NIT Preview
March 26, 2007 08:15 PM | General
March 26, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Like West Virginia, Mississippi State has had no trouble winning games at home this year. The Bulldogs (21-13) were 16-3 at Humphrey Coliseum, winning its three NIT games against Mississippi Valley State, Bradley and Florida State by an average of 21 points.
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| West Virginia coach John Beilein answers a question at Monday afternoon's NIT press luncheon in New York City.
All-Pro Photography Dale Sparks |
State’s lists of victims at home include Mississippi, Auburn, LSU, Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Alabama. An 84-82 overtime victory over Kentucky in the first round of the SEC tournament is also a notch in the Bulldogs’ belt.
“They’ve got talent, they’ve got great individual scorers and they have just terrific athleticism,” said West Virginia coach John Beilein.
Mississippi State, again just like West Virginia, is a much more ordinary team away from home winning just three of 12 road decisions. Including neutral site games, the Bulldogs are 5-10 this year.
West Virginia was 17-1 at the WVU Coliseum this season losing only to nationally ranked Pitt. In 16 games away from Morgantown the Mountaineers are 8-8.
Something has got to give when the two teams meet in New York City Tuesday night for one NIT semifinal game. Clemson and Air Force meet in the nightcap. West Virginia might have a slight advantage over the Bulldogs having played several times at Madison Square Garden. But Beilein is not so sure.
“The advantage ends when the clock starts,” Beilein said. “When the kids from Mississippi State, Clemson or Air Force see the Garden they’ll say, ‘It’s the Garden.’ But we’ve been here. We know the locker rooms and we go through what I call the big elephant elevator. But once the game starts all of the advantage goes away.”
That’s because Beilein sees a Mississippi State program under Rick Stansbury that has hit its stride. The Bulldogs made four straight NCAA tournament appearances from 2002-05, and they are making their sixth post-season appearance in the last seven years.
Stansbury has averaged 22.2 wins per year since 2002.
“Rick has been there for (nine) years and they have traditionally been in the NCAA tournament or in the NIT and have been very competitive in March,” Beilein said. “They have really been able to recruit some bright players there. I played against them three times when I was at Richmond and now we’re going to have to be a very efficient team and we’re going to have to shoot the ball well.”
The Bulldogs had six players reach double figures in their 86-71 victory over Florida State in the NIT quarterfinal game last week.
Six-four guard Jamont Gordon reached his season average of 16 points against the Seminoles while also handing out seven assists. Gordon gets a good number of his points from the free throw line (154) and has also made 42 3-point field goals.
The Nashville, Tenn., native leads the Bulldogs in rebounding (7.2 rpg.), steals (44) and assists (178). His size (225 pounds) will provide match up problems for West Virginia.
Another match up difficulty is 6-8, 240-pound center Charles Rhodes. The junior averages 13.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and is shooting a team-best 56.2 percent from the floor. Rhodes is second on the team with 63 blocks. The Bulldogs have blocked 219 shots this year – 100 more than West Virginia.
“We’re going to have to play one of our special games,” Beilein said. “So far we’ve had some pretty good games but we’re going to have to play at a high level of efficiency.”
Six-five senior forward Frank Young is certainly at that level. The Tallahassee, Fla., resident is averaging 24.3 points in three NIT games and scored a career-high 31 against Massachusetts. Young is shooting 68 percent from the field including 70 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
The irony for Young is that he is returning to the city where his college basketball career was launched. He got his big break three years ago when Tyrone Sally was sick an unable to play in West Virginia’s Big East tournament upset of nationally ranked Boston College. Young got the starting call and wound up scoring a season-high 14 points. That performance helped West Virginia to the Big East tournament championship game and an eventual NCAA tournament Elite Eight appearance.
“I haven’t even thought about that but I know his mother is making this trip and he can’t wait to play there,” said Beilein. “It’s been a good place for him and we’ve represented West Virginia well at the Garden.”
Young’s scoring binge has boosted his season average to 15 points per game. He has made a school-record 107 3s and is shooting 42 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
His 25-point performance against N.C. State last Thursday night included a pair of critical 3s late in the game when the Wolfpack took a four-point lead.
“The way Frank has been shooting the ball … we don’t win the (N.C. State) game if he doesn’t hit those two rainbow 3s,” said Beilein. “Sometimes things just start going your way and they don’t stop.”
Six-eight forward Joe Alexander has scored just 41 points in his last seven games, but is still averaging 10.8 points per game. Junior guard Darris Nichols averages 10.6 points and 4.5 assists per game, while 6-6 guard Alex Ruoff averages 10.4 points and 5.1 assists per contest.
Six-seven freshman forward Da’Sean Butler averages 9.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game coming off the bench.
West Virginia’s 25 victories are the most since Gale Catlett’s team won 26 games in 1989. It is the most victories Beilein has recorded in a season in 29 years of coaching.
Tip off is set for 7 pm and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
