Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's nationally recognized best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions. We're being brought to you today by Weston Brew Lab's Hot Pepper Ale, in honor of Dalton Pepper going HAM yesterday. Raise (at least) one up for Charley!! It's his birthday today. Happy Birthday!!!
So...Dalton Pepper, where did that come from? Anyway, we're all glad he was able to do it, obviously. The game with Kentucky has been officially set to tip at 12:15 tomorrow. As you're probably well aware, the Big East took two fairly big hits yesterday and at least one more will come tomorrow when Cinci and UConn face each other. Full coverage of the Mountaineer win is inside, along with coverage of the football Pro-Day yesterday, some random bits and a preview of the Women's NCAA Tournament game against Houston. I've got your usual Friday fun too. PROGRAMMING NOTE: THERE WILL BE ANOTHER SHOTGUN/THROWDOWN POSTING TOMORROW.
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What You May Have Missed:
2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket - ESPN
Updated bracket with Thursday's Results
West Virginia Bob Huggins makes fashion statement with tracksuit - Steve Rushin - SI.com
"Like Belichick, Huggins has more important things to worry about than fashion" - Best comparison I've heard
Huggins, Calipari meeting again - Charleston Gazette
East Region Notebook: Kentucky's Calipari calls freshman Knight - PPG
West Virginia is 25-23 in NCAA tournament games and 7-3 in the NCAA tournament under Bob Huggins.
Houston scoring trio will test Mountaineers early - Daily Athenaeum
Carey: Defense needs to change attitude if team wants a deep run in tournament
Who missed out on the Top 25 list? - Big East Blog - ESPN
2011 WVU Football Pro Day - WVillustrated.com
WVU players have sights on NFL - Times West Virginian
Pro Day workouts held in Morgantown
West Virginia’s NFL hopefuls not worried by lockout - Daily Athenaeum
The Worst Sports Fans in America - GQ
WVU checks in at #3 and the top (bottom?) of the college representatives (love the pic for LSU at #10, btw)
NCAA Campus Roar - Nike Basketball
Facebook app, for those who are interested
Clemson Hangover:
Darryl Bryant, Kevin Jones help West Virginia shake off slow start - ESPN
Recap, stats, photos, video, etc
Pepper Steals The Show - MSNsportsNET.Com
Pepper’s steals turned momentum for WVU - Daily Athenaeum
Mountaineers Maul Tigers - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Recap, gallery, audio from Huggs and videos of the post-game pressers
Rapid Reaction: WVU 84, Clemson 76 - ESPN
Mountaineers down Clemson, advance in NCAA tourney - Charleston Gazette
WVU rallies, avoids upset against Clemson - Charleston Daily Mail
WVU Men's Basketball Game Recap: WVU 84 Clemson 76 - WVillustrated.com
West Virginia downs weary Clemson - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Toughness turned Tigers away - Daily Athenaeum
WVU advances with win over Clemson, 84-76 - PPG
Tigers Fall to Moutaineers - Shakin The Southland
West Virgina Press Conference - BGN
Comments from West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins and players Dalton Pepper, Joe Mazzulla, Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant following the Mountaineers' 84-76 win over Clemson in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Pepper comes out of his shell - Charleston Gazette
A dash of Pepper - Charleston Gazette
Steals clinch Mountaineers' 84-76 win over Clemson
Sophomore’s three straight steals seal WVU’s NCAA win over Tigers - Daily Athenaeum
Steals seal deal - Times West Virginian
Pepper’s late thefts key WVU victory
Pepper's defense had significant role - Charleston Daily Mail
Odd couple team up in WVU victory - Times West Virginian
Dalton and Deniz
MSN Postgame Report - Mountaineer TV
MSN's Tony Caridi and Jay Jacobs review West Virginia's 84-76 victory over Clemson Thursday afternoon in Tampa, Fla.
Clemson Highlights - Mountaineer TV
Highlights from West Virginia's 84-76 victory over Clemson Thursday at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. Courtesy Big East Conference.
