Latwan Anderson to choose Miami

By
Ern
Published: March 10, 2010

Ummm…….Ok…..
Hilarious!

Top recruit Latwan Anderson, a defensive back from Glenville, Ohio, will commit to Miami at a press conference at his high school this morning. Anderson, a U.S. Army All-American, was ranked as the No. 15 player in the nation by Rivals.com. He had originally committed to West Virginia during an in-game announcement at the bowl but re-opened his search following a mid-January offer from USC. Anderson had planned a visit to the Trojans but it never materialized. Instead, he made an official visit to Miami last weekend.

“I felt that all things were equal between West Virginia and Miami,” said Anderson about the two schools. “The only difference was the football. In my opinion, Miami is far and away closer to winning conference and national championships than West Virginia.”

Full Article at: SI.com

WVU playing waiting game

By
Ern
Published: March 10, 2010

They tell you the wait is the toughest part, the hours that lead up to the game.

In baseball, players will sit around and play cards or watch tape or listen to music. Football players, well, you’ve seen the movies, banging their heads against the lockers. If you think that’s all fake, think back to a man named Owen Schmitt.

Enough said there.

Full Article at: TimesWV

Syracuse takes Big East Awards

By
Ern
Published: March 10, 2010

Let us, for a moment, play the devil’s advocate, the Devil being those who selected the winners of this year’s Big East Conference individual awards handed out Tuesday in New York.

Let us say fine, Syracuse was the league’s most dominant team, so it is understandable by Wes Johnson was selected the conference’s Player of the Year and why Jim Boeheim was selected Coach of the Year.

But let us also make a parochial case for the local entrants from West Virginia University, for Da’Sean Butler in the player category and Bob Huggins in the coaching category.

Full Article at: TimesWV

No. 1 UConn tops WVU women, 60-32

By
Ern
Published: March 10, 2010

Rest easy, West Virginia.

Mike Carey will be back to coach your West Virginia women’s basketball team next year, although after what Connecticut’s magnificent ladies did to him and his Mountaineers on Tuesday night in the finals of the Big East Conference championship game might make you wonder why.

A night earlier, after beating Rutgers to advance to the final game, Carey was asked if he beat Connecticut in the finals might he not demand to be named Coach of the Year alone instead of having to share it with UConn’s Geno Auriemma, as was voted.

Full Article at: TimesWV

Butler Collecting Awards

By
Ern
Published: March 10, 2010

The awards continue to pile up for West Virginia University senior forward Da’Sean Butler. On Monday, Butler was named to the all-Big East first team and today Fox Sports.com named Butler to its All-America second team.

Additionally, Butler was part of the 10-player United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) all-District II team announced earlier today. District II covers New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Butler is one of eight Big East players named to this year’s all-district team.

Full Article at: MSN

Mountaineers play the waiting game at Big East tournament

By
Ern
Published: March 10, 2010

Now that West Virginia (24-6, 13-5 in the Big East) has achieved a double-bye into the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament, all that’s left is to wait.

Until Thursday.

The Mountaineers will wait on Thursday, too. All day.

Full Article at: The Register-Herald

WVU’s double bye: rest or rust?

By
Ern
Published: March 10, 2010

When West Virginia finally becomes the last of 16 Big East teams to jump into the league tournament late Thursday night, making a run or even having a chance to win the thing pretty much comes down to one thing.

“I think we’ve got to play well the first day,” Bob Huggins said.

OK, so maybe it’s a little more complex than that. But the fact of the matter is, how the Mountaineers begin might well dictate how they finish – or if they even have a chance to play more than that one game.

Full Article at: Charleston Gazette

Pulling the cord on WVU’s AD search engine

By
Ern
Published: March 10, 2010

AH, I LOVE the smell of an athletic search in the morning.

In this position, you simply can’t beat it. There are the truths, the rumors, the back-door politics, the behind-the-scenes interviews… The smell of napalm has nothing on that of a good ol’-fashioned search.

Of course, in this case, I refer to the soon-to-be athletic director opening at West Virginia University. Fine, easy-goin’ AD Ed Pastilong will be out on June 30 – and a new person will be named by then.

