PITTSBURGH PANTHERS 21-8 @ WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS 20-9
March 3, 7:00 PM | WVU Colliseum
Backyard Brawl
March 3, 7:00 PM | WVU Colliseum
Backyard Brawl
The only Big East Matchup on Monday should be a good one. Then again every game in this conference is exciting.
Pittsburgh enters this contest winning their last 2 including an amazing comeback last time out @ Syracuse. I believe they were down 13 w/ 3 minutes to go and stormed back to win by 5! This was a big game for the Panthers and became a nice confidence builder. Jamie Dixon has his guys getting healthy and coming together at the right time.
The Panthers attack is very balanced and role players are improving. They are lead by Sam Young who is an oustanding player and can play both inside and out. DeJuan Blair is their big man down low and is a beast on the glass. He has great strength and plays with alot of passion. He can frustrate opponets on both ends of the court. PG LeVance Fields is back and in game shape. He does a little of everything, and picks up his teammates in key situations. He isn't a great shooter but makes big shots in crunch time. They get solid guard play from Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin. Ramon can stroke it from distance and Benjamin is more of a slasher but he has been feeling it from outside recently. They are going to be a tough out for anybody from here on.
West Virginia is fresh off a loss @ UConn and have struggled against the mid-upper class of the Big East. 8 of their 9 conference wins have came against the bottom 7 of the conference (non NCAA tournament teams.) The only good win was @ home against Marq (when they were struggling.) They did however put up good fights to Oklahoma and Tennessee, before conference play began.
The Mountaineers are lead by Joe Alexander who is their heart and soul. He is a typical West V big man who can play on the perimiter and do some damage in the paint as well. Da'Sean Butler is a very nice wing player. He is an all around threat, and a tough competitor. Their backcourt is a good one. Alex Ruoff can shoot the rock as good as anybody and can't be left open. Darris Nichols is their quarterback and can really attack the basket. He gets everybody involved and also can hit the outside shot.
The difference in this matchup is going to be Pittsburgh's size. West V is going to have no answer for the Panthers inside attack. Coach Huggins is going to try to speed up the pace but Coach Dixon is not going to allow it. Expect the Panthers to play mostly zone in this one, and try to play a half court game. They will try to slow it down to keep the crowd out of it as much as possible. West V's only hope is to get hot from outside (something they are capable of) and force the tempo.
The Mountaineers need this game slightly more than the Panthers because they are still on the bubble. Although they should get in w/ 10 conference wins, and they got St. John's next.
In the Last meeting @ Pittsburgh the Panthers won 55-54 on a buzzer beating 3 by Ronald Ramon. West V had the lead most of the game, but that was w/o LeVance Fields and Pitt just wasn't clicking.
The Panthers are improving each game since Fields returned and are a very well rounded team.
West V will bring the intenstiy @ home, but they just won't be able to be as Physical. The toughess is going to overcome the home court on Monday Night.
Score Prediction: Panthers 66 - Mountaineers 61
Plays:
Pitt +5.5
Under 135
GL and LETS CASH!