants it More" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- There's only nine minutes gone by in the second half, but already both teams are dealing with foul trouble.

Continue reading "Foul Trouble Intrigue" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Joe Alexander is taking over this game.

Continue reading "The Joe Alexander Show" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Until Kyle Singler missed the second of his two free throws moments ago, both teams were perfect from the line. The Blue Devils made their first 13 freebies, while West Virginia is 3-for-3.

Continue reading "Today, They Really Are Free" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 03:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- The Mountaineers shot uncharacteristically poorly in the first half but trail by just five.

Continue reading "Halftime: WVU Can't Buy a Bucket" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 02:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Shortly before this game started, Brendan Haywood meandered down the hallway near the media work room heading towards the workout room here at Verizon Center. A member of the arena security personnel, who evidently doesn't watch a whole lot of Wizards basketball, tried to direct him to either the Duke or WVU locker room before he flashed his ID.

Continue reading "Brendan Haywood Doesn't Play for Either Team" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- The refs didn't forget to pack their whistles for Washington, D.C.

Continue reading "Meet Ed Hightower" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Welcome back to the nation's capital where Duke and West Virginia will tip at 2:10 to officially get the second round underway. The Mountaineers will be looking to build on the Big East's early round success and to garner their 26th win of the season. The Blue Devils are trying to get back to the Sweet 16, somewhere they've been 23 times ... but not since 2006, which is like an eternity in Durham.

Continue reading "Duke, WVU Will Shoot for Sweet 16" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- West Virginia has always had an answer. Whether it was in the person of Alex Ruoff, Darris Nichols, or De'Sean Butler, every time Arizona has gotten close, the Mountaineers have nailed a big shot.

Continue reading "Mountaineers Shoot Them Some Wildcats" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 09:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- As they've been known to do, the West Virginia Mountaineers are making their threes early on. Darris Nichols and Alex Ruoff hit on back-to-back trips to stake WVU to an early 8-3 lead.

Continue reading "WVU Up to Old Tricks" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 09:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Where has Jarryd Bayless been? He just, around the 9:30 mark, scored his first bucket of the second half. Why has the diaper dandy who averages 20 a game been so quiet?

Continue reading "Bayless Must Step Up" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Don't ask me why, but there is a 60-year-old man playing trumpet in the West Virginia band. First time I've ever seen that.

Continue reading "Quick Note on the WVU Band" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 09:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Half time stats are nearly identical.

Continue reading "Wildcats Trail by One at Half" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- After a somewhat quiet first few minutes, Chase Budinger has come alive, scoring on a three, a slashing two, and a midrange jumper on consecutive Arizona possessions.

Continue reading "Budinger Waking Up" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Belmont coach Rick Byrd just filed into the front row of what was the Belmont fan section and now is a mix of Bruins and Mountaineers fans. All of them, regardless of allegiance, took to their feet to acknowledge Byrd's team's performance against Duke. He looks weary but even from across the court, you can also tell he is proud.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Verizon Center has seen its fair share of memorable college basketball games the last few years. It has seen Georgetown upset No. 1 Duke in January 2006, the ultimate Cinderella, George Mason, take down mighty Connecticut later that spring, and Roy Hibbert beat those Huskies on an unexpected three pointer just a couple months ago. With the eight teams the NCAA has sent to Verizon for the first weekend of this year's tournament, there is a good chance that the District is one again the site of a few classics.

Continue reading "NCAA Tournament Preview: Washington" »

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 02:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Just like yesterday, this one got out of hand at the end. Georgetown rolled to a 72-55 win. Hibbert finished with 25 points on 12-17 shooting from the floor.

Da'Sean Butler hit a shot from the baseline late in the game that grazed the top corner of the backboard on its way in.

During the last timeout, Huggins was giving it to one of the refs about a five-second call. After the timeout, Alex Ruoff asked the ref about it also. Ruoff was more polite than his coach, as you might imagine.

I'll be back with some other stats and game two between Marquette and Pitt.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - West Virginia's shots have stopped falling, and Georgetown is back up by 14.

During a brief timeout after Patrick Ewing, Jr. hit a jumper, he yelled over at the Washington Post reporter sitting next to me, "Hey, Camille! I bet that won't get in your story."

