West Virginia And Oklahoma Battling For Kentucky Wide Receiver Jeff Badet

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

Football:

Spavital Back at WVU to Call Plays | WVU Athletics
Dana Holgorsen giving up play-calling responsibilities is about like your dad giving you the keys to the Escalade to go on a date, or, in my case, the old man surrendering the Plymouth Volare (surely you remember those Ricardo Montalban commercials?). At any rate, this demonstrates the amount of trust Holgorsen has in his new offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, who just happens to be an old name to West Virginia University football fans.

Basketball:

Men's Hoop Notebook: No Envelope Required | WVU Athletics
West Virginia’s best player the last month of the regular season has been … Jevon Carter, of course. PricewaterhouseCoopers didn’t have to give us the correct envelope to determine this one.

Mountaineers need Miles to step up | The Exponent Telegram
West Virginia is missing contributions from one of its most explosive players — and it needs to get those back when postseason tournaments begin.

WVU’s Bob Huggins suggests bringing basketball officials under NCAA umbrella | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Bob Huggins’ relationship with college basketball officials has and has not changed this season. No. 10 West Virginia’s coach earned four technical fouls in the first 30 games of the season. That’s not a big number. It’s just a number. Trivia, at best.

Three Mountaineers Collect Big 12 Honors | WVU Athletics
Three West Virginia University student-athletes were honored with 2016-17 Philips 66 Big 12 Conference Women’s Basketball Awards, as selected by the league’s coaches on Wednesday. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.

Baseball:

Twelve-Day Roadtrip Begins in Louisiana | WVU Athletics
Winners of five in a row, including two at the defending national champions, the West Virginia University baseball team travels to Louisiana to begin a nine-game, four-city roadtrip. The trip begins at Nicholls on Thursday, March 2, and continues with a three-game series at Tulane, from March 3-5.

Transfer Badet looks like another Oklahoma-WVU battle | WV MetroNews
The Kentucky receiver checked out Morgantown last month and is slated to visit Norman this week.

Around The Big 12:

Big 12 spring preview: 10 burning questions | ESPN
As spring ball kicks off in Big 12 country this week, plenty of questions abound in the league.

Must-win and trap games of 2017: TCU Horned Frogs | ESPN
Texas and Texas Tech will both present challenges for TCU in the month of November.

Must-win and trap games of 2017: Texas Longhorns | ESPN
You can probably guess Texas' must-win game, but its trap game might surprise you.

Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield writes lengthy apology for weekend arrest | SBNation
Oklahoma Sooners star quarterback Baker Mayfield posted an apology for his weekend arrest in Arkansas, which included charges for public drunkenness, resisting arrest, and fleeing officers.

Around The NCAA:

Butch Davis is back in Miami and has maybe the country’s most experienced roster | SBNation
At FIU, the South Florida hero inherits maybe the most experienced team in the country.

Mike Gundy and Hugh Freeze disagree over whether Ole Miss’ Sugar Bowl win is tainted by NCAA violations | SBNation
Ole Miss won by four touchdowns and is now facing an NCAA firestorm.

Championship Week 2017: College basketball tournament schedule, rooting guide, and more | SBNation
The greatest postseason in American sports has arrived. Now it’s time to get educated before you dive headfirst into the madness.

Bracketology 2017: One-loss Gonzaga remains a 1 seed, for now | SBNation
The Bulldogs’ margin for error is shrinking after Saturday’s home loss to BYU. That result opens the door for the Pac-12 triumvirate of Arizona, Oregon, and UCLA.

Bryce Alford’s season of redemption is exactly what UCLA needed | SBNation
After years of criticism from a passionate fanbase, Alford has found himself as a senior. UCLA is rolling because of it.

HYPE

Today's Miss Throwdown is a legacy Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model. Her mom was one of the most famous models of the 1980s, and now it's her turn in the spotlight. CLICK HERE for Sailor Brinkley's Instagram.