Mountaineers to Battle Irish
February 19, 2011 10:18 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – What Notre Dame coach Mike Brey is putting out on the Coliseum floor today exactly what former West Virginia coach John Beilein has always strived for with his teams – five interchangeable players who can shoot and play off each other.
Notre Dame (21-4, 10-3) is playing like a team in sync; the Irish bringing a seven-game winning streak into Morgantown for this afternoon’s game against the Mountaineers that will be televised to 66 percent of the country on CBS.
All five Irish starters average between 9.6 to 17.3 points per game, and four of the five standing 6-feet-8 with point guard Ben Hansbrough at 6-foot-3.
“They’re definitely a great team and Ben Hansbrough has done a great job for them in their offense and they and they play together,” said West Virginia junior forward Kevin Jones. “That’s where we need to be at and I think there is no reason why we can’t be like that.”
Brey has had great success at the Coliseum through the years, winning here four times, three short of Jim Boeheim’s seven wins, which is the most by an opposing coach in this arena.
Notre Dame, predicted to finish seventh in the Big East this year, is ranked seventh in the country this week with wins in the Old Spice Classic against Georgia, California and Wisconsin and conference victories against Georgetown, UConn and a big road win at Pitt on Jan. 24. That is Pitt’s only loss in Big East play so far this season.
“They’re a very smart team,” said Jones. “They know what their advantages and disadvantages are in their game and in their opponent and they exploit it very well. This is going to be more of a mental game than anything.”
Because of their intelligence, Notre Dame can play varying styles – from the up-tempo is typically prefers to play to a hold-the-ball-and-work-the-clock style it used to beat Pitt, 56-51, last month.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins isn’t as concerned as much about the style of play Notre Dame chooses as much as he is about the number of different scorers Brey can put on the floor at the same time.
“Where do you get help from? Generally when you play people you try to figure out who you can help off of or who you can get help to their best player but them, they’re a little bit like we were a year ago in that they’re big and long,” said Huggins. “Their smallest guy starting is Hansbrough and he’s 6-3. I think their next smallest guy is (6-8) so they’re like we were a year ago – big and long.”
Hansbrough, one of the leading candidates for Big East player of the year, has been a handful for teams to try and guard this year. A lot of what Notre Dame does centers on his ability to get the ball to the glass and either score or pitch it out to the wings to open shooters. Hansbrough is averaging 17.3 points and 4.1 assists per game, which added together means about 25-26 points per game that he’s responsible for.
“They generate a lot of their offense from ball screens for him,” said Huggins. “Everything they run ends up in a ball screen. They do a great job of throwing it in the post and cutting off the post; (Tyrone) Nash passes it really well. They do a good job of moving and screening on the perimeter when the ball goes in the post which kind of occupies people and takes away help and kind of isos him one-on-one but it also frees up their shooters.”
Jones said West Virginia will have to somehow find a way to slow down Hansbrough’s dribble drives to the basket.
“His penetration causes defenses to help and he kicks it out to open shooters and they are a very good shooting team,” Jones explained. “We’ve just got to contain his penetration and get out to open shooters and know their personnel out there.”
West Virginia (16-9, 7-6), though still in good shape as far as an NCAA at-large bid is concerned, is looking for some quality wins down the stretch to stay off the bubble. The Mountaineers dropped a 63-52 decision at Syracuse on Monday night in Syracuse with guard Casey Mitchell providing most of the offense with 23 points – 21 of those coming on 3-point field goals.
Mitchell leads the team in scoring with a 15.4-points-per-game average. Jones is now averaging 12.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Truck Bryant (10.4 ppg.) and John Flowers (10.0 ppg.) are also averaging double figures.
Notre Dame is the fourth nationally ranked team West Virginia has faced in the last five games and one of seven ranked teams the Mountaineers will play over their remaining nine games.
Tip off for today’s game is set for 1 p.m. MSN’s radio coverage begins with the Coliseum Countdown at 12:30 p.m.