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Things got a little feisty right before the timeout at the 11-minute mark of the second half. Chris Wright of Georgetown was fouled by Wellington Smith, who fell on top of him going for a ball. I'm not sure exactly what upset Wright - perhaps Smith didn't get up fast enough - but Wright gave him a shove and got a T for his efforts.

West Virginia has hit 5 three pointers already in the second half to cut the lead to 6, and they will shoot the T when play resumes.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Both teams came out smokin' at the start of the second half. West Virginia already has 11 points this half, including three three-pointers, but has only cut the lead to 8 with 6:48 to go.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Georgetown's hot shooting from last night continues in this very cold arena. The Hoyas shot 54% in the first half to only 35% for West Virginia. They also outrebounded the Mountaineers 19-10. WVU just has no answer for the big and athletic Hoya front line players.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Georgetown leads West Virginia now 33-21 at the half. After Hibbert went out, Vernon Macklin came in and picked up right where he left off with a dunk and a layup.

Hibbert has 13 to lead all scorers. Da'Sean Butler leads the Moutaineers with 8. Joe Alexander has been held in check pretty well with 4.

On the court, they are playing a game of musical bean-bag chairs. I prefer the dance teams.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Roy Hibbert just picked up his second foul, so he will sit for the final four minutes of the first half. The Hoyas are comfortably ahead, 26-17.

Bob Huggins appears to be pretty animated with his team in the huddle, but it's hard to see what emotion exactly he is expressing because his back is to me.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Georgetown is on a 6-0 run to go ahead 22-14 at the eight-minute timeout. Hibbert has another dunk and a putback to give him 13 points so far.

Time once again for the cheerleader t-shirt toss, which, as the PA guy says, "will go to the section that makes the most noise." They might as well keep them then because this crowd is kind of dead.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - At least early on, we can't say Roy Hibbert didn't show up tonight. He has a tip-slam, a three-pointer (he's now 3-3 in his career), another dunk, and a steal. He's getting a well-deserved rest as the Hoyas lead 12-10 at the second timeout.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - At the first timeout, Georgetown is out to a 7-5 lead. Roy Hibbert got the scoring started with a tip-slam, and Austin Freeman has added a three-pointer.

West Virginia's Jamie Smalligan is in his usual spot, on the bench with foul trouble. He has two already. On the first one, a ref called it from all the way across the floor, and right in front of the baseline ref (that's bad form). Smalligan looked at the baseline ref and said, "That's your call!"

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - We're getting ready for the first semifinal tonight between Georgetown and West Virginia.

Last night, the Hoyas hit 17 three pointers in the win over Villlanova, and they needed to because they got nothing at all from Roy Hibbert. I expect we'll see fewer threes and more Roy tonight, if only because otherwise seems impossible.

West Virginia has been led in this tournament by Joe Alexander. Alexander has 56 points in the first two games of the tournament for the Mountaineers. He has scored a lot of his points from about 15 feet. It will be interesting to see if Hibbert goes out and challenges those shots to try and slow him down.

I got to meet Big John Thompson before the game. I had been on the radio with him last week. When I shook his hand, his swallowed mine up. They don't call him Big John for nothing.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - West Virginia erased any doubt about their tournament worthiness with a 78-72 win over Connecticut. The Mountaineers will play Georgetown tomorrow.

Joe Alexander had another monster game with 34 points. He was 12-22 from the floor and 10-12 from the line.

AJ Price had 22 to lead UConn.

I'll be back tonight with the Pitt-Louisville and Marquette-Notre Dame games.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Mountaineers still lead by nine at the last media timeout, although it will be Huskie ball when we restart.

WVU spent most of the last four minutes running clock instead of offense, but Joe Alexander has hit a shot and a handful of free throws to hold UConn off for now.

There was a little confusion a minute ago when Jim Calhoun complained that Alexander was trying to call timeout when he was fouled, and the refs thought Calhoun was calling timeout himself.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - At the eight minute timeout, West Virginia still leads by 12. Jerome Dyson hit a NBA range three pointer to help keep UConn close, and the Huskies are going to the line after the timeout.

