Men's Basketball: WVU to Battle the Hawks
December 28, 2006 12:16 AM | General
December 27, 2006
GAME NOTES
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| Alex Ruoff |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – With the Big East opener against Connecticut looming on Saturday, West Virginia must first set its sights on Maryland Eastern Shore in a Thursday night non-conference game at the WVU Coliseum. Mountaineer coach John Beilein says his team will be ready for the Hawks.
“They have been looking forward to the Big East season all year but it is my job as a coach to make sure that we don’t look past a practice let alone a game,” Beilein said Wednesday afternoon.
Maryland Eastern Shore is coming off a 74-49 win over Charleston Southern in Las Vegas on Saturday to boost its record to 2-8. The Hawks also beat Stony Brook 64-58 on Nov. 28.
“If we lose to Maryland Eastern Shore it will be because they out played us, not because we were looking ahead,” Beilein said.
West Virginia had eight days between games, having last played on Dec. 20 against The Citadel. Three of those days were completely away from the gym for Christmas break.
“They had really three and a half days off and their legs are completely rested. I think that was healthy for us,” Beilein said. “We had a few small injuries that I think are in pretty good shape now. It was a good break for them and the coaches but we’re really curious to see how we’re going to do in these games because now they really jump at you game after game after game with no breaks.”
After Thursday night’s game, the Mountaineers (9-1) have just a day to prepare for No. 9 Connecticut, which destroyed Coppin State 84-41 Wednesday night. After that comes a pair of Big East home games against Villanova and St. John’s within a span of seven days.
“You’ve just got to play them as they come up and not make too much about what the situation is, what the environment is and things like that,” Beilein said. “I do know that they would rather play then go through a (two-hour practice).”
Having a team that pays attention to detail and is willing to do what it takes to get better is certainly beneficial, says Beilein.
“It really helps when you have some people that are focused,” Beilein said. “If you look out here right now (motioning out to the practice floor) the first three guys out here are starters. It’s good when you see that type of attitude.”
West Virginia has the nation’s No. 1 ranked scoring defense allowing only 49.4 points per game and is forcing an average of 22.1 turnovers per game. The Mountaineers have also made 10 or more 3-point baskets in seven of 10 games so far this year.
Six-five senior forward Frank Young is averaging 15.4 points over his last eight games to lead West Virginia in scoring with an overall average of 12.9 points per game. Six-eight forward Joe Alexander is averaging 12.5 points, 6-2 guard Darris Nichols is averaging 10.9 points and 6-6 guard Alex Ruoff is averaging 10.1 points per game.
Ruoff is shooting 60.7 percent from 3-point range (17 of 28) over his last four games.
Six-five senior forward Antonio McMillion is Maryland Eastern Shore’s top scorer averaging 13.7 points per game.
Tip off is set for 7 pm and MSN’s radio coverage can be heard on the Internet through CSTV All Access. Fans out of state can also follow the game on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 125.
