Big East Clash: W. Virginia Mountaineers/ Pittsburgh Panthers

The W. Virginia Mountaineers are on a roll! They have won 4 in a row including a 77-74 win against a very good Louisville team on Saturday. Wednesday will present a rather large challenge as they take on the 21st ranked Pittsburgh Panthers at home.

It seems as though head coach Bob Huggins has got the Mountaineers heading in the right direction following their heart-breaking loss to Syracuse back on January 16th. Prior to that loss (their first at home), they had only lost 2 games, and both were to ranked opponents. Huggins preaches the same philosophy at W. Virginia as he did when he made Cincinnati a top 25 program……win with defense. They have held just about every one of their opponents to well under their season average with a suffocating style of “D” that creates turnover and transition buckets.

Offensively they are led by Da’Sean Butler who is averaging 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Butler is in the running for Big East Player of the Year as he fills the stat sheet almost every night. He gets plenty of help from the other 2 forwards on W. Virginia. Both Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks average around 8 rebounds per game while combining for an additional 25.5 points. This trio takes up a ton of space in the paint, and can make it very difficult for other teams big men to position themselves for rebounds on both sides of the court.

The Panthers are not known for their rebounding, and will need to make up for their lack of size with shooting. They have 3 guards that are capable of doing just that. Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown can all shoot the rock, and have no trouble taking defenders off of the dribble. This is a huge contrast in style to the Mountaineers approach for winning games.

Pittsburgh has hit somewhat of a wall over the past 2 weeks. After starting the season with a 10-2 record, Pittsburgh burst onto the Big East Scene with wins over Syracuse, Connecticut and Louisville. Maybe they believed the hype that they were getting from the media, because they have gone on to lose 3 of their next 4 games that includes an embarrassing 9 point loss to S. Florida on Sunday. Despite the downward spiral in the top 25, the Panthers are a well rounded young team that is capable of beating any team in the country.

Wednesday should be an interesting match-up of styles as the big bodied, defensive Mountaineers try to out-muscle the quick and agile Panthers. Watch and see which squad will make the late season push for the Big East title.

Related posts:

1. Big East Friday Night Match-Up: W. Virginia v. Pittsburgh
2. Georgetown Takes on W. Virginia is Big East Showdown
3. Final Four Preview: Duke vs. W. Virginia
4. Final Four Review: Duke Pounds W. Virginia in Semi’s
5. Syracuse Orange v. Louisville Cardinals: Sunday College Hoops

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