Jamie Smalligan just fouled out for the Mountaineers, and Dyson is playing with four for UConn. Hasheem Thabeet also has four, but he is currently on the bench.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Everything seems to be bothering the Huskies at the moment. Specifically the fact that they trail 57-45 with 10:43 left (still have not had 12-minute media timeout).

They are upset that they can't hit shots, can't really stop WVU and they're mad at the refs.

Craig Austrie has hit a couple of threes though to give them some life.

Right after the last timeout, after Alex Ruoff changed his jersey, he got fouled by Jerome Dyson and bloodied his nose.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - West Virginia has the lead up to ten after scoring the first four points after the break. They ran a great play to start the half to get an alley oop.

When the lead got to 10, Connecticut called timeout, and they too ran a great play for a dunk, except that Jeff Adrian airballed it.

Alex Ruoff of West Virginia is playing with a big hole torn in the back of his jersey.

As I wrote that, they announced that he has changed his jersey and, as a result, his number. He's now #20.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Sorry for the update delay. I have had some technical problems.

West Virginia leads at the half 42-36 as the Mountaineers try to punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament.

Both teams are shooting well. UConn is at 52%, while WVU is at 53%. Joe Alexander, who had a big day yesterday, is at it again with 15 points to lead the Mountaineers. Da'Sean Butler has chipped in 12 as well.

For UConn, AJ Price has 13, with Jeff Adrien adding 9.

Rebounds are even, but Connecticut has been sloppier with the ball. The Huskies have 9 turnovers, to only 4 for WVU.

Hopefully, the gremlins won't get me again and I'll keep the updates flowing.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - At the four-minute timeout, which didn't come until over eight minutes into the half, UConn leads West Virginia19-14. AJ Price is leading the way with 10 points for the Huskies. He scored 10 of their first 12.

The Mounties (as the cheerleaders with the State Fair ribbons in their hair) call them, already have some foul trouble with Jamie Smalligan and Alex Ruoff having two each.

The State Fair ribbons must be an Eastern thing. I never see those in the Midwest.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 02:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The second game of the afternoon doubleheader between West Virginia and Connecticut is about to tip. UConn is playing for NCAA touranment seeding, while West Virginia hopes to fill the final hole in their tournament resume. The Mountaineers are lacking a win of any significant quality away from home. A win here would definitely qualify.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - West Virginia held on for a 58-53 win over Providence. The Moutaineers will face Connecticut tomorrow. They finally tightened up their defense in the last few minutes, and Joe Alexander put the game away at the line. Alexander had 22 points to lead West Virginia, while Butler added 17 and 9 rebounds.

Efejuku led Providence with 12. The Friars had their chances today, but couldn't convert. That's probably why they finished 12th instead of fifth.

Late in the game, the chant of "Fire Welsh" went up from a handful of dissatisfied PC fans.

With the win, West Virginia likely locked up their spot in the NCAA tournament. They definitely would with a win tomorrow.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - We're at the last media timeout and West Virginia now leads by one after a Butler putback. Providence keeps getting to the hole anytime they want, but hitting the shot hasn't been easy. A key sequence a couple of minutes ago came when Providence missed both a layup and a tip-dunk attempt. West Virginia rebounded and beat the Friars down the floor for a layup at the other end.

The last time down though, West Virginia finally rotated on defense and took a charge on a Friar cutting to the basket. The Mountaineers will have the ball when we get back.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Providence is back up three and will go to the line when play resumes after the 8-minute timeout. The Friars have broken down the West Virginia defense and gotten to the hole five times in the last six possessions. Unfortunately for them, they only made three of the shots. That kind of defense has to have Huggins hot under the collar.

He probably doesn't like what he is seeing on offense either, which is settling for three pointers too often and too early. Of course, if they fell, he might feel differently about it.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - West Virginia is back out in front by one with 10:39 left. Right before the timeout, there was a comical sequence where Providence's Jamine Peterson missed a dunk because he was too far from the basket, but West Virginia on the runout afterwards charged to give the ball back to PC.

