Regardless of Gray's illness, Wisconsin is unbeatable at home. Wisconsins should be a serious contender for the national championship title. Great Defense and many weapons that play within the system.

I've been away from the computer for a couple of days....guess my prediction of a Pitt win by 5 was a bit off? I was impressed by Wisconsin and not impressed with Pitt's rebounding and (lack of) tenacity. But it's good to have a loss like this earlier in the season rather than later....we'll see how the Panthers bounce back in another tough game against OK State on Thursday night.

Hail to Pitt!

WVU's still soaring with an 8-1 record. Super Sophomore do everything Joe Alexander is leading the way averaging 13 ppg. The ultra athletic sharp shooting dunking machine is also very easy on the eyes.

Meet Joe Alexander:


http://www.msnsports.net/profile.cfm?id=10...mp;sport=mbball


Also, Sophomore Alex Ruoff has been very good after hardly playiung behind WVU's oustanding senior class from last season. Ruoff is averging 11 ppg. Junior PG Nichols has a 5-1 TO to assist ratio as well. Throw in great play from senior Frank Young 11 ppg and from one of the top freshman in the country in D"Sean Butler and WVU's had upgraded with athleticism in a major way from last season's team known for its high basketball IQ. With WVU's young guns averaging 12 3's per game, look for WVU to live by the 3 point shot this season.


WVU should be 10-1 when it hosts ranked UCONN in a nationally televised game on CBS.

UConn will give them all they can handle. UConn should be very good by season's end- they no doubt will have some valleys, but seem to be a more cohesive and hungry group than the last two years. I appreciate your tooting the BE's horn, but they are not that good at this time. They lost quite a few drafted and high profile players, as you know.

With 2 wins over the ACC today, the Big East improves to 8-3 overall against the ACC this season.

USF 77 Wake Forest 69

Big East improves to 9-4 against the ACC this season.

WVU beat #8 UCONN 81-71 today in Morgantown before 14,000 plus at the West Virginia Colesium.


Taking into account WVU lost 6 of its top 7 players from last year's Sweet 16 team, WVU's freshman and Sohomore dominated team is off to an outstanding 11-1 start. Forget about rebuilding. WVU's reloaded.


Also, Georgetown won by 20 over a 2 loss Michigan team in Ann Arbor.

just goes to show how hard it is to play in Morgantown!

Go EERS!!!!!

UConn fans were not surprised by what happened. They have some good talent that will only get better as they mature- hopefully that includes better foul shooting! Only 4 players on the team have been in a game against a top 30 team before and they are all sophomores. UWV looked good!! I was surprised to hear they hadn't beaten UConn in recent years.

Good points Chip.

However, WVU only had 2 players that played in 30 or more games as well. We lost 4 starters from last year. The difference from this year's team compared to last years is Athletic ability. WVU's been an elite team the last two years playing with a high basketball IQ within Belien's system. Now, Beilein is adding athleticism to the system. It will be interesting to see how WVU's young guns continue playing in the Big East. If yesterday is an indication, WVU fans will be happy.

Im not sure how WVU will stack u against Pitt. PItt's frontline and athleticism will create matchup problems. Should be another great fgame of hoops in the Backyard Brawl.

You misunderstood what I said about top 30- only two players on the team (sophomores) have had any significant playing time previously in minor roles. They lost the 5 players who logged the most minutes last year and now have a team of ALL freshman and sophomores. Hopefully they won't look past USF to the LSU game on Saturday.

[quote name='GymMountainEER' date='Jan 1 2007, 01:02 AM' post='313643'

Im not sure how WVU will stack u against Pitt. PItt's frontline and athleticism will create matchup problems. Should be another great fgame of hoops in the Backyard Brawl.
[/quote]


Ruoff and Young had short but great minutes against Pitt last year. I see your point, but it is a rivalry and anything is possible.

Happy New Year All!

I was surprised by the win on Saturday

The young sharpshooting guns of WVU keep on rolling as the Mountaineers knock off Villanova to improve 2-0 in Big East play and 12-1 overall. Senior Frank Young hit 8 3 pointers to net 25 points. WVU as a team hit 16 3 pointers.

WVU and Notre Dame are two of the biggest surprises in college basketball this season. Both play an outstanding brand of fundemental High IQ basketball with young athletic players.


