Elite 8!

[fieldgeneral 10]

WVU marches on!

 

Gotta take better care of the ball on Saturday!

[bhs7695 185]

Huggins will drink to that!

[WaveFan09 50]

as will I

[bluefieldRocks 14]

Huggins will drink to that!

 

As will I!

[hokie07 11]

WVU vs. Kentucky - perhaps the best, and most anticipated match-up of the tournament thus far...

It will be interesting to see how the Mountaineers will defend Cousins and Patterson down low.

[blueinbama 259]

WVU vs. Kentucky - perhaps the best, and most anticipated match-up of the tournament thus far...

It will be interesting to see how the Mountaineers will defend Cousins and Patterson down low.

 

I am no Kentucky fan by any stretch, but if the Mountaineers don't do something about turnovers vs the Wildcats they will be eaten alive. Last night with around 5 minutes left and a sizable lead, WVU was very careless and sloppy with the ball. Huggins kept telling his guards to slow down. They were playing out of control down the stretch. Turnovers were horrible all night actually by both teams. That has to be corrected before they play Kentucky. I'll be pulling for WVU.

Edited March 26, 2010 by blueinbama

[Deleted Account 5,203]

Huggins will drink to that!

 

I LOLed. Honestly, this game's going to come down to defense, defense, defense. Solid defensive play, coupled with a good night shooting, will be enough to takedown Kentucky. Cornell got 1 part of that equation right last night. If WVU can hold Kentucky to 62 on Saturday night, they'll be in the Final Four.

[Bogeavers 10]

Even if Kentucky does win this game and goes on to win the title, it will all be taken away in about 3 years, right after Calipari tucks his tail and gets out of town, when the NCAA finds that none of his sensational recruits have ever even heard of a college extrance exam.

[fieldgeneral 10]

and I will on Saturday!

 

WVU has the experience, size, and skill to beat the cats. The cats lost two games this year to unranked and next to last South Carolina and Tennessee. Both on the road. WVU has to limit turnovers which they usually do at 9 tos/game. Last night was abnormal. If they shoot well as they can and start early like they did vs. Mizzou and take care of the ball, I like our chances.

 

Cousins / Patterson combo is tough as well as Bledsoe / wall. Geez, tons of talent. Imagine if they would all stay to senior year! WOW! Never happen.

 

UK can force some silly mistakes, but they are the superior athletic team in the tournament. WVU is more experienced and battle tested IMO. UK is young, we will see if experience or athleticism is tops tomorrow.

[bluefieldRocks 14]

As you saw last night. UK went dead in the second half of the game. I hope they do the same thing tomorrow. That's what WVU does, being down in the 1st half and coming out and scoring A LOT of points in a very short time in the second.

[wave316 64]

As you saw last night. UK went dead in the second half of the game. I hope they do the same thing tomorrow. That's what WVU does, being down in the 1st half and coming out and scoring A LOT of points in a very short time in the second.

 

I like them both. Hard to root against either one. My gut says Kentucky by 7 points.

[bhs7695 185]

The inaugural battle of: "Just Win, Baby!!"

[-oo- 146]

As soon as I saw these two teams in the same region of the bracket I wanted to watch them play.

It will be an amazing game to watch and I will definitly be tuning in!

I saw Kentucky by 5 but anything can happen...especially this year.

[HurricaneWarning 212]

You never know, South Carolina and Tennessee beat Kentucky so I know West Virginia can if they play ball.

[bluefieldRocks 14]

Kentucky has shown that they are infact beatable. Mississippi almost beat them in the S.E.C. title game.

[Hacker 82]

Let me start by saying my UK fandom goes back to Dan Issel. That said, I am no fan of Calaperi. He and Huggy are of the same ilk.

 

Having watched both all year, I give WVU the edge in experience, finding ways to pull out games at the wire, and having an assassin in Butler who is cold blooded at crunch time.

 

Kentucky is deeper and has better overall talent. Patterson will be large in the game.

 

Both play great D. The game comes down to who can take better care of the ball. If WVU turns it over anywhere near what they did against Washington, Wall will turn the game into a track meet and UK will win in a walk. If WVU takes care of the ball, I see Butler send UK home.