Joe Alexander is still carrying the Mountaineers with 16 points.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - If West Virginia had the momentum at halftime, it's gone now. At the first timeout of the second half, Providence is back up four. Both teams have picked up the intensity a notch, but West Virginia isn't hitting their shots. Da'Sean Butler also missed two free throws.

I also had the first ball of the day come my way. It occurred to me to catch and try to shoot the three from here, but I don't want to lose my credential so early in the tournament.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The stats in the first half were pretty even, which you might expect in a tight game. Providence shot slightly better from the floor (46% to 42%). West Virginia outrebounded the Friars 18-13.

West Virginia's Joe Alexander led all scorers with 10, and teammate Da'Sean Butler had 9. Providence was led by Weyinmi Efejuku (spelled just like it sounds) with 8, but he missed two front ends from the line.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - A three pointer by Joe Alexander at the buzzer tied the game at 28 at the half. Providence let West Virginia back in late because they missed free throws and let the Mountaineers get wide open under the basket. In a sense, it's a shame because Providence was the better team for most of the half. However, just like in today's first game, the team that was down in the first half used a late run to gain momentum. We'll see if the run by West Virginia has the same impact that Villanova's did.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 03:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Friars have the lead up to seven at the 8-minute timeout. West Virginia can't seem to figure out the Providence zone defense. When the Mountaineers aren't throwing the ball away, they are getting bad shots. The last two times down the floor, West Virginia's Jamie Smalligan, who, naturally, is the biggest guy on the floor, threw the ball right to Friar defenders. I'm guessing that's not how Bob Huggins drew up those plays.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 02:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - At the second timeout, Providence has a 16-13 lead over West Virginia. The Friars are in the middle of a 10-2 run.

West Virginia is another of those teams on the fence. Despite the Mountaineers' 11-7 finish in conference play, they have only one top 100 win off of their home floor. That came at #98 Providence. They swept the season series from the Friars. A loss today will make for an uneasy selection Sunday for WVU.

The mountain man mascot managed to get his musket through security, and it's good to know somebody in here is armed.

The Friar mascot is sitting just to my right with the Providence cheerleaders. He's pretty creepy looking, with a white hooded robe and a his mouth agape, as if everything surprises him. I suppose he could be surprised that Providence is winning, but he looked like that when they were losing too.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 02:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- West Virginia will be leaving New Jersey with at least one win after taking care of New Mexico State with a 75-61 victory at the Prudential Center.

Joe Alexander led all scorers with 16 points, and the Mountaineers had three other players in double figures. Alex Ruoff and Da'Sean Butler each finished with 13 points and Darris Nichols dropped in 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

WVU shot 48.3 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from three, while New Mexico State really struggled from beyond the arc, making just 5 of its 19 shots from deep.

The Aggies also had four scorers in double digits. Jonathan Gibson was the team's high-scorer with 14, and Iti Martin tallied 13, making five of his six attempts from the floor. Fred Peete and Hatila Passos had 11 and 10, respectively.

I'll have more about this game later, including quotes from both coaches, but now we get set for our premiere matchup of the night, as No. 7 Tennessee and No. 15 Texas lock horns (no pun intended) in our championship bout at 7 p.m. ET.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 06:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- This one looks to be over for the most part with West Virginia leading New Mexico State, 71-55, as we go under two minutes.

Joe Alexander has really stepped up in the second half for the Mountaineers, leading both teams with 16 points, while Darris Nichols and Da'Sean Butler have both added 13 apiece.

Jonathan Gibson was really the only Aggie that came to play today for NMSU coach Marvin Menzies, as the 6-foot-1 guard from West Covina, Calif., had tallied a team-high 14 points at the 3:37 mark.

While many thought that New Mexico State would be the favorite to win the WAC after last season's first-round appearance NCAA Tournament under former coach Reggie Theus (now head coach of the NBA's Sacramento Kings), we're finding out in this early part of the season that the Aggies might not be as good as advertised, especially without freshman phenom Herb Pope on the floor.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- West Virginia is getting to the rim easily on New Mexico State right now, and the Mountaineers have charged out to a 60-48 lead with six minutes remaining in the StubHub! Legends Classic consolation game.

