The 'Nog Returns

Well, Pittsnogle returned and WVU basketball rolled over the G'Town Hoyas by a score of 69-56. After the uninspired 0-12 night against Pittsburgh, Kevin rebounded to score 25 against Georgetown at the MCI Center. The win was Coach Beilein's 14th victory over ranked opponents in his short tenure at WVU. More impressive, it was his 12th away from the Coliseum.

You could tell early in the game that WVU had gotten back into their groove...good cuts, a lot of movement and tough defense. And, even though they hit a rough spell approaching half, they still played good ball...just some uncharacteristic turnovers. But the second half was pure genius by Beilein. First, the 'Eers went away from their trademark 1-3-1 defense and played man-to-man for the second half. This really frustrated the Hoyas. WVU's ability to recover and switch is remarkable. Second, they fed the ball inside instead of bombing away from outside the arc. The drives of Herber and Collins and the cuts of Gansey freed up some space for Pittsnogle to make some jumpers. It was poetry again...

West Virginia went only 6-21 from outside...which isn't spectacular but when the 3s didn't drop, they moved inside the arc and went 21-32, an astouding 66%. West Virginia proved a lot of things at the MCI Center: 1) The can play man-to-man if the 1-3-1 isn't working. 2) They can play inside the arc and don't have to live and die by the 3-ball. 3) Up by 10 or down by 10, the team keeps its poise and plays to the final buzzer. 4) They are going to be a tough out in the Big East and NCAA Tournament.