[-oo- 146]

Does anyone else think that the winner of this game will win the NC? I see it that way.

[Bogeavers 10]

I believe the keys to WVU winning are playing the same defense they have been all tourney and making shots throughout the game. A long dry spell will doom the Mountaineers against a team like Kentucky.

 

I don't think UK has faced a defensive challenge like WVU all year. How many teams have a 6'9" athletic man child guarding the top of the key? I believe the length of a Devin Ebanks or Kevin Jones will give Wall and Bledsoe an issue with their usual offense. I think the most important player for us to cover is going to be Cousins. He is not nearly as physical as say a Greg Monroe and we saw how Wellington Smith manhandled Monroe in the Big East tourney. I also think the Cam Thoroughman will give WVU some good minutes in the paint on defense and can bang around with the bigs from UK. I think the biggest matchup problem will be when both Pat Pat and Cousins are in at the same time, because I am not sure how Ebanks/Jones will do against either of the physical big men.

 

If WVU can hold UK to around the 60 point mark, they have a pretty good chance to make it to Indy.

 

Something that is plagued WVU for much of the season is poor shooting and dry spells during many of their games. The defense and good foul shooting has been able to pull us through during the majority of these instances, but this would be a critical lapse in a game like this one. I do believe that if he wants, Da'Sean can put this entire team on his back, but I would rather he not have to, but that means that everyone is going to have to chip in. Kevin Jones has been playing lights out, but I wish Ebanks would have one of those games like most of the nation thought he would have throughout this entire season tomorrow night. It is going to be a helluva game. Good luck to both sides.

 

Oh yea...

23 turnovers isn't going to work either.

[hokie07 11]

I believe the length of a Devin Ebanks or Kevin Jones will give Wall and Bledsoe an issue with their usual offense. I think the most important player for us to cover is going to be Cousins. He is not nearly as physical as say a Greg Monroe and we saw how Wellington Smith manhandled Monroe in the Big East tourney. I also think the Cam Thoroughman will give WVU some good minutes in the paint on defense and can bang around with the bigs from UK. I think the biggest matchup problem will be when both Pat Pat and Cousins are in at the same time, because I am not sure how Ebanks/Jones will do against either of the physical big men.

 

I don't think the size of Ebanks, Jones or anyone on WVU's roster is going to shake John Wall's confidence or give him fits. If possible, Wall would be running point guard for some team in the NBA as we speak. Both Wall's and Bledsoe's speed create an issue for every team they have played. And if Bledsoe gets hot from the outside, WATCH OUT. As if he isn't already, the kid would be an absolute star on any other team.

 

Also, I would argue that Cousins has seen much more contact than the average post player. He's an easy target to hate, and I hate him too, but he's been the victim of not only excessive physical play, but also downright dirty play (see the Chas McFarland video on Youtube). We all know he runs his mouth and does the little things to get inside the opposing player's head, but he gets the mental advantage. He's put up with a lot this season, and quite frankly, I'm shocked that he hasn't retaliated in an adverse manner.

 

I agree that Patrick Patterson is the "X-Factor" because he's just an all-around great basketball player. He's developed a jump shot to go along with his post moves. IMHO, WVU's best shot at winning this game is to get both Cousins and Patterson in foul trouble. They won't harm you from the bench.

 

Gah, after this post I sound like a UK fan after this post. :eek:

 

In my defense, where I reside is CRAZY about UK basketball since it's 2 hours away and MANY friends are UK fans. I've, not willingly, had access to each and every UK basketball game this entire season and I've watched them because they are about the only good basketball team in both the SEC and Big 10 TV markets. I really miss living in the ACC market.

 

In my opinion, and I know I may be stretching it, but this year's UK squad is arguably the most talented college basketball team in many years. 4 out of their 5 starting five are projected to go lottery in this year's NBA Draft (Wall, Cousins, Patterson, and Bledsoe). I've seen several teams where 3-4 players go in the 1st round, but never in the lottery. As much as I hate Kentucky basketball, they are THAT GOOD.