Women's Basketball: WVU Travels to Louisville
February 25, 2007 09:10 PM | General
February 25, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team will look to continue its late-season surge and bolster its already impressive NCAA Tournament resume when it faces No. 21 Louisville in the regular season finale for both teams on Monday night. Tip-off from Freedom Hall is set for 7 p.m.
Over the past several weeks, West Virginia coach Mike Carey has guessed that his team needs 20 wins to garner legitimate NCAA Tournament consideration. Sitting at 19-9 and 10-5 in the Big East following his team’s 61-49 win over Cincinnati on Sunday at the Coliseum, Carey reasoned that win number 20 at Louisville would probably seal the deal.
“I think to beat Louisville at Louisville would be enough. That would give us another quality road win and a lot of RPI points,” Carey said. “If we don’t we may have to get one or two in the Big East Tournament, but if we beat Louisville to get to 20, I think that would put us over the top.”
West Virginia has some trends working in its favor as it heads to the Bluegrass State. The Mountaineers have won 11 of their last 13 games and can draw on the success they had last year against the Cardinals. WVU owns a 2-0 all-time series lead versus Louisville with both wins coming last season, one in the regular season and the other in the Big East Tournament.
It will be a monumental challenge for the Mountaineers to come away with a third straight victory over the Cardinals Monday night. West Virginia faces a brutal two-day turnaround to prepare for one of the toughest teams in the conference. Louisville has won two in a row and is ranked at No. 29 in the latest RPI polls. The Cardinals also boast a perfect 14-0 record at Freedom Hall this season.
In addition to the lofty rankings and the daunting home court, West Virginia will have to contend with the Big East’s leading scorer in sophomore forward Angel McCoughtry, who averages 22.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Senior center Jazz Covington is the only other Cardinal averaging in double-figures, pitching in 10.6 points per contest.
Louisville (24-5, 10-5) averages 75.1 points per game this season. This contest looks to be a battle of wills between Louisville’s potent offense and West Virginia’s suffocating defense.
West Virginia has the 23rd ranked scoring defense in the country, holding opponents to just 55.8 points per game. WVU is 14-2 on the season when holding opponents under 60 points and the Gold and Blue has only allowed three opponents to score 70 or more. The Mountaineers boast the 19th best field goal percentage defense in the country, holding opponents to just 35.8 percent shooting.
Offensively the Mountaineers will lean heavily on junior center Olayinka Sanni. The Chicago Heights, Ill. native averages a team-best 14.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. LaQuita Owens is next in scoring, averaging 12.9 points per game. The junior guard is ranked 8th nationally in 3-pointers made per game at 2.8. Chakhia Cole rounds out the Mountaineers in double-figures, averaging 11.8 points per contest.
In addition to the NCAA Tournament implications riding on this game, the contest will also go a long way towards shaping the seeding in the Big East Tournament. At 10-5 in the conference, the Mountaineers are still very much alive for a first round bye. The top four teams receive byes and West Virginia is currently in a three-way tie for fourth in the Big East standings with Louisville and Notre Dame. The Irish hold the tiebreaker over WVU, having beaten the Mountaineers in South Bend earlier this season. West Virginia would need to beat Louisville and have DePaul beat Notre Dame to take the fourth seed in the tournament. The Mountaineers can finish no worse than sixth in the league.
“They are a very good basketball team and it’s a big game for both of us so hopefully we come out focused and ready to play,” Carey said.
Fans can listen to the game on WAJR 1440 AM in Morgantown, U-92 91.7 FM in Morgantown, WAJR 103.3 FM in Clarksburg, ESPN Radio 1490 AM in Charleston, WDNE 1230AM in Elkins, WKEZ 1240 AM in Bluefield, WKLP 1390 AM in Keyser, WTEZ 1330 AM in New Martinsville, WETZ 103.9 FM in New Martinsville or on the Internet through CSTV All-Access.
Fans outside of West Virginia can also catch the game on CSTV All-Access.
