Classic Notebook
January 23, 2003 12:57 PM | General
January 23, 2003
CHARLESTON, W.Va. –West Virginia didn’t necessarily have its ‘A’ game Wednesday night, but it was still good enough to beat Marshall, 65-61 at the 2003 Toyota Capital Classic in Charleston.
For the sixth straight game West Virginia made less than 50 percent of its field goal attempts. However, this time the Mountaineers managed to win.
Since shooting 50 percent in a come-from-behind victory over Gardner-Webb on Dec. 29, West Virginia has produced field goal percentages of 42.5, 41.5, 42.9, 40.0, 43.5 and 46.2 percent in its last six games.
The man taking most of the shots during this stretch is 6-foot-3 sophomore forward Drew Schifino. After making 10 of 16 field goal attempts at St. Louis, Schifino’s only other 50-percent shooting night came in a loss to Pitt (six of 11).
In his last two games, Schifino has made just 17 of 45 field goals for 37.8 percent. But to his credit he made them when it counted down the stretch against Marshall. Schifino scored 11 points in the game’s final seven minutes to help the Mountaineers snap a three-game losing streak.
Mountaineer coach John Beilein admitted after Wednesday’s game that he wasn’t particularly pleased with Schifino’s performance at Boston College where he made just 10 of 26 field goal attempts.
“I wouldn’t say he was in the dog house but we were having a little lover’s spat. I got on him pretty good and we’ve got a real good relationship. We talked it out and we’re okay now,” said the coach.
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| Patrick Beilein is one of five WVU players to reach double figures in scoring in the last six games. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Other than Schifino and freshman Kevin Pittsnogle, now averaging 12.1 points per game after scoring 14 against Marshall, offense has been hard to come by for the rest of the team. Since the Gardner-Webb game, there have been only three WVU players besides Schifino and Pittsnogle to reach double figures: Patrick Beilein (11 versus Miami), Joe Herber (13 versus Georgetown) and Chaz Briggs (13 versus Boston College).
After a three-game stretch when he scored 20, 25 and 15 against UNC Greensboro, Wofford and Western Carolina, forward Tyrone Sally has had a tough time getting baskets. The 6-7 sophomore has failed to reach double figures since Western Carolina on Dec. 18, and is averaging 6.3 points over his last nine games. Sally’s average has dropped to 9.1 points per game.
This and That
Six-six forward Chris Brooks owns the WVU single season field goal percentage record by making 222 of 335 field goal attempts in 1991 for a 66.3 percentage. The WVU record book is unclear on just how many field goal attempts Briggs would need to qualify for the school record.
The last time a crowd of less than 10,000 came out for the Capital Classic was 1999, when 9,132 showed up.
Schifino is just one-tenth of a point away from becoming the eighth player in the Big East to average at least 20 points per game. St. John’s guard Marcus Hatten leads the conference with an average of 23.4 points per contest.
Last year, the Big East had just four players average better than 20 points per game, led by Hatten’s 21.6 average.
Incidentally, the three is not really a weapon in Schifino’s scoring repertoire. He has made just nine of 40 three-point attempts this year for 22.5 percent.
The 6-6 Darmstadt, Germany, native leads the team in minutes played (34.5), assists (56) and defensive rebounds (56). Herber usually draws the difficult assignment of guarding the opposing team’s power forward, and he shares the responsibility of handling the basketball out on the perimeter.
Playing defense against James Jones, Mike Sweetney, Ontario Lett and Craig Smith has taken its toll on his shooting percentage. Herber is making 42.3 percent of his field goal attempts and 54.3 percent of his free throws, although he made two crucial foul shots to help West Virginia defeat Marshall Wednesday.
On Sunday, WVU plays host to Rutgers in a key West divisional game. Last year the Knights claimed both contests by scores of 79-66 and 77-59. Seton Hall also won both of its games against West Virginia.
Seton Hall is currently fifth in the West with a 2-4 record after last night’s loss at Syracuse, while West Virginia is sixth with a 1-3 record. Rutgers is still searching for its first conference victory after losing its fourth-straight league game Monday night at Georgetown.
After West Virginia, the Knights have games coming up against Syracuse, at Seton Hall and at Boston College.
Seton Hall’s next three league games are at Georgetown, and at home against Rutgers and Notre Dame.
After Rutgers this Saturday, West Virginia goes on the road to play at Notre Dame and at Villanova.
Saturday’s West Virginia-Rutgers game will tip off at 3 p.m. and good tickets still remain. Contact the Mountaineer Ticket Office toll-free by calling 1-800-WVU GAME for more information.
