Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Tony’s Take – A Meeting With Pitt in the Pete is Looming
November 11, 2019 09:35 AM | Men's Basketball, Blog, Tony's Take
Tony's Take is a monthly Mountaineer sports column written by veteran West Virginia University play-by-play man Tony Caridi.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The resurrection of the Mountaineer basketball team officially began with last Friday's 94-84 victory against Akron. One win doesn't wipe away the ick of last season's 15-21 nightmare, but it's a step in the right direction.
If last season's opening game loss to Buffalo was a harbinger of things to come, perhaps a win over the Zips points to a promising future. Scoring 94 points against a team that was 22nd nationally last season in defensive efficiency underscores Bob Huggins' belief that his roster has significantly improved on offense. It's easy to see Jermaine Haley and Emmitt Matthews Jr. have matured, and newcomers Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil arrive as polished point producers.
While scoring more is nice, it's not the instant ointment that will heal the wounds that remain from last season. A climb back into the upper half of the Big 12 and into the NCAA tournament will ultimately be determined by winning true road games.
Nick Saban would call home wins and neutral court games in comfortable locales in November and December rat poison. If you want legitimate respect from the tournament selection committee, you win true road games in noisy, hostile and uncomfortable arenas.
That conveniently leads us to the next date on the Mountaineer schedule. WVU plays Pitt at the Petersen Events Center Friday night. The "Pete" may have lost some of its magic since it opened in 2003, however, a WVU win even early in the season will pay dividends in March.
Honestly, a road win anywhere would be gold for the Gold and Blue. That's because the Mountaineers did not win a single road game last season. They finished 0-10, that's a zero with a capital "Z".
If WVU wins at Pitt on Friday, it will be its first road victory in 633 days. The last one came Feb. 20, 2018 at Baylor. To underscore how difficult it is to win a road game, that Mountaineer team finished 26-11 and was a whisker away from the Elite 8. It ended the year with a 5-5 road record. It's hard to win away from home.
While there's no exact list of ingredients to cook up a road win, mental and physical toughness are always part of the recipe. Does this youthful Mountaineer team have what it takes? We'll find out together Friday night.
It's not a must win game, but it's one that would give this youthful team a booster shot to quicken its growth and development.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The resurrection of the Mountaineer basketball team officially began with last Friday's 94-84 victory against Akron. One win doesn't wipe away the ick of last season's 15-21 nightmare, but it's a step in the right direction.
If last season's opening game loss to Buffalo was a harbinger of things to come, perhaps a win over the Zips points to a promising future. Scoring 94 points against a team that was 22nd nationally last season in defensive efficiency underscores Bob Huggins' belief that his roster has significantly improved on offense. It's easy to see Jermaine Haley and Emmitt Matthews Jr. have matured, and newcomers Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil arrive as polished point producers.
While scoring more is nice, it's not the instant ointment that will heal the wounds that remain from last season. A climb back into the upper half of the Big 12 and into the NCAA tournament will ultimately be determined by winning true road games.
Nick Saban would call home wins and neutral court games in comfortable locales in November and December rat poison. If you want legitimate respect from the tournament selection committee, you win true road games in noisy, hostile and uncomfortable arenas.
That conveniently leads us to the next date on the Mountaineer schedule. WVU plays Pitt at the Petersen Events Center Friday night. The "Pete" may have lost some of its magic since it opened in 2003, however, a WVU win even early in the season will pay dividends in March.
Honestly, a road win anywhere would be gold for the Gold and Blue. That's because the Mountaineers did not win a single road game last season. They finished 0-10, that's a zero with a capital "Z".
If WVU wins at Pitt on Friday, it will be its first road victory in 633 days. The last one came Feb. 20, 2018 at Baylor. To underscore how difficult it is to win a road game, that Mountaineer team finished 26-11 and was a whisker away from the Elite 8. It ended the year with a 5-5 road record. It's hard to win away from home.
While there's no exact list of ingredients to cook up a road win, mental and physical toughness are always part of the recipe. Does this youthful Mountaineer team have what it takes? We'll find out together Friday night.
It's not a must win game, but it's one that would give this youthful team a booster shot to quicken its growth and development.
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/ Men's BasketballHappy Holidays from WVU Athletics!
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