Full Article at: Charleston Gazette

Big East: St. John’s bounces UConn 73-51

By
Ern
Published: March 10, 2010

How ugly was Connecticut’s performance in a 73-51 drubbing at the hands of St. John’s Tuesday in the Big East tournament? Very ugly.

Jerome Dyson had four points and nine turnovers (no, that’s not a record; Andy Rautins’ dad, Leo, had 13 for Syracuse against Boston College in 1982), Kemba Walker missed 13 of 17 shots and UConn actually lost its fifth straight Big East tournament game. Afterward, Jim Calhoun was noncommittal when asked if his 17-15 team would even accept an NIT offer.

Nearly as ugly was Seton Hall doing everything possible to give away a 29-point lead over Providence in the final 131/2 minutes (it was still 24 points with less than six minutes to go). The Friars, who got 38 points and 16 rebounds from Jamine Peterson, had the ball with 7.5 seconds to play and Duke Mondy got off a 3-pointer before Providence lost 109-106. Ten players scored in double figures and both teams broke the tournament record for points in regulation (103).

Full Article at: Charleston Gazette

Big East’s top player eyed spot with WVU

By
Shane
Published: March 10, 2010

Seeing as if West Virginia is the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament this week and, in its mind, a lock for a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, it is unlikely the team would trade its position for another scenario.And yet things could be different, much as they already are for Syracuse, the top seed and, for a time, top-ranked team in college basketball. The Orange, picked to finish sixth in the coaches’ preseason poll, obviously benefited from the addition of Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson, who Tuesday was named the conference player of the year by a vote of the Big East coaches.

When Johnson left the Big 12 two years ago, he thought seriously about reuniting with a Big 12 coach in the Big East.  Bob Huggins.  “He was in the Big 12 at Kansas State and I was familiar with him,” said the 6-foot-7 Johnson, the first transfer from a four-year school to win the Big East’s top prize. “When he left, he’d seen me play. He was interested when I left, so I felt like I’d explore my options.”

Full Article at: Charleston Daily Mail

Ritchie native WVU’s mascot

By
Shane
Published: March 10, 2010

A Ritchie County native will be carrying on something of a family tradition when he takes the reins as the West Virginia University Mountaineer mascot for the 2010-2011 season.Brock Burwell, 23, of Harrisville was named the mascot during the second half of the WVU-Georgetown men’s basketball game on March 1. He will inherit the position from 2009-10 Mountaineer mascot Rebecca Durst of Point Pleasant.

Burwell has been serving as the alternate mascot for the past two years. He is a 2005 graduate of Ritchie County High School and is majoring in multidisciplinary studies at WVU.  ”I have worked hard to get here, and it has been worth it,” he said Tuesday.

Burwell was the “little Mountaineer” in the early 1990s when his uncle, Rock Wilson, also of Ritchie County, was the WVU Mountaineer. Wilson would bring Burwell, who was 4 or 5 years old at the time, out on the field during games with his own little buckskin costume and toy rifle.

Full Article at: NewsandSentinel

Top-ranked UConn rips WVU

By
Shane
Published: March 10, 2010

Kalana Greene scored 15 points to help top-ranked Connecticut rout No. 9 West Virginia 60-32 on Tuesday night for its 72nd straight win and 16th Big East tournament championship.  Greene made her first seven shots and grabbed 12 rebounds to earn most outstanding player honors for the tournament.The Huskies have won five of the last six conference tournament titles and enter the NCAAs unbeaten for the fifth time in school history. UConn went on to win the national championship in 1995, 2002, and 2009. In 1996-97 they lost to Tennessee in the regional final. In all 11 teams have gone through the regular season unbeaten with five of them winning the national title.

UConn (33-0) stands six wins short of becoming the first team to go through consecutive seasons unbeaten. The Huskies surpassed their own NCAA record for consecutive wins on Monday night.

Pocono Record

West Virginia Falls in Finals

By
Shane
Published: March 10, 2010

The No. 2-seeded West Virginia women’s basketball team was unable to hold off No. 1-seeded , Connecticut, as they were defeated by the Huskies, 60-32, in the Big East Tournament championship game at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., on Tuesday evening.  

It is UConn’s 16th Big East tournament title under coach Geno Auriemma. His No. 1-ranked Huskies have now won 72 consecutive games and were able to shoot 41.8 percent for the game after only shooting 37.5 percent in the first half.