Joe Alexander has come on strong for the Mountaineers in the last five minutes, knocking down a couple field goals to raise his tally to 12 points on the evening. The junior forward has also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, and I'm sure Bob Huggins will be pleased with that effort.

Alex Ruoff has just stolen the ball with 4:36 and took it the other way before getting fouled by Jonathan Gibson, who has just committed his fourth foul.

It looks like West Virginia will be leaving Newark, N.J., with at least one win, as the Mountaineers are holding on to a 69-52 lead now.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 06:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Da'Sean Butler is starting to have himself a nice game for West Virginia, as the Mountaineers have extended their lead to 50-43 with 10:27 remaining in this first game at The Prudential Center.

At the 11:13-mark, the sophomore forward had tallied 11 points, four rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes, and is starting to find his rhythm from the outside and the pockets in New Mexico State's zone.

Alex Ruoff, meanwhile, is stuck on the 11 points that he had from the first half, but we'll see if the junior guard can start to light things up after knocking down three of his seven attempts from three-point range before halftime.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 05:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- West Virginia has just taken a 46-41 on Da'Sean Butler's three-pointer from the left corner as New Mexico State has taken a timeout with 13:29 remaining in the game.

At the 16-minute mark, Jonathan Gibson has pushed his point total to 14 on 5-of-8 shooting, and Paris Carter and Iti Martin both have eight for the Aggies.

Wendell McKines and Hatila Passos have done a nice job on the glass for Marvin Mnezies' ball club, as each have six rebounds apiece.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 05:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- West Virginia has got out to a 33-30 lead on New Mexico State in the StubHub! Legends Classic consolation game at the The Rock, where it's been a back-and-forth struggle for both teams so far.

West Virginia was looking to extend its lead heading into the break with a three on its last possession of the half but couldn't get it to go with a couple ticks left on the clock.

At the half, both teams are shooting nearly the same from the field, as West Virginia made 12 of its 30 attempts (40.0 %) and New Mexico State sunk 13 of its 31 shots (41.9%).

New Mexico State guard Jonathan Gibson is leading all scorers with 12 points, and Iti Martin has dropped in eight and grabbed two rebounds.

Alex Ruoff, in the meantime, is leading the Mountaineers with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. Darris Nichols and Joe Alexander both have five for WVU, and Alexander has also grabbed five rebounds in his 16 minutes of action so far.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 05:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- With three minutes left in the first half, New Mexico State is clinging to a one-point lead, 30-29, over West Virginia as both teams seem to be trading baskets back and forth.

The small crowd of NMSU fans that are sitting behind have been giving it to the refs for almost all 20 minutes before halftime, complaining and screaming about each foul that is called on the Aggies. The 10:4 foul ratio seems to get referenced every 30 seconds, and the last outrage nearly pierced my years. Too bad press row is on this side of the court...

In getting some live stats, New Mexico State's Jonathan Gibson is leading all scorers right now with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while West Virginia's Alex Ruoff has eight points after sinking three of his six attempts.

Freshman Wendell McKines has done a nice job on the glass, tallying five rebounds, including two offensive ones, in his first 13 minutes.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 05:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- West Virginia and New Mexico State are battling back and forth here at The Prudential Center, and both offenses are looking good.

Whether it's been good offense or bad defense, well, that's something for the coaches to debate afterward.

Wellington Smith just hit a three for WVU, but Martin Iti has picked it up for NMSU over the last several minutes, getting a dunk and then a chance for a three-point play on the ensuing possession.

And after Iti's layup and foul, you could hear West Virginia coach Bob Huggins yell at his players standing around the key: "You want to play 2-3 zone, so you can stand some more!!!"

Huggins is certainly not happy about the Mountaineers' defensive intensity right now, but for as bad as he thinks they're playing, WVU is sure hitting its shots from the perimeter.

Alex Ruoff just hit another three to put the Morgantown school up, 25-22, just more than eight minutes remaining in this first half.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Welcome to the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., where tonight we see the final two games of the StubHub! Legends Classic.

In our first game, Big East foe West Virginia faces WAC favorite New Mexico State, who hasn't exactly got off to a great start after getting doust by Duke, 86-61 in Durham, N.C., before heading east this week and losing big to No. 15 Texas, 102-87, last night.