Here's a look at the Big East standings:



West Virginia 2-0 12-1

Notre Dame 1-0 13-1

St. John's 1-0 10-4

Seton Hall 1-0 9-4

Connecticut 1-1 12-1

Marquette 0-0 13-2

Pittsburgh 0-0 12-2

Syracuse 0-0 11-3

Georgetown 0-0 10-3

Providence 0-0 10-3

Cincinnati 0-0 9-4

Villanova 0-1 11-3

Louisville 0-1 10-5

DePaul 0-1 9-6

South Florida 0-1 9-6

Rutgers 0-1 7-7

It's going to be a fun season in the Big East. Not because we are this super-dominant conference that'll get 3 teams to the Final Four, but because we have 8-12 really semi-decent teams all will be in the hunt of making to the NCAA tournament up until the last week of the season. We could maybe have only 1 or 2 pod teams but still get 7 or 8 in the tournament. think it's going to produce a lot of good games and even that best teams in the Big East are vulnerable on any given night, especially on the road.

West Virginia plays Notre Dame next week, all of a sudden, that is a huge game.

Pitt looked good tonight on the road beating the Orange by 8, but Syracuse looked a little tired and couldn't keep up a strong zone the entire game.

You're right Ultimate. ND-WVU game will tell a lot. WVU got lucky with having its first 3 Big East games at home with such a young team. WVU's trip to South Bend will tell us if WVU is a youg team that plays lights out at home who will struggle away from Morgantown this season or a legitimate contender for the BE championship.

As I have said, Im not looking forward to the Backyard Brawl this year. I don't think WVU matches up well with Pittsburgh this year. We have no answer for Pitt's muscle in the paint. I could be wrong. We'll find out soon enough.

Im in complete agreement though. I see 8-12 teams from the Big East that could challenge for NCAA bids. I'm thinking only 7 to 8 bids will be awarded this season. Every game will be a blood bath.

Marquette finally got its act together with a great win at UCONN tonight. They snapped the Huskies long home-court winning streak.

The Warriors looked god-awful in their first two games -- esp. Dominic James. I mean air balls for free throws awful; too many NBA length 3 point attempts that, at best, clanged off the rim. Got back to basics in the paint for a big road win. Now let's seem them get further back on track by thumpin' WVU in M'waukee on Saturday.

Marquette has righted their ship -- more wins over WVU and @ Louisville. Now they have a big hump to get over @ Pitt.

Beyond that, it's some smooth sailing for a while (one hopes): visits from SHU, Providence and Rutgers, with a trip to SoFla sandwiched in. Win those and they should be in the top 4 in conference.

That's followed by a trip here to DC to take on Georgetown. Can't wait! We got our tickets!

Marquette's on a roll. Marquette-Pitt should be an outstanding clash. On a side note, WVU won tonight to improve its Big East recrod to 14-3 ( 4-2 in BE play). WVU should be an outstandoing home team and average road team. That's typically the way very young ultra talented teams like WVU play.

I expect for Marquette to give Pitt a tough game. Marquette has really good, quick guards while Pitt has got a bigger advantage inside. Pitt's guards were real sloppy Tuesday vs. Connecticut and not all of that was because of UCONN's defense. Even though Marquette has had a bumpy season so far, this should be a really good game on CBS this Sunday. Marquette gave a good game at the Petersen Events Center last year.

Pittsburgh is playing some great basketball. I saw them play vs UCONN and was really impressed. They always seem to do well during the regular season but haven't had deep runs into the tourney. Maybe that will all change this sesaon. Any opinions?

It's possible, more of a chance than last couple years.

Well, as many people know, Pitt doesn't have a ton of natural talent, just works well with the talent it has. We play a 9 man rotation and a few of the guys (Sam Young, Tyrell Biggs, Keith Benjamin & Antonio Graves) are still learning to gel and be consistent in this years system and their development is going to be crucial to make this '07 team a more complete team. College Athletics are fun because so few teams are complete. A deep run is possible but shouldn't be expected. I think any really athletic team that can also shoot the ball well should give us some trouble.

Regardless of how the team develops and finishes, it's a fun team to watch with many different personalities coming together. I love Levon Kendall's different hair styles. I think the latest one is a rip off of Vanilla Ice. :-) The team grows during each game and it's going to be enjoyable to see them take on the challenges.

UConn lost to Indiana today, but at least the game gave me some hope that my earlier prediction of them being a tough team to beat by season's end might come true. They're still dismal from the foul line (which is painful to watch) and they haven't had any consistent outside shooting. They did a great job on the boards today and they force a lot of errors with their pressure (which IS fun to watch).
I also watched the WVU/ Cinn game. I thought Cincy's coach was a jerk and deserving of a T at the end of the game, but I'm glad it wasn't decided that way. I'm assuming, but don't know positively, that the T's would be shot as part of regulation even though it was over when he went nuts about the appropriate no-call in the final .8 second baseball pass-what a bozo!

