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Redzone Stops Saturday With Detailed W
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS VISIT VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES
SATURDAY @ 12 NOON
ESPN FULL COURT
We have one team (WVU) trying to work their way into the sixth and final selection spot for the Big East Conference in the NCAA tournament and the other (VT) trying to rise to a level of respectability in their coach’s first year. Hokies enter this game 11-13 SU and 7-13 ATS while the Mountaineers are 15-9 SU and 11-9 ATS. Tech’s overall losing record has been a little bit of a surprise since they have one of the top players in the country in big man Bryant Matthews who currently leads the Big East with 23.1 points per game and ranks third in the league with 9.5 rebounds per outing. Bryant has been shooting a respectable 47% leads his team in steals and is one of the best interior defenders in the league. Zabian Dowdell is shooting only 37% from the floor but is contributing 11 points per game. After these two the talent drops off considerably, and even though we rate the front court with Matthews an A-, we rate the backcourt a very average C and herein lies the problem for the Hokies in turnovers and execution when the ball is not in Matthews or Dowdell’s hands.
This is a WVU squad that had its share of higher expectations, but had their problems and resulted with the dismissal of leading scorer Drew Schifino. West Virginia Coach John Beilein made the decision to dismiss Schifino because of selfishness, failure to attend practices on time or at all and disruption of team unity/chemistry. Mountaineers have responded with three wins in their last four games and welcome back Beilein after he missed a game (a loss with back spasms). Tyrone Sally and Kevin Pittsnogle have been the driving force and Joe Herber has provided a sound if not spectacular floor game. To put it frankly this is a WVU team playing better than they should right now and believing in their ability to do so. They truly exemplify the term team effort as three players average about 10 points per game and there appears no true star. Beilein has had successful stints at Canisius and Richmond when to put it bluntly, he never had the best athletes but always had winning teams and over achievers. His system makes the opponent play defense longer than they wish on each possession and almost always results in a good shot. Coupled that with a multiple defensive effort led by strong man to man fundamentals and you can see why he’s been successful.
We’ve got a West Virginia team that is playing at a top level and with togetherness like never before. On the other hand we’ve got a Hokie squad that is wondering why they aren’t more successful than they have been, and are possibly questioning new coach Seth Greensburg’s style. WVU is 2-0 ATS as an away favorite and Tech is 1-3 ATS as a home dog.
take the points, take WVU to cover and win again with your guys from RED ZONE SPORTS.
www.sportswire.com
SATURDAY @ 12 NOON
ESPN FULL COURT
We have one team (WVU) trying to work their way into the sixth and final selection spot for the Big East Conference in the NCAA tournament and the other (VT) trying to rise to a level of respectability in their coach’s first year. Hokies enter this game 11-13 SU and 7-13 ATS while the Mountaineers are 15-9 SU and 11-9 ATS. Tech’s overall losing record has been a little bit of a surprise since they have one of the top players in the country in big man Bryant Matthews who currently leads the Big East with 23.1 points per game and ranks third in the league with 9.5 rebounds per outing. Bryant has been shooting a respectable 47% leads his team in steals and is one of the best interior defenders in the league. Zabian Dowdell is shooting only 37% from the floor but is contributing 11 points per game. After these two the talent drops off considerably, and even though we rate the front court with Matthews an A-, we rate the backcourt a very average C and herein lies the problem for the Hokies in turnovers and execution when the ball is not in Matthews or Dowdell’s hands.
This is a WVU squad that had its share of higher expectations, but had their problems and resulted with the dismissal of leading scorer Drew Schifino. West Virginia Coach John Beilein made the decision to dismiss Schifino because of selfishness, failure to attend practices on time or at all and disruption of team unity/chemistry. Mountaineers have responded with three wins in their last four games and welcome back Beilein after he missed a game (a loss with back spasms). Tyrone Sally and Kevin Pittsnogle have been the driving force and Joe Herber has provided a sound if not spectacular floor game. To put it frankly this is a WVU team playing better than they should right now and believing in their ability to do so. They truly exemplify the term team effort as three players average about 10 points per game and there appears no true star. Beilein has had successful stints at Canisius and Richmond when to put it bluntly, he never had the best athletes but always had winning teams and over achievers. His system makes the opponent play defense longer than they wish on each possession and almost always results in a good shot. Coupled that with a multiple defensive effort led by strong man to man fundamentals and you can see why he’s been successful.
We’ve got a West Virginia team that is playing at a top level and with togetherness like never before. On the other hand we’ve got a Hokie squad that is wondering why they aren’t more successful than they have been, and are possibly questioning new coach Seth Greensburg’s style. WVU is 2-0 ATS as an away favorite and Tech is 1-3 ATS as a home dog.
take the points, take WVU to cover and win again with your guys from RED ZONE SPORTS.
www.sportswire.com