The Mountaineers, meanwhile, are coming off a heartbreaking two-point loss to No. 7 Tennessee, who will play the Longhorns later tonight in the tournament's championship game.

This marks the first meeting between WVU and NMSU as the Mountaineers are 2-2 all-time against WAC opponents. With Bob Huggins leaving Kansas State for his alma mater this past off-season, West Virginia has certainly got some national pub coming into 2007-08, certainly a factor in the 29 votes that the Mountaineers received in the latest Associated Press poll.

New Mexico State has three players are double-figures coming into the tournament. Jonathan Gibson has been leading the way, but senior guard-forward combo Justin Hawkins has also had a fine senior year so far with 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds coming into Friday's semifinal.

Freshman Wendell McKines has also been contributing in double figures, but it's unknown whether heralded freshman recruit Herb Pope will see the floor at all for the Aggies this year. As my fellow CSTV.com staffers tell me, Pope did not play last night, and after looking at the NMSU roster, he's not even listed there. So after a little research (thank you Google), I found out that Pope and New Mexico State is still waiting to get clearance from the NCAA.

The ruling has largely to do with a particular class that Pope took in high school. While the school recommended that he take the class, no other student-athlete actually took the class. And by the NCAA's standards, that means it wasn't actually a real class, according to its list of approved courses. After earning an Initial Eligibility Waiver, the NCAA revoked their decision a few days later. Whatever the reason for the delay on Pope's return, the school has hired a consulting firm to help expedite the process of getting their highly-touted big man back on the court in Las Cruces, N.M.

Anyway, here comes the tip.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- In a game that saw each team shoot just 39 percent from the field, No. 7 Tennessee felt like it was lucky to walk out of the Prudential Center as winners on Friday night and advance to the Legends Classic championship game against No. 15 Texas Saturday evening.

Leading much of the way, Tennessee found itself unravelling late in the second half and up by seven points. Two straight techinical fouls, one on head coach Bruce Pearl and the other on Wayne Chism, found the game tied. A jumper then gave the Mountaineers the lead, but only briefly.

JaJuan Smith made sure that the Vols weren't going to lose, hitting two straight threes to put Tennessee back up, and coming down the stretch, it was Chris Lofton who hit a three, followed by Tyler Smith hitting free throws to ice the game and put it out of reach, with the Vols hanging on to win 74-72.

It was another off night shooting-wise for Tennessee star Chris Lofton. With so much preseason hype, Lofton has disappointed in the first five games of the season. He shot just 5-for-15, including 3-of-10 from downtown, but did finish with a game-high 19 points thanks to ten trips to the free-throw line, where he converted six times.

Continue reading "Tennessee Beats WVU, 74-72" »

Posted by Doug Kroll at 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- With Tennessee leading 71-70, JaJuan Smith went to the line for two shots and hit both with 13.2 seconds to play.

Alex Ruoff who had just hit a three pointer the last possession, missed a three pointer short, the Vols grabbed the rebound and JaJuan Smith went back to the line with 3.0 seconds to play.

After missing the first, Smith made the second to ice it, before WVU hit a basket at the end to make the final score 74-72.

Tennessee moves on to face Texas in the championship game, while West Virginia will take on New Mexico State at 4:30pm tomorrow in the consolation game. Be back with more in a little.

Posted by Doug Kroll at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- WVU's Butler missed a jumper from the free throw line which would have tied it, and then WVU fouled Tyler Smith who hit both free-throws to take a 71-67 lead.

Butler then missed a bank shot from just inside the elbow, Chris Lofton grabbed the rebound and Butler picked up the foul with 23.4 seconds to go.

Lofton went to the line for two shots and missed both which gave the Mountaineers some life.

Alex Ruoff then came down the court and nailed a three from right in front of Bob Huggins with 14.2 seconds to play to cut the Tennessee lead to 71-70.

Vols will have the ball.

Posted by Doug Kroll at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Lofton made his free throws to get the lead back to four, but a nice alley-oop pass from Ruoff to Nichols cut it back to two.

