West Virginia Basketball Team Isn't Taking This Week For Granted, Looks To Improve NCAA Seeding

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

Football:

Gold-Blue Football Game Coming to The Greenbrier | WVU Athletics
West Virginia University football reigns supreme in West Virginia. This year the Big 12 football member will play its popular Gold-Blue Spring Game at The Greenbrier Sports Performance Center on April 23, 2016.

DolphinsReport Publisher Eric Roddy Provides Evaluation of West Virginia Cornerbacks Coach Danny "Blue" Adams | BGN
"I wish you guys hadn't taken him," Roddy said up front. "He is a great developer of talent. He has taken several players and made them better through a lot of work with them. I think one of his best qualities is that he has this NFL experience, and I think you will see more NFL quality guys coming out of West Virginia because of him."

Basketball:

For WVU, NCAA seeding is the source of motivation in Kansas City | Rivals
"Honestly, it’s more motivation to better our seeding for the NCAA tournament. That’s the number one thought," forward Devin Williams said.

WVU not taking anything for granted this week | Exponent Telegram
After scratching and clawing their way to a second-place finish in the Big 12 regular season standings, the Mountaineers know how difficult it is to string wins together in the nation’s No. 1 RPI conference.

Sure, why not? | WVU Sports with Mike Casazza
It can’t be easy to be as good as West Virginia is and to keep coming up with ways that are supposed to prove you are not good. But bless these Mountaineers, for they keep trying and they keep making it look so simple.

WVU aiming to continue defying odds | Exponent Telegram
As difficult as that is to believe for this school that made it’s way to the 2010 Final Four and that has one of the all-time most successful coaches in the history of college basketball, it has not been able to win a Big 12 Tournament game since crossing over from the Big East.

‘Bouncing around’ got WVU’s Paige recognized | Charleston Gazette-Mail
The first time Jaysean Paige climbed the steps and ducked through the door and inside the chartered jet that takes West Virginia’s basketball team to wherever it plays, he knew things were going to be different.

WVU's Carter Peaking at Right Time | WVU Athletics
Jevon Carter is coming off back-to-back strong games.

Paige, Williams Honored by USBWA | WVU Athletics
Both named to the USBWA All-District Team

Jon Holton is probably probable | WVU Sports with Mike Casazza
"He’s still got swelling, but he’ll be all right," Huggins said.

WVU Athletics:

NCAA Qualifiers Announced | WVU Athletics
Four Mountaineers will compete at the 2016 NCAA Championships next week.

Three Mountaineers Advance to Finals at NCAA Zones | WVU Athletics
Three WVU divers advanced to the finals on the second day of competition at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championship in Annapolis, Maryland, on Tuesday.

Women's Soccer Spring Slate Set | WVU Athletics
The WVU women's soccer team's 2016 spring schedule is set.

Around The Big XII:

Big 12 is loaded with stud teams heading into tournament | FOX Sports
"It's going to be just a tremendous event, when you have so many great teams together in one venue," the first-year Texas coach said before his first taste of its conference tournament.

2016 Big 12 Tournament Preview | Frogs O' War
The biggest event of the year for the strongest basketball conference in the nation gets underway tomorrow evening. Here's everything you need to know!

Mitch Vingle: Big 12 expansion and MEC tournament news | Charleston Gazette-Mail
As we move toward the Big 12’s probable summertime decision on whether to expand, bits and pieces of the big-picture story leak out.

Travis Ford's difficult job won't be his much longer | News OK
The Travis Ford era surely comes to a merciful end this week in the Big 12 Tournament. For a moment, forget the auxiliary issues of Ford’s 10-year contract and the fans’ abandonment of Gallagher-Iba. Simply look at Ford’s résumé.

Eddie Sutton Endorses Doug Gottlieb | Cowboys Ride For Free
Eddie Sutton was asked about the possibility of Doug Gottlieb as the next head coach at OSU.

Comparing like with like: Is it time for Trent Johnson to go? | Frogs O' War
With TCU's third last place finish in four years looming on the horizon it's time to ask if it's time to move on from Trent Johnson. We look at teams that were in similar situations to see if TCU's Basketball Coach is meeting expectations.

Quick Thoughts on Tech Basketball | Viva The Matadors
Thoughts on the season and the upcoming tournament(s)

Around The NCAA:

Bracketology: How Monmouth, Valparaiso and Wichita State stack up for at-large bids | SBNation.com
Monday night losses by the Hawks (in the MAAC final) and Crusaders (in the Horizon semifinals) further complicated the bubble picture. Our resident bracketologist compares their profiles to each other and to Wichita State's.

Here's why Iona should be your NCAA Tournament upset pick | SBNation.com
We're going to tell you everything you need to know about the teams you may not have heard of, the schools they come from and why they could win. Next up: Iona, which plays at a thousand miles an hour.

Here is Lovie Smith's Twitter introduction video made 1,000 times more exciting | SBNation.com
The new Illinois coach joined Twitter. We spiced up his debut tweet.

2016 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri

FULL BRACKET HERE

#9 Oklahoma State vs. #8 Kansas State | ESPN
7 pm ET tonight on ESPNU. Pokes are getting 5.

#10 TCU vs. #10 Texas Tech | ESPN
30 minutes after the conclusion of the KState/OSU game (9:30-ish) on ESPNU. Frogs are getting 8.5.

By God, it's hump day and tonight is the Vicky's Swim Special at 9 pm ET on CBS:

Today's Miss Throwdown is a no brainer with me back at the helm on a Wednesday with a VS special on TV tonight. CLICK HERE for today's gallery of the future Mrs. WVUIE97, Miss Candice Swanepoel.