bitcruncher
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WVU downs Syreacuse
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280130277
ESPN.com Wrote: West Virginia 81, Syracuse 61
Associated Press
West Virginia's Alex Ruoff (22) shoots over Syracuse's Scoop Jardine (33) during the second half of a college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008, in Morgantown, WVa. West Virginia won, 81-61.
(AP Photo/Jeff Gentner)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- West Virginia's players remember the blowout losses to Syracuse. Fortunately, Bob Huggins doesn't.
The coach, in his first season at his alma mater, has mixed his trademark, physical man defense with the Mountaineers' already sweet shooting, a combination that overwhelmed Syracuse in an 81-61 win Sunday.
West Virginia, with 23 points from Alex Ruoff on a career-high of seven 3-pointers, snapped Syracuse's eight-game series winning streak and recorded their biggest win over the Orange in 10 years.
It was vastly different from the previous eight games between the teams, when Syracuse dominated the Mountaineers and won by an average of 13 points.
"This is the first time I've beaten Syracuse," said Ruoff, a junior. "They get big-time players and we were really proud of our man-to-man defense. In the huddle we were saying they couldn't score on us. We took a lot of pride in it and we got energy from it."
That translated into a season-low in points and first half shooting percentage for Syracuse, the Big East's top-ranked scoring offense. West Virginia forced the Orange, who missed 16 of their first 23 shots, into a season-high 19 turnovers, including 10 in the first-half. That helped build a 35-20 halftime lead bolstered by two Ruoff threes in a key late stretch. It was part of a 23-5 overall run spanning both halves that gave the Mountaineers a 45-23 edge with 16 minutes remaining. Syracuse never got closer than 53-38 afterward, that with five minutes left.
"We thought we could come out and play man," Huggins said. "We did it the whole game and it pushed them out of what they wanted to do."
Darris Nichols tallied 17 points and six assists and Da'Sean Butler and Joe Alexander each scored 13 for West Virginia (12-4, 2-2 Big East). Nichols hit a 3-pointer and jumper as the shot clock wound down on consecutive possessions late in the opening half before Ruoff buried back-to-back threes. John Flowers then made a tip-in at the buzzer to help West Virginia carry momentum into the locker room.
The Mountaineers exploded for 10 of the first 14 points of the second half, including threes from Ruoff and Butler and a steal and lay-up from Nichols. That built a 45-28 lead with 16 minutes left that ballooned to as much as 76-50 on another Ruoff three with 5:31 remaining.
"The guys started to lose confidence on both ends of the court," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. "West Virginia did a good job taking advantage of that. We aren't handling the ball or getting people open. Right now we aren't competing."
Syracuse missed 10 of 13 3-point tries. Leading scorer Donte Greene missed six of his first seven threes and scored just 10 points, nine off his season average. Arinze Onuaku led SU (12-5, 2-2) with 15 points.
It was West Virginia's biggest home victory over the Orange in 32 years. West Virginia last defeated Syracuse at home by at least 20 in 1976. The Mountaineers have now won 14 in a row at home. They have yet to win a game by fewer than 14 points, but have lost their first two Big East road games.
"The biggest difference is that we have come out flat on the road without even realizing it," Alexander said. "This game reaffirms our confidence. We have had some lapses, but seeing how it worked against this team I think will motivate us to tee it up against other teams on the schedule."
It was the first meeting between Huggins and Syracuse's Boeheim, who have coached in combined 1,848 games.
Huggins has them playing well. How well they play over the long haul will be seen shortly.
(This post was last modified: 01-13-2008 06:39 PM by bitcruncher.)
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01-13-2008 06:35 PM |
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Jackson1011
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RE: WVU downs Syreacuse
syracuse did not play well today at all....IMO they have more talent then WVU and would probably win in the Dome if there was a rematch...but that was the worse defense I have the Cuse play in some time
Jackson
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01-13-2008 06:53 PM |
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esayem
Hark The Sound!
