A few more articles regarding tonight’s game.

Here’s Blue and Gold News.com’s breakdown of the game.

After getting gunned down from beyond the arc in the second half of WVU’s win at the Coliseum earlier this month, one of the most interesting points to watch for in the game is Pitt’s defensive tactics. Will the Panthers attempt to lock up against WVU in man to man, where Kevin Pittsnogle has an advantage from the perimeter over any defender the Panthers might deploy against him? Or will they go to a zone that spreads out to the line, and hope that the Mountaineers can’t take enough advantage of the mid-range gaps in such an alignment to get a win away from home? Either way, the magic 70-point mark will be WVU’s goal, as the Gold and Blue haven’t lost a game when reaching that point total this year.

Just as important, however, will be West Virginia’s defensive effort. Foes have shot the lights out against WVU’s shorter and lighter lineup for much of the Big East season, so much so that the Mountaineers 6-7 conference record is something of a surprise. Although WVU has managed to creep close to the .500 mark in the league with such a burden, it will be very difficult to get a win at the Petersen Events Center if the Panthers shoot close to the 50% mark that has been the norm for West Virginia opponents during the league season.

Pitt has only let 2 BE opponents break 70 points this season: WVU and ‘Nova. Both losses.

Another WV columnist see the keys in 3s.

For instance, three is what WVU needs plenty of and what the host Panthers are surprisingly yielding at alarming rates. In other words, the Mountaineers might need another game with 13 3-pointers to beat Pittsburgh for the second time within three weeks.

Then there is the matter of how many times Pittsburgh has fallen in its three-seasons-old, on-campus, 12,500-seat Petersen Events Center.

I think we all know that the Mountaineers will be hoisting plenty of deep shots tonight. The question are, will Pitt be forcing them to take uncomfortable shots.

Another columnist thinks WVU has to make its run this year.

The grind toward spring has become about more than games for WVU, however.

The Mountaineers, eighth in the Big East Conference standings, need to go on the road to sustain — and improve — success in Coach John Beilein’s third-year program.

The quandary there is about more than the 2005-06 Big East hoops arrival of Louisville, Marquette, Cincinnati, DePaul and South Florida.

If WVU doesn’t land more talent, it’s going to be an annual battle just to make the 12-team conference tournament after a season that will be no Garden party.

Boston College will be gone to the ACC, but programs like Connecticut, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Villanova, Pitt and Georgetown aren’t going to perennially regress.
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The Mountaineers need someone who can play a lot, immediately. WVU loses seniors Tyrone Sally and D’or Fischer and Beilein has a junior-heavy team with his son, Kevin Pittsnogle, Mike Gansey, Joe Herber and Jarmon-Durisseau Collins.

Sitting out is 7-foot Robert Summers, a Penn State transfer. Bulky, 6-7 forward Brad Byerson, after two seasons of basic inactivity for WVU, may be thinking transfer.

You get the talent by winning. Winning makes the program more attractive and opens more doors to the better recruits. This is especially true for programs like Pitt and WVU. Schools that don’t have a strong local recruiting base for basketball. That have to look for pipelines.