They're Back
January 24, 2005 02:30 PM | General
January 24, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Connecticut makes just its fourth appearance at the WVU Coliseum in 10 years Tuesday night when the Mountaineers play host to the nationally ranked Huskies.
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| West Virginia's Marcus Goree is sandwiched between Connecticut's Kevin Freeman (15) and Richard Hamilton (32) during this 1999 game at the WVU Coliseum. It was the last time UConn played West Virginia in Morgantown.
WVU Photo Services |
Connecticut’s last appearance inside the Coliseum came during its national championship run in 1999 when the Huskies blew out West Virginia 80-45. Prior to that, Connecticut beat West Virginia 89-79 during the Mountaineers’ first season in the Big East in 1996, and lost to WVU 80-62 in 1998.
Meanwhile, Connecticut has faced West Virginia six times in Storrs including the last three meetings spanning five years; two times in 2001 and 2003 the teams failed to meet on the hardwood.
The UConn team West Virginia is facing Tuesday night will be in a foul mood after blowing a 17-point first-half lead at home to Pitt on Saturday. The Panthers won the game, 76-66 by holding the Huskies to just 27.6 percent shooting in the second half and outscoring them, 44-23.
“Pittsburgh beat UConn so they’re going to be on top of their game when they come here and we’re going to be in for a battle,” said West Virginia forward Mike Gansey. “If they had won big they wouldn’t be coming in here as mad and looking for a win as bad as they need.”
“We’ve got enough problems without worrying what their temperament will be,” added Mountaineer coach John Beilein.
Connecticut (11-4, 3-2), coming off its second national championship in six seasons, has an extremely talented but young team. Against Pitt the Huskies started a freshman, three sophomores and a junior.
Six-foot-10 sophomore center Josh Boone provides a formidable inside presence, averaging 15.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while leading UConn with 48 blocks. Six-foot-10 sophomore forward Charlie Villaneuva averages 12.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while swatting 35 shots, and 6-foot-9 freshman Rudy Gay averages 10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and has blocked 28 shots to give Connecticut one of the best frontcourts in the country.
“They’re probably the best rebounding team in the country as well as shot blocking averaging 10 blocked shots per game,” Beilein said. “That’s going to be a major thing of scoring inside as well as keeping them from getting offensive put backs.”
In the backcourt junior Rashad Anderson was a big factor in Connecticut’s national title run last year with his outside shooting and it appears he has once again regained his shooting stroke, hitting five of 10 from three-point range against Pitt for a team-high 19 points. The 6-foot-5 guard is the team’s second-leading scorer averaging 13.2 points per game while making a team-best 32 three-point field goals.
Connecticut’s point guard is sophomore Marcus Williams is averaging 6.6 points and a team-best 7.3 assists per game.
UConn’s top three players off the bench are 6-foot-2 guard Antonio Kellogg, 6-foot-10 forward Hilton Armstrong and 6-foot-8 forward Ed Nelson, a one-time ACC rookie of the year at Georgia Tech before transferring to Connecticut.
West Virginia (11-5, 1-4) is coming off a promising performance in a 72-64 loss at No. 7 Syracuse last Saturday. The Mountaineers were down by four points with less than five minutes to go against the Orange and were able to hit 10 of 32 from three-point range after enduring a miserable five game shooting stretch in losses to Villanova, Marshall, Boston College and Notre Dame.
“I wouldn’t say our (shooting) funk is behind us but we’ve made a step at least,” said Beilein.
Patrick Beilein came off the bench to score 17 to lead West Virginia against Syracuse. Senior forward Tyrone Sally leads West Virginia in scoring with an average of 11.6 points per game. Junior Mike Gansey is averaging 11.0 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game, while 6-foot-11 senior center D’or Fischer is averaging 10.8 points and has blocked a team-best 43 shots.
The last time these two teams met in Morgantown in 1999, Connecticut defeated the Mountaineers 80-45 during its drive to its first NCAA title under Coach Jim Calhoun. All-American forward Richard Hamilton scored 30 points and forward Kevin Freeman added 14 in a dominating all-around performance.
Connecticut has won nine of 11 all-time meetings against West Virginia and owns a 3-1 record in games played in Morgantown. Connecticut also defeated West Virginia 62-57 in overtime during a 1988 NIT game at the Coliseum.
Tip off for Tuesday’s game is set for 7 pm and fans coming to the game are encouraged to wear gold. The contest will be televised state-wide on ESPN Regional TV. Check your local listings.