More than 90 former West Virginia players, coaches and staff members will be at the game as part of a planned team reunion put together by the WVU Varsity Club. They will be recognized by eras at halftime with a walk out on the carpet.
The game has been announced a sell out.
Notre Dame (21-4, 10-3) is playing like a team in sync; the Irish bringing a seven-game winning streak into Morgantown for this afternoon’s game against the Mountaineers that will be televised to 66 percent of the country on CBS.
All five Irish starters average between 9.6 to 17.3 points per game, and four of the five standing 6-feet-8 with point guard Ben Hansbrough at 6-foot-3.
“They’re definitely a great team and Ben Hansbrough has done a great job for them in their offense and they and they play together,” said West Virginia junior forward Kevin Jones. “That’s where we need to be at and I think there is no reason why we can’t be like that.”
Brey has had great success at the Coliseum through the years, winning here four times, three short of Jim Boeheim’s seven wins, which is the most by an opposing coach in this arena.
Notre Dame, predicted to finish seventh in the Big East this year, is ranked seventh in the country this week with wins in the Old Spice Classic against Georgia, California and Wisconsin and conference victories against Georgetown, UConn and a big road win at Pitt on Jan. 24. That is Pitt’s only loss in Big East play so far this season.
“They’re a very smart team,” said Jones. “They know what their advantages and disadvantages are in their game and in their opponent and they exploit it very well. This is going to be more of a mental game than anything.”
Because of their intelligence, Notre Dame can play varying styles – from the up-tempo is typically prefers to play to a hold-the-ball-and-work-the-clock style it used to beat Pitt, 56-51, last month.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins isn’t as concerned as much about the style of play Notre Dame chooses as much as he is about the number of different scorers Brey can put on the floor at the same time.
“Where do you get help from? Generally when you play people you try to figure out who you can help off of or who you can get help to their best player but them, they’re a little bit like we were a year ago in that they’re big and long,” said Huggins. “Their smallest guy starting is Hansbrough and he’s 6-3. I think their next smallest guy is (6-8) so they’re like we were a year ago – big and long.”
Hansbrough, one of the leading candidates for Big East player of the year, has been a handful for teams to try and guard this year. A lot of what Notre Dame does centers on his ability to get the ball to the glass and either score or pitch it out to the wings to open shooters. Hansbrough is averaging 17.3 points and 4.1 assists per game, which added together means about 25-26 points per game that he’s responsible for.
“They generate a lot of their offense from ball screens for him,” said Huggins. “Everything they run ends up in a ball screen. They do a great job of throwing it in the post and cutting off the post; (Tyrone) Nash passes it really well. They do a good job of moving and screening on the perimeter when the ball goes in the post which kind of occupies people and takes away help and kind of isos him one-on-one but it also frees up their shooters.”
Jones said West Virginia will have to somehow find a way to slow down Hansbrough’s dribble drives to the basket.
“His penetration causes defenses to help and he kicks it out to open shooters and they are a very good shooting team,” Jones explained. “We’ve just got to contain his penetration and get out to open shooters and know their personnel out there.”
West Virginia (16-9, 7-6), though still in good shape as far as an NCAA at-large bid is concerned, is looking for some quality wins down the stretch to stay off the bubble. The Mountaineers dropped a 63-52 decision at Syracuse on Monday night in Syracuse with guard Casey Mitchell providing most of the offense with 23 points – 21 of those coming on 3-point field goals.
Mitchell leads the team in scoring with a 15.4-points-per-game average. Jones is now averaging 12.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Truck Bryant (10.4 ppg.) and John Flowers (10.0 ppg.) are also averaging double figures.
Notre Dame is the fourth nationally ranked team West Virginia has faced in the last five games and one of seven ranked teams the Mountaineers will play over their remaining nine games.
Tip off for today’s game is set for 1 p.m. MSN’s radio coverage begins with the Coliseum Countdown at 12:30 p.m.
More than 90 former West Virginia players, coaches and staff members will be at the game as part of a planned team reunion put together by the WVU Varsity Club. They will be recognized by eras at halftime with a walk out on the carpet.
The game has been announced a sell out.
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