UNC Greensboro Preview
December 06, 2002 11:58 AM | General
| By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
December 6, 2002 MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia must avoid the same trap it set for Florida this Saturday against UNC Greensboro.
The Mountaineers (3-1) stunned No. 7-ranked Florida 68-66 on Tuesday at the Charleston Civic Center after the Gators defeated No. 2-ranked Kansas. Now, West Virginia coach John Beilein must bring his team down from the clouds in time to meet a solid UNC Greensboro team that brings a 3-2 record into the WVU Coliseum for a 4 p.m. contest. “For all of us paranoid coaches this is a difficult one,” said Beilein Friday morning. “I thought we had just a very average practice yesterday but that’s very typical after a day off. I hope today we will be a little sharper and that we will be ready for Greensboro.” The Spartans are coming into Saturday’s game having lost at No. 3 Alabama 89-61. UNC Greensboro’s other loss came to Kansas in the second game of the preseason NIT, 105-66. Greensboro’s three victories have come against Wagner (84-65), American in overtime (80-79) and Middle Tennessee (70-58). Coach Fran McCaffery’s team posted an impressive 20-11 record last season and advanced to the NIT. In three years the former Penn graduate has accumulated a 57-39 record. He has three starters returning from last year’s postseason team led 6-foot-4 guard Jay Joseph who is averaging a team-best 15.2 points per game. Six-six forward James Maye is averaging 14.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while 6-1 guard Ronnie Taylor averages nearly 10 points and more than four assists per contest. “They are a veteran team,” said Beilein. “They have a very solid perimeter game with outstanding three-point shooting. They have good, experienced inside people although they aren’t as big as James Madison – more the size of Delaware State but a much better shooting team. They’re as good a shooting team as there is in the country.” UNC Greensboro has hit 32-of-80 three-point attempts for 40 percent and is shooting 46.5 percent overall. On the other side of the scorer’s table, West Virginia is coming off one of the most stunning upset wins in school history. The Mountaineers down a Top 10-ranked team for the first only the sixth time since 1983 and just the 16th time in school history. “We are what we are,” cautioned Beilein. “I’d say if we played Florida 10 times we’re going to beat them once and that was the one time -- at this point in our program. We’re still a bunch of freshmen and sophomores and we're really inefficient in many of the things we do. But we’re working hard to get there.” West Virginia got 18 points from sophomore guard Drew Schifino and 11 each from Tyrone Sally and Joe Herber. It was Herber who hit the go-ahead basket on a step-back three-pointer with 37 seconds left. West Virginia handled Florida’s full court pressure well, turning the basketball over just 14 times for the game. The Mountaineers are averaging just 9.5 turnovers per game through four contests. Schifino is the team’s top scorer averaging 20.8 points per game. The 6-3 sophomore scored a career-high 33 points in a loss at Duquesne earlier this season. Six-ten freshman Kevin Pittsnogle was held to just eight points against Florida but is averaging 12.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Freshman point guard Jarmon-Durisseau-Collins was solid at the point for the Mountaineers against Florida, turning the ball over just one time in 39 minutes of play. Jarmon’s assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the Big East. Saturday’s game will be the third meeting ever between these two schools. The two previous games also took place in Morgantown, with West Virginia winning the most recent one 85-71 on Nov. 25, 2000. For ticket information, contact the Mountaineer Ticket Office toll-free by calling 1-800-WVU GAME. All fans will receive a Mountaineer team poster courtesy of Gatorade. MSNsportsNET.com’s radio coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. with the pre-game show.
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