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Welcome, By-Godders, to The Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU’s best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions.
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Football
Bluefield’s Sean Martin verbally commits to West Virginia
One of the most highly recruited West Virginia high school football players in the Class of 2020, Bluefield defensive lineman Sean Martin, has verbally committed to West Virginia. Martin is one of five future Division 1 players on the Beavers’ roster. Seniors J.J. Davis and Jahiem House and junior Isaiah Johnson still have their recruitments open. Senior kicker Kaulin Parris plans to walk-on at WVU.
Three Guys Before The Game – TCU & Cancun Challenge Review (Episode 161)
Tony Caridi, Brad Howe, and Hoppy Kercheval discuss the end of Neal Brown’s first season on this episode of Three Guys Before The Game. The guys also talk about Bob Huggins’ perfect start to the men’s basketball season.
Basketball
Tshiebwe Earns Second Big 12 Newcomer Honor
West Virginia freshman forward Oscar Tshiebwe has been named the Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season. Last week Tshiebwe had 19 points and 18 rebounds in the Cancun Challenge championship game to earn MVP honors, lead West Virginia to the title, and earn the conference honor.
Unbeaten Mountaineers remain shut out of both Top 25 polls
West Virginia’s 7-0 start has been enough to earn some attention from voters in both the AP and coaches’ polls, but the Mountaineers failed to earn enough votes in either poll to jump into the rankings following last week’s Cancun Challenge championship.
The West Virginia women’s basketball team fell out of the top 25 this week, but the Mountaineers are still receiving votes. WVU is currently 5-1 and will face #10 Mississippi State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Sunday.
Culver comes off the bench for 25 as WVU holds off Rhode Island
Derek Culver led the Mountaineers with 25 points and 11 rebounds, recording his first double-double of the season, in WVU’s win over Rhode Island on Sunday. Culver now has 10 career double-doubles.
West Virginia Athletics
Senior goalkeeper Rylee Foster and sophomore defender Jordan Brewster of the West Virginia women’s soccer team have been named to the 2019 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women’s All-Midwest Region Second Team.
WVU Closes 2019 Regular Season with Comeback Win
Trailing 2-0 in the match, the West Virginia volleyball team came back from two sets down to capture a 3-2 win over Big 12 foe Kansas on Saturday. The Mountaineers finished the regular season with a 12-17 record.
Wood and McCabe Compete at Canada Championships
Sophomore Charlotte Wood and freshman Ceili McCabe of the West Virginia cross country team competed at the Canadian National Cross Country Championships.
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Around the Big 12
Big 12 badly needs a fix for lack of compelling rivalry-week games
The Big 12 has been missing interesting matchups during college football rivalry week. Here is a breakdown of a potential solution to add true rivalry games to the schedules of Big 12 teams.
Big 12 champion could now have more feasible shot at playoff
This year the Big 12 champion could possibly get a spot in the College Football Playoff, which seems much more feasible after a couple of significant losses in other leagues. Oklahoma and Baylor play for the title on Saturday.
K-State, OU, UT Claim Final Weekly Honors
Texas wide receiver Devin Duvernay was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, while Defensive Player of the Week went to Oklahoma cornerback Parnell Motley. Kansas State freshman Joshua Youngblood was named the Special Teams Player of the Week for a second straight week, while the Newcomer of the Week was Texas freshman Roschon Johnson.
Around the NCAA
College basketball rankings: Louisville your new No. 1 in the AP Poll
Louisville is the new #1 team in college basketball. After very little change between the AP Poll in Week 3 and 4, things got crazy in Week 5. Previous #1 Duke lost at home to Stephen F. Austin, ending the Blue Devils’ streak of 150 consecutive home wins against non-conference teams and dropping them to #10.
ACC/Big Ten Challenge 2019: Schedule, results, and more
The 21st installment of the event will be headlined by a top five showdown on Tuesday night.
How Michigan turned a transition year into a contender under Juwan Howard
Michigan is the hottest college basketball team without John Beilein. This is how the Wolverines have done it.
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Which NFL teams clinched a playoff spot or which were eliminated in Week 13?
For the first time all season, NFL teams could start punching their ticket to the playoffs. Only one team did, though.
8 teams moving up, 6 moving down in the NFL Week 13 playoff picture
The Baltimore Ravens took over the top spot in the AFC, while the NFC East is at dumpster fire levels. Geoff Schwartz examines the latest playoff standings.
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