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RE: WVU downs Syreacuse
Impressive win! I think Nichols is one of the best pg's in the land.
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01-13-2008 07:17 PM |
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cuseroc
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RE: WVU downs Syreacuse
Jackson1011 Wrote:syracuse did not play well today at all....IMO they have more talent then WVU and would probably win in the Dome if there was a rematch...but that was the worse defense I have the Cuse play in some time
Jackson
Yeah, something is up with the Cuse. We do have a very young team with 4 freshmen averaging over 20 minutes and Devendorf and Rautins out for the season along with Josh Wright, our only senior leaving the team. We only have 8 total scholarship players on the team.
But this talented team should never lose by such a large margin (it could have been even worse) to anyone. Huggins has managed to do something in his first season that I dint think Beilien has ever done, and thats beat the Cuse.
Cogratulations WV. Not taking anything away from what your team accomplished today. The better team won.
On the other hand, this league will be amazing next year, with Cincy coming alive and Cuse will be much better and at full strength, and Uconn being even better. I'm not sure what Louisville has coming back. But just looking at how strong the league is right now, with Cuse Cincy, Uconn and Louisville being way down and unranked, its going to be simply amazing next season when these teams mature more.
(This post was last modified: 01-13-2008 08:24 PM by cuseroc.)
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01-13-2008 08:23 PM |
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CollegeCard
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RE: WVU downs Syreacuse
cuseroc Wrote:On the other hand, this league will be amazing next year, with Cincy coming alive and Cuse will be much better and at full strength, and Uconn being even better. I'm not sure what Louisville has coming back. But just looking at how strong the league is right now, with Cuse Cincy, Uconn and Louisville being way down and unranked, its going to be simply amazing next season when these teams mature more.
No one can be sure at this point. Williams, Caracter, and Clark could all leave early or return. Pitino likes to exaggerate when it comes to injuries, the strength of the upcoming opponent, and whether players will leave early. If you listen to him this week, Caracter will leave, Clark will not, & Williams himself claimed he is not leaving over the last week. I wouldn't bet money in either direction though for any of the 3 at this point.
As for recruiting, we currently have the #5 rated Scout class. Georgetown is the other BE club in the top 15, with the Hoyas rated #2. UofL's class will finish in the top 10, and will be #1 if Tyreke Evans commits. UofL currently has the committment of the #1 rated Scout player, Samardo Samuels (6-8, 240 C/PF). Evans is a 6-6 guard who looks excellent, and is currently the #2 rated Scout player. He is down to UofL, Memphis, Nova, Texas, and Seton Hall. You can find various blogs and recruiting services that will tell you what you "want to hear" in favor of any of those schools, but the most common theme at this point has Evans headed to Memphis due to Worldwide Wes. Evans is a near guaranteed 1 and done player, but looks like he could be special wherever he goes.
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01-13-2008 09:33 PM |
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wvucrazed
Heisman
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RE: WVU downs Syreacuse
WVU is a different team at home.... now if we can just get some consistency on the road.
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01-13-2008 10:25 PM |
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bitcruncher
pepperoni roll psycho...
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RE: WVU downs Syreacuse
wvucrazed Wrote:WVU is a different team at home.... now if we can just get some consistency on the road.
Amen, brother.
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01-14-2008 05:45 AM |
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Orange Eagles
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RE: WVU downs Syreacuse
The way they've played these past two games, this team won't beat anyone in this league. JB needs to snap these guys into shape, they're just not playing up to their potential. They really needed to be 4-0 at this point, so this will hurt us badly.
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01-14-2008 09:06 AM |
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bitcruncher
pepperoni roll psycho...
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RE: WVU downs Syreacuse
It's put you behind the 8-ball for sure. The loss of Devendorf hurts the most. He was the heart and soul of the team. Somebody better step up for y'all, or your season is going to right into the toilet.
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01-14-2008 11:02 AM |
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