WVU Finally Wins on Road

The Mountaineers finally figured out a way to win a road game in the Big East. After a pretty dismal start, the Mountianeers downed Rutgers 89-83. Very quietly, the Mountaineers have improved their record to 17-4, 6-3 in Big East. WVU is now tied for 5th in the conference...not too bad for a team predicted to finish 12th in the Big East.

But, now the tough part really begins. With 8 games remaining, the question is whether West Virginia can find a way to get 20 wins. They have 2 games against #7 Pittsburgh, a home date against #5 UCLA and they visit a very good Georgetown team...all games WVU could easily lose. So, they need to find a way to win on the road against Seton Hall on Saturday and beat them against at home on February 17th. That leaves Providence away and Cincinatti at home to try to get that 20th win. Of course, WVU could surprise UCLA or Pitt or GTown...but, I'm just going by who they should beat and who they should lose to.

I think WVU has to have 20+ wins to make the NCAA tournament if they don't advance in the Big East tournament. Their weak out-of-conference schedule is going to make them a pick with 19 wins, especially considering 19 wins gives them a 2-6 record down the stretch...so, they have to get at least 3 more wins in my opinion. That OT loss to Cincinatti really hurts. But, hey, not bad for a team that lost most of their scoring and was predicted to finish 12th in the Big East. Personally, I think they'll make the NCAA tournament at this point and could be a position to visit the Sweet Sixteen for the 3rd consecutive year.

Second today, football recruits. WVU quietly lost verbal commit, and 4-star running back, Victor Anderson to Louisville last week. The class still looks pretty strong (21st in the nation according to Scouts.com) but the Anderson loss made me worry a little...you hate to see a highly touted recruit bolt for an in-conference team. But, Anderson is from Louisville...apparently he didn't like Petrino. And, Anderson could be a bust...remember Jason Gwaltney?

Hopefully all the other recruits who have made commitments to West Virginia see it through. Signing Day is February 7th and there's still a couple big fish out there...like running back Noel Devine who is the 3rd highest rated running back in the nation and has narrowed his schools to WVU and Florida State. Devine would be a huge grab for West Virginia (if eligible). And there's some other last minute commits out there who have interest in WVU. Regardless, this looks to be WVU's must highly rated draft class ever. The future looks bright.