West Virginia Mountaineers ready to take on the rebuilding Oklahoma Sooners

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

Football:

Jake Spavital’s contract incentives revealed, with one curious modification | WV MetroNews
Take a look at details of the three-year agreement awaiting West Virginia's new offensive coordinator.

Basketball:

Mountaineers ready for Sooners | The Exponent Telegram
If any player has been key for West Virginia, it has been point guard Jevon Carter. He just doesn’t want to accept that.

Mountaineers to Take on Oklahoma Wednesday Night | WVU Athletics
There are really two ways to look at this year’s Oklahoma men’s basketball team, which Mountaineers fans will now get to see in person on Wednesday night at the WVU Coliseum - the Sooner team that lost their first three Big 12 games Baylor, TCU and Kansas State without senior Jordan Woodard, or the one with a healthy Woodard that beat Texas Tech 84-75 Saturday in Norman.

Different feel this time as Sooners try to rebuild | WV MetroNews
A close call at Texas left No. 7 West Virginia feeling fortunate to win. Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins doesn’t want a repeat against another rebuilding opponent, Oklahoma.

WVU’s Konate, Oklahoma’s Lattin among Big 12’s best at blocking shots | Charleston Gazette-Mail
By Bob Huggins’ estimation, the loudest the Coliseum has been this season was the day he won the 800th game of his career — not that the landmark had anything to do with the ovation.

Carter Earns Naismith Trophy Honors | WVU Athletics
West Virginia University junior guard Jevon Carter has been named The Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Week.

Williams' shoes have been filled rather nicely | The Exponent Telegram
Would West Virginia, currently ranked No. 7 in the nation and owning two losses by a scant five points, actually have been better had Devin Williams not bypassed his senior year to turn professional? It is an interesting question, for certainly no ONE has stepped forward and filled his size 14 sneakers.

No. 24 West Virginia Visits Kansas Wednesday | WVU Athletics
The No. 24/23-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team begins a two-game road swing with a visit to Kansas on Wednesday, Jan. 18. The game is slated for an 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT tipoff and will be live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

West Virginia Athletics:

Elliott Picked by Philadelphia Union in MLS Draft | WVU Athletics
West Virginia University men’s soccer senior defender Jack Elliott has been selected by the Philadelphia Union in the fourth round (77th overall) of the 2017 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

Smith, Cottrell Remain Ranked | WVU Athletics
Jacob A. Smith went 3-0 at 197 while Dylan Cottrell posted a 2-1 mark at 165 pounds as the two remain nationally ranked following the West Virginia University wrestling team’s outing at the Pitt Duals on Saturday.

Around The Big 12:

Big 12 mailbag: Coordinator hires, dunks and races | ESPN
A defensive coordinator hire, a dunking wide receiver and a hypothetical foot race among QBs are discussed in this edition of the Big 12 mailbag.

Around The NCAA:

Bracketology: Gonzaga is pushing for No. 1 seed, but it’s not there yet | SBNation
Last week’s four top seeds remain in place after a huge week of matchups largely fizzled out. But seed lines two through four did get a bit of a shakeup.

National Signing Day 2017 is 2 weeks away. Let’s get caught up together. | SBNation
Bama and OSU (and maybe UGA) fight for the top class. Also, why’s Maryland that high up?

Another recruit says his scholarship offer was pulled right before Signing Day | SBNation
This kind of situation sucks, and it seems to make news at least once a year.

Oregon suspends football strength coach for 1 month after 3 players were hospitalized | SBNation
The situation at Oregon continues to unfold.

Why Cal and Sonny Dykes should both be better off without each other | SBNation
The Bears fired their head coach in January. Both parties’ new situations make sense.

The Formula to Stop the Process | And The Valley Shook
A look at beating Bama

Clemson's Ben Boulware has a great reason for getting a Championship tattoo on his Achilles | SBNation
ESPN’s Desmond Howard called Clemson’s LBs the defense’s Achilles heel in November.

Frank Beamer's back, as 1 of 3 new members of the College Football Playoff committee | SBNation
BEAMER’S BACK (OK, not really, but kinda)!

Rider-Siena fight results in one coach going through an imaginary handshake line | SBNation
The MAAC is quickly becoming college basketball's best conference for feuding players and coaches.

Today's Miss Throwdown is a knockout from Texas and a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model. CLICK HERE for Hannah Ferguson's Instagram.