Let me know what you thought about that play 'Neer!

Great OT win for Marquette at Pittsburgh. I know they have had quite a few good wins on the road in the Big East. UCONN is another one that sticks out.

Tough loss for the Panthers. The game was essentially decided at the foul line, since MU had 28 fouls and Pitt 26. MU made 10 of 10 free throws in OT; Pitt was barely over 50%. Game over. I give Marquette all the credit in the world; it was a HOSTILE environment, and the Pete (Petersen Events Center) was rocking! I was in one of the luxury suites for the game-- a Christmas present from my partner-- and it was a gret way to watch the game....me, my partner, a couple of my family members, and 9 other gay basketball fans.

Whether this Pitt team can make a deep run in March remains to be seen, of course, but not if we can't figure out a way to beat a ranked team (all three losses this year have been to ranked teams).

On the CINC-WVU game, I can't believe Cronin did NOT get a T for that ridiculous tirade at the end...and the other ridiculous tirades during the game. The man was out of control. Does he think he's Huggins or what?

I was amazed by MU's free throw shooting -- esp. James's. Truly had ice water in the veins for the last two to win the game. And their 3s finally went down -- 3 or 4 by James, and then some clutch ones toward the end from Fitzgerald, doing his best Steve Novak impression!

We were a bit concerned by Crean calling on the team to foul Pitt toward the end of regulation rather than let them attempt -- and make -- more threes -- esp. when Ramon got hot.

btw -- Levon's hairdo was quite a sight!

Forget what I said about having some hope that UConn can become a strong team by season's end- they were just fugly against Louisville tonight.

http://gobearcats.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl...nin_mick00.html



http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0265298/Ss/...ath_key=0265298

So Dick Vitale covered the UConn/Louisville game on Monday.

Courtesy of a Cardinal fan: here are all the topics he talked about that had absolutely nothing to do with the UConn/Louisville game. Wow -- it's quite a list. And for those who know him as Dukie V, topics 1, 2 and 3 will be no surprise.

And I'll echo his post at the end: please just call the game!

Pitt won a big game tonight @ Villanova. Villanova has a good resume but a bad Big East record (3-5) and will need some momentum to keep moving. They have a good bench, but it seems like some maturity could help that come along.

Pitt didn't even play that well tonight but got things done in second half and made free throws. Pitt has a 9 day layoff until going down to the friendly confines of Morgantown, WV. With Pitt and UCLA coming into town next week, Mo-Town should be a rockin'.

WVU improves to 17-4 overall/6-3 in BE with a win over Rutgers in New Jersey tonight.


WVU finishes the New Jersey Turnpike tour on Saturday at Seton Hall. If WVU wins, it sets up a fantastic two home games with Pitt in the yearly basketball backyard brawl and also with a late season OOC clash with UCLA coming to Morgantown. THE 15,000 + MountainEER maniacs should welcome the Panthers and Bruins quite nicely.


Letssssssssssssssssssssssssss Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo MountainEERS!

The Pitt-WVU game should be very interesting. I haven't seen much of the Mountainners but it seems like they have some young guns that can make great plays. The Panthers will have to avoid their typical 5-7 minutes where they look like the worst team in the country to win this one. Pitt's 9-day layoff, coupled with the 'Eers home court advantage, could make things tough. Toss it up and let's go!

Big East-SEC Challenge Doubleheader in Birmingham next year.

Georgetown will play Alabama while West Virginia draws Allbarn. I'll probably make the hour and half drive from Atlanta and witness the WVU win live.

I'm kind of disappoined WVU didn't draw a better opponent . Most likely WVU will pair up with Georgetown again the following year and host 2 other SEC teams in DC.


http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/in....xml&coll=2

Bring on the Backyard Basketball Brawl!

WVU improved to 18-4 today and completed the New Jersey Turnpike Tour defeating Seton Hall 81-70 today in the Meadowlands.


Up Next PITT midweek and UCLA next weekend on CBS.

Letssssss Gooooooo MountainEERS!

Pitt smokes WVU tonight in Morgantown. West Virginia went on a 12-0 run in the second half to cut the lead to 4 (49-45) and then Alexander misses yet another layup and Pitt finishes the game on a 11-2 run to win 60-47.

