West Virginia University
Providence
Providence Preview
February 08, 2005 06:50 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach John Beilein sees a potential trap when he looks at the Providence team coming to the Coliseum to face the Mountaineers Wednesday night.
The Friars are still searching for their first Big East victory having gone 0-8 in conference play, and will be without the services of their second leading scorer Dwight Brewington, who sprained his ankle in the loss at Villanova last Saturday night.
Beilein also must contend with his own sky-high basketball team coming off one of its biggest victories in recent years by knocking off No. 15-rated Pitt in overtime last Saturday night in Morgantown. Beilein hopes his team has gotten past the Pitt win and moved on to Providence.
"You have a great win like that and there is a tendency to say, 'Oh man' and now we've got to go back to work and that's my job to get them to go back to work," he said. "Having Providence coming in here is a tough situation because they have a very, very talented team, they're right there and we shouldn't have any misunderstandings that we can beat this team because we're home."
Providence (10-12) has not played up to its usual standards, but it did post an impressive 98-79 victory over Virginia recently on Feb. 2. In that game, Friar guard Donnie McGrath made an unbelievable nine of nine from three-point distance, which tied an NCAA record for three-point percentage in a game. McGrath has made 11 straight threes coming into Wednesday night's game against West Virginia.
"You see a guy have a good game and go five for six. You don't see the three or four games he's put together," said Beilein. "I've watched the films and they're not 20s, they're 25 to 28-foot shots. We have to get on him and hope that he has one of those nights where he isn't almost unstoppable which he was against Virginia."
McGrath scored a career-high 27 points against Virginia and is now averaging nine points per game.
Six-foot-seven senior forward Ryan Gomes leads the Friars with averages of 20.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Gomes scored 32 points on 10 of 22 shooting against Villanova while also pulling down eight rebounds.
Gomes finished with 23 points in West Virginia's 82-78 win at Providence back on Jan. 29. West Virginia built a 16-point lead early in the second half before having to hold on down the stretch.
"Both our zones and our man to man were pretty good," said Beilein of his team's performance the first time against Providence. "What didn't work well were our turnovers. In the first half we were spectacular and in the second half we made some interesting decisions. It was crazy how that second half ended but we still won the game."
Now, West Virginia is looking to put together back to back Big East victories for the first time this season. Beilein said Tuesday after practice that junior Kevin Pittsnogle will remain in the starting lineup after scoring a career-high 27 points against Pitt.
The coach also mentioned that senior center D'or Fischer will be available for action as well. Fischer missed the Pitt game with an upper respiratory infection.
"Yesterday he did some cardio on the Stairmaster and things like that so he's slowly getting there. He looked pretty good in practice," Beilein said.
Senior forward Tyrone Sally leads West Virginia with an average of 12.5 points per game. Sally poured in 19 in the Pitt win.
Mike Gansey is averaging 11 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, while Fischer is averaging 9.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. Patrick Beilein is averaging 9.2 points and is shooting 35.4 percent from three-point range.
Tip off for Wednesday's game is scheduled for 8 pm and the contest will be televised nationally on ESPN Classic television (Jim Simpson and Ernie DiGregorio). Fans are encouraged to dig out their old 70s and 80s clothes to wear to the game for the opportunity to win some great prizes.
Also, the Student Government Association is asking fans to drop off $5 worth of requested items for the troops in Iraq. Collection boxes will be at the Blue and Gold gates. By doing so, fans will receive a coupon for a discounted ticket for the upcoming Seton Hall game on Feb. 20.