The Mountaineers, however, were off the mark, hitting only 14-of-58 field goals for 24.1 percent. UConn also had a huge advantage on the boards, as they outrebounded the Mountaineers by 27, 49-22.

Full Article at: MSNsportsNET

Women’s Basketball: WVU No. 8 in Coaches’ Poll

By
Shane
Published: March 9, 2010

West Virginia University’s women’s basketball team (28-4, 13-3) rose one spot to No. 8 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, released today, receiving 528 points. WVU was ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press poll yesterday.WVU is one of five BIG EAST teams ranked in this week’s Coaches’ Poll Top 25 as it joins No. 1 Connecticut, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 13 Georgetown and No. 17 St. John’s in the rankings.

West Virginia takes on No. 1/1 Connecticut (32-0, 16-0) in tonight’s BIG EAST Championship game at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. The contest will tip at 7 p.m. and will be shown nationally on ESPN.

The game will also be broadcast on MSN-affiliated radio stations with play-by-play announcer Travis Jones and color analyst Jay Jacobs on the call.

MSNsportsNET

Track: Mountaineers Ranked No. 15 in National Poll

By
Shane
Published: March 9, 2010

The West Virginia University track and field team jumped to No. 15 in the national polls announced today by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).“The girls really had a great weekend and it directly has impacted our status as a nationally ranked program,” coach Sean Cleary says. “To move all the way up to 15th in the country makes our staff and student-athletes very proud. We have very good, jumpers, sprinters, throwers and distance runners. We now need to take this momentum into the national championships and return happier than we are going. Rankings are nice, but how we execute this weekend will be how we are remembered.”

WVU is one of three BIG EAST teams represented in this week’s poll, with Villanova and Louisville ranked No. 9 and 10, respectively. Oregon, Texas A&M, LSU, Florida and Tennessee lead the polls in the top five spots.

Full Article at: MSNsportsNET

Mountaineers preparing for the madness

By
Ern
Published: March 9, 2010

BEFORE WE GET TOO deep into celebrating the fact that the 7thranked WVU men’s basketball team gets a bye in the first two rounds of the Big East tournament and suddenly seems to be playing up to its potential, remember what time of year it is.

It is March Madness, and the reason why it’s maddening is because the unexpected usually happens at this time of the year.

Madison Square Garden is not immune, or did you forget the Mountaineers played their part in the madness the past two seasons by upsetting Connecticut in 2008 (The Joe Alexander dunk game), and by upsetting No. 2-ranked Pitt this past season in the Big East quarterfinals?

Full Article at: Dominion Post

Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Dec 30

By
Ern
Published: March 9, 2010

The first Pinstripe Bowl will be played at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 30 and will be televised by ESPN.

The game will include the No. 3 team in the Big East and the No. 6 school in the Big 12, excluding Bowl Championship Series participants.

ESPN agreed to a six-year contract, the Yankees said Tuesday, and New Era Cap Co. Inc. agreed to a four-year deal to be the title sponsor. Future games will be played no earlier than Christmas and no later than New Year’s Day.

Full Article at: AP

WVU coach says team sometimes ‘like geese’

By
Ern
Published: March 9, 2010

If you’ve followed West Virginia at all this basketball season, you’ve probably arrived at the same conclusion as have others.

There is something about this team that is just impossible to wrap your arms around – and trust if such a thing were possible, Coach Bob Huggins would have shaken the Mountaineers silly long ago.

You see, seventh-ranked WVU tied a school record with 24 regular-season victories, but would admit, and not even quietly or privately, it should have set the record and even created some distance.

Full Article at: Charleston Daily Mail

Big East will get eight NCAA bids

By
Ern
Published: March 9, 2010

One week for one bid. Who gets to go dancing? I sat down Monday morning and afternoon and projected my own NCAA Tournament field. It’s a lot cheaper that way than the way the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee will do it later this week, holed up in an Indianapolis hotel on room service.

I used as many tools as possible – RPI, strength of schedule, top 25 and 50 records, non-conference strength of schedule, head-to-head, road wins, teams playing well late (and not so well), Diet Coke, turkey sandwich, pretzels …

I found what I expected to find.

