New Basketball Season Brings Old Frustrations For Huggins And West Virginia

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions.

Football:

Six Earn All-Big 12 Honors | WVU Athletics
Six members of the WVU football team picked up All-Big 12 Honors.

Playing agree/disagree with All-Big 12 selections | WV MetroNews
Time to peck at the All-Big 12 selections that surfaced Wednesday, and we open with the primary topic of contention, Wendell Smallwood, No. 2 in league rushing but not among the first-team running backs.

Holgorsen returning in 2016, but no word on contract talks | WV MetroNews
Dana Holgorsen will return next season at West Virginia, a point athletics director Shane Lyons confirmed Wednesday night to squash speculation the school might be joining the FBS coaching carousel.

West Virginia made the right call by keeping Dana Holgorsen | Washington Post
Firing him at this point would have been self-defeating.

Basketball:

New basketball season brings old frustrations for Huggins, WVU | Charleston Gazette-Mail
What you want to do is dismiss Tuesday night’s final score and 25 of the 40 minutes that preceded the final buzzer that announced No. 10 Virginia as a 16-point winner. What you want to do is reserve harsh judgments and insist West Virginia is better than it was in the Jimmy V Classic and as good as it was in the seven games before it.

Carter, Miles must improve backcourt's play | The Exponent Telegram
There are those who may point at No. 14 West Virginia’s disappointing second-half performance in Tuesday night’s 70-54 meltdown loss to No. 10 Virginia in Madison Square Garden as the season’s low point, but they would be wrong.

Capital Classic WBB Tickets on Sale | WVU Athletics
Tickets for the Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic women’s basketball game between West Virginia and Marshall at the Charleston Civic Center are on sale now.

West Virginia Athletics:

Holmes Named to Naismith Trophy Watch List | WVU Athletics
West Virginia University women’s basketball senior guard Bria Holmes was one of 50 women’s basketball players named to the Naismith Trophy Watch List today.

Around The Big 12:

The Big 12 should respond to its critics by inviting everyone to enjoy Oklahoma's Playoff run | SBNation
If your conference didn't make the Playoff, that's on your conference, but you'll probably make it next year.

10 games that defined the Big 12 in 2015 | ESPN
Oklahoma's big victories over TCu and Baylor were huge moments, and the shocking loss to Texas still is being talked about.

ESPN.com Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year: Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield | ESPN
QB Baker Mayfield's knack for keeping plays alive and delivering in the clutch carried the Sooners all season and into the College Football Playoff.

Bill Snyder's interesting journey to the College Football Hall of Fame | ESPN
Kellis Robinett of the Kansas City Star examines the career and philosophy of longtime Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder.

Around The NCAA:

If teams had to have winning records to go to bowls, we'd drop from 40 to 32 games this year | SBNation
There are probably way too many bowl games. That's fine, but here's what it would look like if there were only a few too many.

Pac-12 refs will officiate the National Championship, ensuring chaos | SBNation
This is going to be fun and make one team really mad.

Maryland is the Big Ten school most likely to make big strides under its new coach | SBNation
Four Big Ten programs made coaching changes. Maryland is best situated to improve in the next few years.

UGA's new head coach is still on Nick Saban's staff, which means recruiting against his boss | SBNation
Kirby Smart is Georgia's new head coach. He's also still Alabama's defensive coordinator for the College Football Playoff. He's recruiting for his new job while also preparing to play games at his old job.

One Last Smile with the Snake: Remembering Kenny Stabler | SBNation
"These fans are getting their money's worth today"

Silly season in full swing | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Silly season for recruiting has officially arrived. With college coaches sitting in the living rooms of impressionable young men across the country, the word "commitment" gets an entirely new definition — as do the corresponding adjectives "solid," "firm" and "100 percent."

Today's Miss Throwdown is an Australian model and Victoria's Secret Angel. CLICK HERE for Miranda Kerr's Instagram.