To The Lion's Den
January 31, 2005 08:33 PM | General
January 31, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia is going into the lion’s den to face undefeated Boston College Tuesday night.
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| West Virginia forward Tyrone Sally scored 20 points in last Saturday's win over Providence and now needs just 103 to reach 1,000 for his career.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
The Eagles at 18-0 are off to their best start in school history and have also achieved their highest national ranking ever at No. 5 in the latest Associated Press poll released Monday afternoon.
Boston College is coming off a 64-49 victory over Georgetown Saturday at home. In that game forwards Craig Smith and Jared Dudley combined to score 33 points and the Eagles outscored Georgetown 21-7 from the free throw line in their 15-point triumph.
In each game this year Boston College has outscored its opponent from the foul line.
Boston College is now one win shy of matching its school record of 19 straight wins established during the 1968-69 season.
The Mountaineers lost an earlier decision to BC, 73-53 in Morgantown back on Jan. 15.
“If they have a weakness it’s that they don’t shoot the ball incredibly well but they shoot it good enough to keep you honest,” said West Virginia coach John Beilein.
The Eagles made 24 of 45 field-goal attempts for 53.3 percent in the victory in Morgantown, though a majority of their baskets came in transition or from close range. Boston College attempted just 10 three-point field-goal tries, making three.
Dudley and Smith were BC’s primary weapons in the West Virginia win, combining to score 41 points and grabbing 19 rebounds.
“They’re so strong and they pass the ball so well,” said Beilein.
Boston College had been without guard Steve Hailey, who sprained his ankle in the West Virginia game. Louis Hinnant carried most of the load against Georgetown by playing 37 minutes. The Eagles only went two deep off the bench against the Hoyas.
Boston College’s strong start has also captured the attention of the city and the campus. According to Sunday's Boston Globe, the remainder of the Eagles’ home games at 8,600-seat Conte Forum is sold out.
From the opening tip against Georgetown Conte Forum was electric. The crowd bothered the Hoyas and contributed to Georgetown scoring just 12 points in the first half.
“I can’t remember Conte being like that,” said Boston College guard Jermaine Watson. “We’ve never had that before. It made me feel like it was Cameron (Indoor Stadium). It was great.”
Beilein says his team is looking forward to the challenge of playing a Top 5 team on the road in a hostile environment. “That’s what we should expect,” Beilein said of facing a large crowd. “I’d rather have that for our guys to be even more excited about the opportunity they have to possibly beat a team of this stature.”
The Mountaineers (12-6, 2-5) are feeling a lot better about themselves after knocking off Providence last Saturday. In that game, forward Tyrone Sally scored 20 points, handed out five assists and grabbed four rebounds to help West Virginia to an 82-68 victory.
Forward Mike Gansey contributed 19 points and four rebounds. The two combined to shoot six of 10 from three-point range as the team hit 11 of its 22 three-point attempts for the game. West Virginia used a 17-0 run in the first half to build a 16-point lead before the Friars came to life.
It took a pair of free throws with six seconds left by freshman Darris Nichols to ice the game for WVU.
Guard Patrick Beilein came off the bench to contribute 14 points – his third straight double-digit scoring game. Sally, Gansey are Beilein are each averaging better than 10 points per game.
West Virginia is looking for just its second win against the Eagles in its last eight tries. West Virginia downed BC 65-62 in Morgantown last year.
Tuesday night’s game will get underway at 7:30 pm and will be televised on ESPN Regional. Fox Sports Net will carry the game live locally. The contest can also be purchased on ESPN Full Court.
Briefly: The team spent Monday night watching the Boston Celtics play the Houston Rockets at the Fleet Center … West Virginia’s two-game, five-day road trip is its longest of the season … the Mountaineers worked out at the Celtics practice facility both Sunday and Monday … because of the team’s travel schedule, The John Beilein Statewide Sportsline on Metro News has been pushed back to Wednesday night, according to host Tony Caridi … the last time West Virginia met Boston College at Conte Forum in 2003 the Mountaineers held a 36-30 halftime lead before the Eagles came to life and pulled out a 75-70 decision … forward Craig Smith, then a freshman, finished the game with 30 points on 13 of 19 shooting … WVU is looking for its 44th victory against nationally ranked teams, having won twice against ranked teams so far this year … this will be the sixth nationally rated team West Virginia has faced so far this season, with No. 15 Pittsburgh coming up twice on the horizon … center D’or Fischer is now just seven blocks shy of tying Phil Wilson’s school record of 178 blocks established in 1994 … it took Wilson 117 games to reach his total, while Fischer will be playing his 50th career game Tuesday night … Feb. 1 has been a good day for West Virginia basketball with the Mountaineers having won 20 out of 25 times on this date … it is the sixth winningest date in school history … forward Tyrone Sally is now three points shy of 900 for his career and he’s looking to become the school’s 41st 1,000-point scorer.