Full Article at: Charleston Daily Mail

The Big East’s Big Spenders? Just Check Out the Standings

By
Ern
Published: March 9, 2010

When the men’s Big East Conference tournament expanded to 16 teams last year, the prevailing notion was that the move would give coaches a shot to save their jobs and allow players a chance, albeit an unlikely one, at a charmed five-day run for an N.C.A.A. tournament bid.

Now in its second season, the extra day in New York has come down to cold reality. Call it Résumé Tuesday, with teams trying to burnish theirs and coaches worrying whether they are going to need to update theirs.

Prime among those on the hot seat are St. John’s Coach Norm Roberts and Rutgers Coach Fred Hill, both of whom could lose their jobs before the Big East final tips off Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Roberts has lasted six seasons in Queens and Hill four seasons in New Jersey, with their common denominator being that neither has sniffed the N.C.A.A. tournament.

Full Article at: New York Times

Big East conference tournament set to tip off at Madison Square Garden

By
Ern
Published: March 9, 2010

From the perspective of some pundits, Big East teams with aspirations of reaching the NCAA Final Four are best served by losing early in the conference’s marathon tournament and girding instead for a national-title run.

Coaches and players don’t view it that way.

Otherwise, why would Syracuse and Connecticut have slogged through six overtimes to settle last season’s soul-sapping Big East quarterfinal, which ended at 1:22 a.m., with sixth-seeded Syracuse prevailing, 127-117?

Full Article at: Washington Post

In Big East, a tight field

By
Ern
Published: March 9, 2010

Villanova will be sitting out the first two days of the Big East Conference championship because it earned one of the double byes that advanced the Wildcats and three other teams into the quarterfinals.

But there will be plenty happening at New York’s Madison Square Garden beginning today, with nine games before the 10th-ranked Wildcats take to the court for the first time at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

Here is a look at the top 10 topics to consider over the next five days:

Full Article at: philly.com

Expect big drama in Big East tournament, not big upsets

By
Ern
Published: March 9, 2010

Peering into the thicket of the Big East tournament doesn’t provide much clarity. Typically, everyone is capable of kneecapping everyone else, favorites barely in better position to survive a brutish week than teams on the next tier down.

This year? The field’s respective NCAA tournament fates seem more or less decided. And with favorites separated by, well, nothing at all — the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 seeds had identical conference records — predicting an “upset” winner is sort of like picking between $100 ports for a digestif.

There just isn’t much suspense in store at Madison Square Garden this week, with DePaul and South Florida kicking off the conference tournament Tuesday. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be good basketball, not with five ranked teams and three in the top 10.

Full Article at: Chicago Tribune

Why West Virginia received the final No. 1

By
Ern
Published: March 9, 2010

Depending on what you value, you can make arguments for West Virginia, Duke and Ohio State as the final 1 seed today.

I thought the quality of WVU’s best wins — at Villanova, vs. Texas A&M, Ohio State (with Evan Turner), plus Pitt, Georgetown and Louisville — was superior to what Duke had to offer. The Blue Devils only have one RPI top-25 win; WVU has four in the top 15, with very comparable overall computer numbers, top-50 and top-100 marks. When it comes to a 1 seed, I want to know you can beat the best, and the Mountaineers have provided more evidence of that this season.

Ohio State, if you completely discount the six games Turner missed, is 21-4 (14-2 Big Ten) with a 5-2 mark vs. the top 50 and wins at Purdue and Michigan State. If the committee does that, it’s a very compelling 1-seed profile, but WVU holds the head-to-head victory, which gives the ‘Eers the leg up. Yes, the game was in Morgantown and Ohio State led for much of the eventual six-point loss, but when you’re talking 1 seeds, those are the (tie)breaks.

Full Article at: si.com

West Virginia Beats Rutgers To Reach Big East Final

By
Ern
Published: March 9, 2010

The Big East’s co-coaches of the year are about to get a chance to settle who is better.

Behind a career-high 18 points from Sarah Miles, ninth-ranked and second-seeded West Virginia defeated Rutgers 56-49 Monday in a Big East semifinal at the XL Center, setting up a meeting between Mike Carey and UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

If West Virginia wins, would Carey demand that award outright?

Full Article at: courant.com

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