VIDEO: Postgame Reaction to WVU's Win Over Clemson - WVillustrated.com
Huggs, Truck, KJ, JFlow, Joe, Cam and Deniz
WVU Basketball Photos: WVU vs Clemson - WVillustrated.com
Photo Gallery II: WVU vs Clemson - BGN
Photo Gallery: Pepper's Plays - BGN
Around the League (and Beyond):
Morehead State stuns Louisville basketball 62-61 in NCAA Tournament - Courier-Journal
Pitt stumbles early then rolls to win - PPG
74-51...alas, my perfect day was not to be (not my bracket, mind you...in the least)
No. 6 seed Cincinnati Bearcats top No. 11 Missouri 78-63 - Cincinnati Enquirer
UConn Routs Bucknell In NCAA Opener; Cincinnati Next - Hartford Courant
81-52
Denver dashed: St. John's loses, 86-71 to Gonzaga in NCAA Tournament - Rumble In The Garden
Syracuse out to thwart Indiana State with its 2-3 zone defense - Post Standard
Syracuse Vs. Indiana State: I Give You...The Sycamore Rock - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
Coach's Corner: A Preview Of Georgetown v. Virginia Commonwealth - Casual Hoya
Brey's squad free to zip past Akron - South Bend Tribune
NCAA Tournament's 'One Shining Moment' Should Be Destroyed: A Tribute, Really - SBNation.com
Jim Tressel's suspension increase was nothing more than PR - Andy Staples - SI.com
What's On Tap:
2011 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament (all times listed are EDT)
(13) Oakland Golden Grizzlies vs. (4) Texas Longhorns - Preview - ESPN
12:15 from Tulsa on CBS
(9) Tennessee Volunteers vs. (8) Michigan Wolverines - Preview - ESPN
12:40 from Charlotte on truTV
(15) Akron Zips vs. (2) Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Preview - ESPN
1:40 from Chicago on TBS
(9) Villanova Wildcats vs. (8) George Mason Patriots - Preview - ESPN
2:10 from Cleveland on TNT
(12) Memphis Tigers vs. (5) Arizona Wildcats - Preview - ESPN
2:45 from Tulsa on CBS
(16) Hampton Pirates vs. (1) Duke Blue Devils - Preview - ESPN
3:10 from Charlotte on truTV
(10) Florida State Seminoles vs. (7) Texas A&M Aggies - Preview - ESPN
4:10 from Chicago on TBS
(16) UT-San Antonio Roadrunners vs. (1) Ohio State Buckeyes - Preview - ESPN
4:40 from Cleveland on TNT
(16) Boston University Terriers vs. (1) Kansas Jayhawks - Preview - ESPN
6:50 from Tulsa on TBS
(15) Long Island Blackbirds vs. (2) North Carolina Tar Heels - Preview - ESPN
7:15 from Charlotte on CBS
(14) St. Peter's Peacocks vs. (3) Purdue Boilermakers - Preview - ESPN
7:20 from Chicago on TNT
(11) Marquette Golden Eagles vs. (6) Xavier Musketeers - Preview - ESPN
7:27 from Cleveland on truTV
(9) Illinois Fighting Illini vs. (8) UNLV Rebels - Preview - ESPN
9:20 from Tulsa on TBS
(10) Georgia Bulldogs vs. (7) Washington Huskies - Preview - ESPN
9:45 from Charlotte on CBS
(11) Virginia Commonwealth Rams vs. (6) Georgetown Hoyas - Preview - ESPN
9:50 from Chicago on TNT
(14) Indiana State Sycamores vs. (3) Syracuse Orange - Preview - ESPN
9:57 from Cleveland on truTV
Video of Interest:
Video of (Dis)Interest:
Fake movie trailer of the week:
Banned Australian commercial of the week:
Miss Throwdown:
Today's Miss Throwdown stays with the Australian theme. Here's 4 pages of Siobhan Parekh (click on the picture).
Hot Pepper Ale image via 2.bp.blogspot.com