Villanova Preview
February 12, 2009 06:26 PM | General
February 12, 2009
GAME NOTES
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – From one good team to the next – that is what is facing West Virginia when the Mountaineers take on 13th-rated Villanova Friday night at 9 pm at the WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia (16-8, 5-6) is coming off a 70-59 loss at No. 4 Pitt on Monday night. The Panthers held forward Da’Sean Butler to 14 points below his season average of 18 points per game. The junior was just 2 of 12 shooting for 4 points. Overall, West Virginia shot 40.4 percent from the field including 33.3 percent in the first half when Pitt starters DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields were on the bench in foul trouble.
Alex Ruoff led WVU with 17 points and freshman Devin Ebanks scored 16 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Pitt had a 39-23 advantage on the glass.
The Mountaineers on Friday are facing one of the hottest teams in the country in Villanova, which won its sixth straight by downing Marquette 102-84 at the Pavilion Tuesday night.
Scottie Reynolds scored 27 points and Corey Fisher came off the bench to add 21 to help the Wildcats score more than 90 points for the third straight game. Villanova (20-4, 8-3) put up 102 in a 17-point win against Syracuse on Feb. 7 and scored 94 in a three-point victory at Providence on Feb. 4.
Villanova is averaging 77.1 points per game and is shooting 46.3 percent as a team. The Wildcats have tried 427 3s this year, making 155 for 36.3 percent. By comparison, West Virginia has tried 56 more 3-point attempts but is converting just 32.7 percent of them.
Dante Cunningham is averaging 17 points and 7.2 rebounds per game to lead Villanova. The 6-8, 230-pound senior scored 15 points in the Wildcats’ last game against Providence.
Reynolds shows averages of 15.4 points and 3.8 assists per game while Fisher is averaging 10.7 points and is shooting 42.1 percent from 3.
Villanova also owns a 67-57 victory over Pitt on Jan. 28.
Friday night’s game will only be Villanova’s fourth appearance at the Coliseum since the 2001 season. The Wildcats’ last victory in Morgantown came Jan. 23, 1999 when Villanova defeated the Mountaineers, 73-62.
