Five days off is a good thing for the WVU Men’s Basketball team. Especially having just come off a tough road loss to UConn that they genuinely let slip away. After leading the Huskies by as many as 10 points in the second half, the Mountaineers’ inexperience (forced to the forefront in part by Truck’s 2 for 13 shooting) showed when our freshman guards quit dumping the ball into the paint.
An exasperated Huggins said post-game that Deniz and KJ were open in the post but they didn’t get the ball. Now he’s had five days to reinforce his consternation. By now, Gary Browne and Jabarie Hinds are parroting Vincent LaGuardia Gambini: "I think…I get…the point."
The time off will help Kilicli, who has been nicked up for the better part of the season. Additionally, KJ and Truck are logging a ton of minutes per game (KJ, 37 - Truck, 36). If these two are needed for victory, they’ve likely benefited from a few days at home.
It was on January 4, 2012 (the greatest day in Mountaineer sports history) that WVU that smacked Rutgers around in New Jersey. However, Rutgers came back from that tough loss to beat UConn 67-60 at home and then crush Pitt 62-39 on the road. I’d expect this Scarlett Knight team to be the one that shows up in Morgantown this weekend.
I just hope a well-rested Truck Bryant has his shooting legs back under him.
Tip off is 2:00 p.m. Saturday at the Coliseum. The game can be seen on Big East Network affiliates and ESPN 3.