Lofton then missed a long three-pointer, and with the scramble for the ball, Tennessee thought they had it and called a timeout, except the refs called it a jumpball, and with the arrow pointing in WVU's favor, the Mountaineers will have a chance to tie or take the lead with 55 seconds to play after this full timeout with Tennessee leading 69-67.

Posted by Doug Kroll at 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Wellington Smith nailed a three-pointer to cut the Vols lead to 67-65 with 1:30 to go.

Tennessee came back down the other way and with Lofton driving to the hoop, he was fouled and will go to the line for two critical free-throws with 1:26 to play.

Posted by Doug Kroll at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- This isn't exactly the way that he had drawn it up, but I guess coach Bruce Pearl will take it. Chris Lofton just nailed a three-pointer, only his second of the night, giving Tennessee a 65-60 lead with 2:47 left.

On the ensuing possession, WVU missed two threes, and Lofton was able to grab the long rebound on the last, giving Tennessee the ball with the under 4 minute timeout and a five point lead.

Posted by Doug Kroll at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- This has turned into a sloppy, hard-foul affair as we are under four minutes. Tennessee is clinging to a lead, as the Vols have fallen victim to a whole host of turnovers and more fouls.

West Virginia's patience has paid off, as they cut the lead to one with 4:30 to go, and currently trail 62-60.

Posted by Doug Kroll at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- The game's third technical foul was called at about the nine minute mark, and this time it was on WVU head coach Bob Huggins. Once again, it was a disagreement with a foul call.

That just riled up the crowd of 5,310 that is on hand. They are starting to get a little bit out of hand.

You know it's been a long night when the fans start losing their voices yelling obscenities. Since the crowd has thinned out, everyone can hear everyone, if you know what i mean.

The guys out on the court are going to have to put that lesson they learned about not responding or aknowledging those types of fans, to work tonight.

As for the game, Tennessee still can't pull away from WVU, but they do lead 58-52 as we're under 8 minutes to play now.

Posted by Doug Kroll at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Since West Virginia took the lead 41-39, Tennessee has bounced back thanks in large part to JaJuan Smith waking up. After having just two points in the first half, Smith now has 10, after hitting back-to-back three-pointers, as the Vols lead 50-45 with 11:26 to play.

The run was highlighted by an alley-oop pass to Duke Crews, who scored his first basket of the night.

With the uppper deck closed off with black curtain, you can't get a true sense of how nice and big this place is. But one thing's for sure, it's not as big and cavernous as where the Devils use to play, the Izod Center (Continental Airlines Arena).

Posted by Doug Kroll at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- In what could be a game changing moment, Wayne Chism was called for his second foul a moment ago, which was followed by a nice tirade from Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl. West Virginia capitalized on all four free throws, to cut the lead to two.

Then on the ensuing Tennessee possession, Chism lost the ball out of bounds and picked up a technical foul of his own. Ruoff for WVU hit two more free throws, and they scored on the next possession, to take the lead, 41-39.

Tennessee has no one to blame but themselves for losing their composure and allowing Tennessee to hit seven straight free throws.

Ramar Smith just hit a three-point play the old fashioned way to retake the lead for Tennessee, 42-41. It's a tight one with 14 minutes left.

Posted by Doug Kroll at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- We've reached halftime in the nightcap, and Tennessee leads West Virginia, 33-28. Unlike the first game of the night which featured 29 combined three-pointers, we've seen a whole different type of game in the first half of this one with only three three-pointers for each team, going a combined 6-for-24 from downtown. So much for my theory about these friendly rims.

Continue reading "Vols Up At Half" »

Posted by Doug Kroll at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Compared to the first game of this doubleheader when we had about a combined 50 points at this point, Tennessee leads West Virginia just 11-8 with eight minutes gone by.

Continue reading "Smith Is Common" »

Posted by Doug Kroll at 09:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- As Texas and New Mexico State exit the court, No. 7 Tennessee and West Virginia take the court for what should be quite a battle.

The Vols are another team coming off of a 100 point performance, beating Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 20, 109-40. Led by a couple of seniors, JaJuan Smith and Chris Lofton in the backcourt, the Vols are 4-0 under third year head coach Bruce Pearl.

Continue reading "Round Two From Newark" »

Posted by Doug Kroll at 09:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)