Tourney Spots on the Line
March 07, 2003 11:46 AM | General
March 7, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A spot in the Big East tournament could be on the line Saturday for West Virginia when it plays host to Virginia Tech at the WVU Coliseum.
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| West Virginia forward Chaz Briggs will be making his final regular season home appearance Saturday. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Simply put if West Virginia wins it’s in. And if they don’t, the Mountaineers may still be in.
“You don’t want to put too much emphasis on any game but now we’re down to that final one,” said West Virginia coach John Beilein. “It is one game and we’re going to do everything we can to try and win this game.”
Rutgers lost Thursday night at St. John’s, 75-59 and is tied with the Mountaineers heading into the final game of the regular season. Rutgers has the tall task of traveling to Syracuse to play the Orangemen Sunday at the Carrier Dome where Syracuse has yet to lose this year.
If both teams lose, West Virginia is awarded the final tournament spot because it beat Rutgers head to head this year.
Postseason implications are also riding on Saturday’s game for the Hokies. If Virginia Tech can beat West Virginia and Miami loses at home to St. John’s, the Hokies go to the Big East tournament for the first time since joining the league three seasons ago.
“Virginia Tech is in a similar situation,” said Beilein.
Tech had its post season destiny in its own hands Wednesday night, but blew the opportunity with a 79-71 loss to the Hurricanes. The Hokies erased a pair of 10-point deficits in the second half but never led in the game. James Jones scored 21 for Miami, now tied with Virginia Tech with 4-11 league records.
Like West Virginia in the West, Miami owns the tiebreaker with two wins in head-to-head play. Bryant Matthews and Terry Taylor scored 16 points each for Virginia Tech (11-17, 4-11).
Matthews, a 6-foot-7, 202-pound guard from Columbia, S.C., is averaging a team-best 17.1 points per game. He is also grabbing 7.0 rebounds per contest and leads the team with 45 steals.
“He is the versatile player that Ricky (Stokes) has done well with recruiting – the 6-5, 6-7 kid with guard-type skills that rebounds in traffic and does those type of things. He’s really had a great year and I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen of him on tape.”
Six-eight, 292-pound Terry Taylor is also an effective inside scorer averaging 15.5 points per game to go along with an average of 7.1 rebounds per game. Taylor is another in a string of Big East wide bodies that has given West Virginia fits in the paint this year.
Six-seven forward Carlos Dixon missed four games with a fractured foot, but returned to the lineup against Miami Tuesday and scored 12 points in 23 minutes of action. Dixon is averaging 14 points per game.
Virginia Tech has been hard to figure out this season. The Hokies own wins over Providence, Virginia, Connecticut, St. John’s and Villanova, and losses to Wofford, William & Mary and Western Michigan.
Which Virginia Tech team will show up Saturday?
“They certainly played well against Villanova,” said Beilein. “I know with the injury to Dixon they were having some troubles before that. They have played some great basketball with wins over UConn, St. John’s, Virginia and then Villanova. Those are four pretty good teams that they have beaten soundly.”
Beilein is hoping the Virginia Tech team that comes to the Coliseum Saturday is the same one that lost to Wofford, William & Mary and Western Michigan. If not, his young Mountaineer team will be in for a tough battle.
Six-three Drew Schifino continues to lead West Virginia (13-14, 4-11) in scoring with an average of 20.4 points per game. Freshman Kevin Pittsnogle is the only other Mountaineer player averaging double figures at 11.6 points per game.
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| Like Chaz Briggs, senior Josh Yeager suits up for one final time at the Coliseum Saturday. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Last year, Virginia Tech defeated West Virginia 78-63 in Morgantown to post its first ever Big East road victory. In three years of Big East play, the Hokies have managed just two conference road wins.
The win in Morgantown snapped West Virginia’s five-game winning streak and led to the early retirement of record setting coach Gale Catlett.
West Virginia has won five of the last six and eight of the last 12 against the Hokies.
“It won’t make our season if we win and it won’t take away from our season if we don’t,” said Beilein.
The contest will be the final home game for WVU seniors Chaz Briggs, Jon Curran and Josh Yeager. Beilein mentioned Thursday afternoon that he won’t use a starting lineup comprised of seniors -- a tradition started under Catlett.
“In 26 years I’ve never started seniors because they’re seniors,” he said. “I think the most important thing is to win the game. I’ve always made sure a senior got into the game. There’s a lot to the flow of the game with substitution patterns and all of those things. At this point in the year I’m going to stay with what we’ve always done.”
In addition to senior day, the contest has also been designated a “family day” with a family of four receiving four tickets, four hot dogs, four cokes and a large pop corn for the special price of just $45.
All “family day” orders must be booked in advance. Fans can do so by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office at 1-800-WVU GAME.
MSN’s radio coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. and the game will get underway at 2 p.m.
