Rutgers Preview
February 24, 2004 02:52 PM | General
February 24, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – If the West Virginia University basketball team is going to have the kind of season it ultimately wants, then it is going to have to win some conference road games down the stretch. The Mountaineers are 1-4 in Big East road games this year with the only victory being at St. John’s.
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| Forward Tyrone Sally slams home two of his team-high 17 points against Pitt last Saturday.
(All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Last year West Virginia was 2-5 in league road games with its two victories being against Villanova and Rutgers.
The Mountaineers get another crack at the Scarlet Knights Wednesday night in a Big East game that has post-season implications for both teams. Rutgers and West Virginia are fighting to keep their slim NCAA tournament hopes alive. The Knights are 15-9 overall and 6-7 in Big East play.
West Virginia dropped a nine-point decision to No. 3-ranked Pitt last Saturday to fall to 14-9, 6-6. A win for West Virginia at Rutgers would keep the Mountaineers firmly in the middle of the Big East pack with season-ending games left at Virginia Tech, at home against Syracuse and at Miami.
“Playing three of our last four on the road is going to be tough for us,” said West Virginia coach John Beilein. “If we can get one win somewhere, it would allow us to finish on a good note.”
But beating Rutgers in the RAC this year is much easier said than done.
Rutgers is 12-1 at home with its only loss being a 75-74 buzzer beater against No. 8 Connecticut. Rutgers shows conference home wins over Providence, St. John’s, Notre Dame, Miami and most recently, Virginia Tech.
“If you just look at this league you’ll notice that people have had winning streaks at home and losing streaks on the road,” said Beilein. “It depends on where you play.”
Against Tech, Rutgers jumped out to a staggering 32-3 first-half lead and was never threatened by a Hokie team that won in Morgantown back on Jan. 14.
After an easy win against Northern Colorado on Feb. 17, Rutgers played its worst game of the year at Boston College last Sunday, losing 76-44. The Knights shot a season-worst 28.6 percent against BC on the way to its worst Big East defeat in its nine years in the league.
Beilein knows Rutgers is going to be ready for redemption Wednesday night.
“It’s going to be a tough game for us,” the coach said Monday afternoon. “They’re all back except one or two, and they’re going to remember (last year’s loss) very much.”
Six-four guard Ricky Shields is Rutgers’ top scorer averaging 14.8 points per game. The Upper Marlboro, Md., resident is shooting 40.1 percent from the floor including 38.2 percent from three-point range.
Improving 6-foot-10 forward Herve Lamizana has NBA skills when he plays under control. The junior is averaging 14 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and is also shooting 40 percent from the floor.
Touted 6-foot-3 freshman guard Quincy Douby has lived up to his advance billing by averaging 11.5 points per game coming off the bench. He is shooting 42.2 percent overall and an even better 43.6 percent from three-point range.
In addition to Lamizana and Shields, the Knights’ other three starters against BC were 6-foot-5 freshman forward Marquis Webb, 6-foot-8 senior forward Sean Axani and 6-foot-3 junior guard Juel Wiggan.
Webb is the most effective scorer of the three averaging 7 points per game. Six-eight forward Adrian Hill has given Rutgers solid minutes both as a starter and reserve, averaging 6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
“They play terrific defense, as good as there is in the league,” said Beilein. “And they’ve got great outside shooting.”
West Virginia comes into Wednesday’s game having won two of its last three and three of its last five.
Only once has West Virginia lost back-to-back games and a loss at Rutgers would push the Mountaineers’ conference record under .500 for the first time since losing at Providence on Jan. 17.
West Virginia is expected to use the same lineup it started against Pitt last Saturday with 6-foot-7 Tyrone Sally (9.9 ppg., 4.7 rpg.) and 6-foot-10 Kevin Pittsnogle (9.6 ppg. and 3.6 rpg.) at forwards, 6-foot-11 D’or Fischer (10.2 ppg., 6.6 rpg.) at center, and 6-foot-6 Joe Herber (8.5 ppg., 4.3 rpg.) and 5-foot-10 J.D. Collins (4.4 ppg., 3.5 apg.) at guards.
Six-four sophomore Patrick Beilein (8.7 ppg.) and 6-foot freshman Tyler Relph (6.1 ppg.) are West Virginia’s top two scorers coming off the bench. West Virginia’s first big man off the bench is 6-foot-6 freshman Jerrah Young.
West Virginia has had success at Rutgers winning 12 of 23 games since 1980 including a 5-2 record at the RAC since 1996.
Last year the Mountaineers claimed a 52-46 decision in Piscataway after winning by 11 in Morgantown earlier in the season.
Tipoff is set for 7 pm and the game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Pittsburgh.
