You know, I’m willing to give myself plenty of credit for making BC my dark horse pick to win the BE regular season, so I should also concede that I overestimated WVU this year. They have just sunk again in the Big East. They just have had a lot of trouble adjusting to Big East basketball. But wait, this is WVU’s 10th year in the Big East. They are still adjusting, it seems.
Three seasons into his tenure at West Virginia, John Beilein has gleaned a keen appreciation of what it means to compete in the Big East.
“We just got done playing an undefeated team, and now our present after that one is Pitt,” he said.
Beilein’s Mountaineers most recently helped keep No. 5 Boston College undefeated, losing 62-50 on Tuesday night at the Conte Forum.
Now comes a Saturday evening visit to the WVU Coliseum by the No. 16 Panthers, who are “playing their best basketball of the year right now,” Beilein maintained.
Welcome to the Big East.
Sorry, that sort of opening is good for 1st year coaches, not 3rd year. Especially when the National Champs have come from the Big East the last 2 years. None of this should be new. It strikes me as kind of strange to be writing a piece talking about the difficulties and challenges of playing in the Big East at this point.
For one of the few times in Pitt-WVU basketball, Pitt is absolutely dominating.
Until this recent skid, West Virginia had never lost more than two consecutive games against Pitt, dating to the mid-1950s. To make matters worse for the Mountaineers, the past five games have been noncompetitive.
Pitt has won by an average of more than 20 points a game during the streak. Pitt’s nine-point win last season was the closest margin in the past three seasons. It was preceded by Pitt victories of 36, 19, 27 and 10.
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West Virginia’s seniors could be facing regret if they fail to beat Pitt tomorrow or Feb. 23 at the Petersen Events Center. No player on West Virginia’s team has beaten Pitt, and the two games this season represent the seniors’ last chance. If Tyrone Salley, Duriel Price and D’or Fischer don’t win, they’ll be the first West Virginia players in 70 years to leave the program without beating Pitt.
Something to shoot for. The game was a complete sellout back in December. The fans are expected to be at the game early, and they let their hillbilly mascot fire off that musket indoors.
The P-G Pitt beat writer, Ray Fittipaldo, has his weekly Q&A up. Nothing too interesting.
A puff piece on back-up center Aaron Gray. Focusing on how much he has to eat. Nothing like seeing the diets of the really fat or tall for amusement.