Pitt has been doing well on the road, but their last 2 games will be the tale-tale sign of how good they are on the road with games at Georgetown (on CBS) and at Marquette (College Gameday)

West Virginia has been racking up wins but unfortunately are a bubble team that needs some quality play/wins down the stretch.

A Big East team (Louisville, ND, WVU) that goes 11-5 in conference might still be on the bubble come Selection Sunday time. What a difference a year makes!

You're right on Ultimate. Pitt dominated the game tonight against the very young Mountaineers. WVU's 18-5 record is a product of playing the easier Big East schedule because expecations weren't that high for WVU pre season. WVU has shown its very good against a above average, average, and bad teams, but hasn't produced a W against a top 25 team. The UCLA game this weekend will give WVU another opportunity to get the monkey of its back and have a break out game against a very good team.

Congrats to Pitt. They were too physical and controled the tempo of the game. WVU was lucky to have cut the lead to 4 with 5 minutes left. Hopefully, WVU's young guns will improve before it travels north ofn I-77 to play in the Oakland Zoo ( Pitt's arena) for Backyard Brawl Part Duex.

IN the meantime, Bring on the Bruins!

I am very proud of my Panthers. They took the crowd --and their gay slurs-- out of the game early and then stood their ground when the 'Eers made a valiant comeback effort. I think there were a lot of people out there (at least who posted on other message boards and predicted a WVU win) forgot the points GYM makes about WVU being young and racking up their wins against the lower echelon of the Big East. Pitt looked very good for most of the game and the Zoo will in fact be crazy on Feb 27....'cause in addition to playing the Brawl rematch, it's senior night.

Let's Go Pitt!

Those will be tough -- G'town's big guys (Hibbert et al) will be a good match up on Gray. And MU already beat Pitt at the Zoo.

We're heading to the MU - Hoyas game on Saturday. It's close to being a sellout at Verizon Center -- a celebration of 100 years of Georgetown hoops and they're honoring a bunch of star players from the past at halftime. And then I see they're also recognizing NASA astronauts -- hopefully that 100 year ceremony won't run too long -- the astronauts might be well advised to wear their diapers.

How do you know the student's chant of "Gray is Gay" isn't a compliment? I thought that was insinuating he is good looking. Gay= Fabulous, right?

We're not going to hear the end of this one, are we...
West Virginia 70, (2) UCLA 65

Well here's the beginning of the end of it:

IT'S FEBRUARY 10TH

Well, those Mountaineers are finally ranked. It's also put up or shut up time tonight @ Georgetown.

I unfortunately saw the UCONN @ Georgia Tech game on CBS on Sunday at the Georgia Dome (where the final four is going to be played. ) I was amazed how ugly, ugly, ugly the game was. These are 2 storied programs, but I wonder if the turn-arounds are going to be overnight or if it'll take a while esp at UCONN. It's seems more than a freshman thing, because the positive attitude toward the game just did not seem to be there.

UConn's freshman have faltered and their self confidence is hurting. They have some decent three point threats, but they haven't been able to rise to the occasion and it's become something they are worried about. I think they were also hoping that Thabeet would offer a little more offensively than he has. They have only one inside threat and he's 6'6" at most. They have some other players who are quick, but with the middle packed since nobody is hurting them from the outside, they have trouble making their contributions. I say forget about Thabeet except for times you can sub him in for defense. Work on finding some alternatives to Adrien inside and in the mean time , they have to keep taking the shots they should from the outside whether they're going in or not. It's hard to believe any NBA team would draft Thabeet, but I guess as long as Thomas is a GM there's a chance.

Well it looks like Louisville is finally starting to adjust to the physical play of the Big East. That was a beat down at Pitt today. I've never seen that place so quiet.

Yeah, I was there. I've never been a part of a crowd that was stunned for an entire 40 minutes. Major whooping. Maybe we needed it.

I could not believe how much we (being Pitt) were acting cry babies to the refs in the game everytime a foul wasn't called, a foul was called, who the ball went out last on, etc. The refs can easily control the tempo of the game, esp when Tim Higgins is ref-ing like he was last night but i would hope that Dixon would wake these guys up to not let it bother them so much. As a fan, it's almost embarassing.

I'm also curious how Levon Kendall is going to respond. He's had several bad games in a row now where it's like he's not even showing up to the game and easily getting in foul trouble and not responding on defense, nor able to take a shot to the hoop with any confidence.

Anyone think the Washington Huskies will have a shot at Pitt this weekend? I highly doubt it. GO COUGS!