WVU not typical Huggins team


AP file photo
Despite its inexperience, West Virginia (14-5, 4-2) appears headed to its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Bob Huggins.

Written by
Bill Koch

MORGANTOWN, W. VA. — The West Virginia team that the University of Cincinnati will face today is not the typical, in-your-face defensive team that Bob Huggins’ teams are usually known for.

The Mountaineers rank 11th in the Big East in scoring defense, allowing 65.5 points per game, and 14th in field goal percentage defense at 46.7 percent. That’s what can happen when you have seven freshmen on your roster trying to learn how to play defense on the college level well enough to please a defensive taskmaster like Huggins.

“They don’t come to play every day,” Huggins said. “I know what I’m going to get from (Kevin Jones) and Truck (Bryant). The rest of them, it’s a day-to-day deal.”

The Bearcats (15-4 overall, 5-1 in the Big East) are one of the hottest teams in the country, riding the wave of 10 victories in their last 11 games as they take on the Mountaineers. UC has won two road games over Top 15 opponents in the last 12 days.

But don’t cry for Huggins and the Mountaineers. Although they might not be able to stop opponents as consistently as he would like, he has the best player in the conference in Jones, the senior forward who leads the Big East in scoring (20.4 points per game) and rebounding (11.4).

“He’s not a great athlete,” Huggins said. “He’s just a great kid and he’s worked his behind off at getting better. He played really well at the end of last year. He’s got a lot of confidence right now.”

Despite their inexperience, the Mountaineers (14-5, 4-2) appear headed to their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Huggins, who took over at his alma mater in 2007. Their two Big East losses this season were on the road at Seton Hall and Connecticut. They also lost a non-league game, 83-81, in overtime to No. 3 Baylor.

“They are arguably as good as anybody in the Big East in my mind,” said UC coach Mick Cronin. “The Seton Hall game was an aberration. They could easily be sitting here at 5-1 in the conference. Cincinnati-West Virginia may be the best regular-season game between two non-ranked teams I have seen. (West Virginia) is a Top 20 team, period, end of debate. They are going to the NCAA tournament.”

Led by Jones, West Virginia is solid offensively, averaging 73.3 points and shooting 46.7 percent from the field, which ranks fourth in the conference. The Mountaineers are second in rebounding margin at plus-6.3 per game, which could be a problem for a UC team that has struggled on the boards. The Bearcats, who have forced 17.9 turnovers per game, will look to pressure the Mountaineers, who turn the ball over an average of 14.2 times.

In addition to Jones, West Virginia point guard Bryant averages 18.1 points per game and shoots 34.4 percent from 3-point range. Junior Deniz Kilici, a 6-foot-9, 260-pound center, averages 11.0 points and 5.4 rebounds, but did not play in the Mountaineers’ 78-62 win over Marshall on Wednesday. He had spent th a boot on his right ankle, which he injured in practice.

Huggins won the 700th game in his 29-year coaching career this season – 399 of those in 16 years at UC – but said he never gave the milestone much thought.

“I had to get ready for Baylor the next day,” he said.

Huggins is 704-258 overall, 4-2 against the Bearcats.

Cronin, who served as an assistant under Huggins at UC from 1997 to 2001, knows as well as anyone what the Bearcats are up against today.

“Whenever you give coach Huggins a team that can score – and they can score at all five positions – he is going to get them to defend and rebound,” Cronin said. “If he has to change defenses to defend, he is going to do whatever he has to do. We used to talk about when we were together, if you can’t guard them, resort to trickery. He is going to find a way to defend and make sure they rebound.”

For UC, there’s also the danger that the players will look ahead to Monday’s showdown against top-ranked Syracuse at sold-out Fifth Third Arena.

“It’s very clear who the best team in the country has been all year,” Cronin said, “but you have to play the games. We knew we had to win (Wednesday night at Connecticut) to stay in the race and if we can win Saturday, it will make Monday’s game for first place.”

Quote:
UC at West Virginia

Tipoff: 3 p.m. Saturday, Morgantown, W. Va.
TV: ESPNU Radio: WLW-AM (700)

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