The Shotgun/Throwdown (3/18/19): 20-loss season may be one of Bob Huggins’ best

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

FOOTBALL

Why James Harden - yes, James Harden - is a model for WVU QBs | WV MetroNews
This spring, Neal Brown is searching for his very own James Harden.No, Brown is not doing a coach-swap with Bob Huggins. He’s looking for a starting quarterback. And minus the bushy beard and ability to draw phantom foul calls, the NBA star embodies precisely what Brown is searching for at quarterback.

WVU recruiting: New football coaches implement new recruiting styles | Charleston Gazette-Mail
With the football coaching change at West Virginia, differences in the new staff’s approach to recruiting have been stark.

RB Sinkfield’s role to increase on field | Times West Virginia
For someone raised at the knee of Hal Mumme and Mike Leach in an “Air Raid” environment, West Virginia’s new football coach Neal Brown has learned that throwing the football is not the only way to win football games.

BASKETBALL

20-loss season may just be Huggins’ best | Times West Virginia
For the first time in his 37-year coaching career, Bob Huggins has suffered 20 losses in a season. Yet, it just may go down the best coaching job he’s done in what figures to be a Hall of Fame career.

West Virginia not included on official list of women's NCAA bubble teams | WV MetroNews
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament selection committee has all but shut the door on West Virginia. The committee released a list of eight teams that are being considered for the final four at-large spots in the tournament field Sunday. The Mountaineers were not on the list.

WEST VIRGINIA ATHLETICS

Mountaineers Sweep Regular-Season Finale | West Virginia University Athletics
A season-best score of 196.425 pushed the West Virginia University gymnastics team to a sweep of its regular-season finale this afternoon in the WVU Coliseum.

Mountaineers Suffer Third Big 12 Loss at TCU | West Virginia University Athletics
The West Virginia University tennis team (8-5, 0-3 Big 12) dropped their third conference match of the season on Sunday afternoon, as it was defeated by TCU, 4-0, at the Bayard H. Friedmann Tennis Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

AROUND THE NCAA

2019 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdown: Best Matchups, Story Lines, and Scenarios | The Ringer
From a Zion Williamson fantasy dunk experiment to a potential North Carolina–Kentucky matchup, it’s time to break down the best and worst from each region

The 6 biggest snubs of the 2019 NCAA Tournament | SBNation
The most surprising name on this list looks to be out because of the Pac-12 Tournament final. But for the more prominent teams, they can only blame themselves for missing March Madness.

The cord cutter’s guide to watching the 2019 NCAA Tournament | SBNation
Don’t have cable, but want to watch the biggest tournament in American sports? There’s never been a better time catch all the madness with streaming devices.

March Madness predictions 2019: Instant picks after NCAA bracket unveiling | SBNation
Here are our instant picks for the 2019 NCAA tournament.

The 15 rules for NCAA tournament bracket predictions | SBNation
There is a method to March Madness.

Duke can win the NCAA national championship for these 3 reasons | SBNation
Here are three reasons Zion Williamson’s Blue Devils could win it all.

TODAY’S FBS TEAM PREVIEWS BY BILL C

As always, SB Nation’s Bill Connelly is working his way through every Division I FBS football team, from Bowling Green to Alabama. Check out the teams Bill has already previewed by clicking HERE.

Marshall is a volatile team for a volatile conference | SBNation
Doc Holliday’s 10th Marshall squad might be his most Marshall squad yet.

Seth Littrell bet on himself by returning to North Texas in 2019. Will the gamble pay off? | SBNation
He allegedly had a Big 12 offer but turned it down for now. After what he’s accomplished in three years in Denton, he gets benefit of the doubt.

Shawn Elliott’s second year at Georgia State was a struggle, but the build continues | SBNation
Elliott’s defense was more freshman-heavy than expected, but the potential’s there, and the offense is exciting.

Steve Campbell might be looking at a second Year Zero at South Alabama | SBNation
Campbell’s first year in Mobile was a struggle, and now USA is starting over in all the wrong units.

And now, Coastal Carolina’s FBS era begins in earnest | SBNation
Jamey Chadwell officially takes the reins from Joe Moglia, and the Chanticleers begin looking for ways to stand out in the Sun Belt.

The trial of the century (in Alabama) | SBNation
The case against Donald Watkins Sr. and his son would’ve been one of the biggest sports stories of the year had it not been happening in Birmingham.

The Ringer’s 2019 NFL Draft Guide | The Ringer
The 2019 free-agent market produced a flurry of big moves. Let’s break down how a wild week changed the outlook for this year’s draft.

‘Game of Thrones’ Loose Ends: Will Varys’s Distrust of Magic Affect the Endgame? | The Ringer
When the former Master of Whisperers was castrated as a child, he heard a voice that has haunted him ever since. Soon, the world will need magic to defeat the White Walkers. How will Varys respond?

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