Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil provide crucial offensive boost for West Virginia

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

Football

WVU announces date for Gold-Blue Spring Game

West Virginia will hold its annual Gold-Blue Spring Football Game on Saturday, April 24th, at 1 p.m. ET. Due to ongoing fear of COVID-19, the attendance allowed in Milan Puskar Stadium for the game and ticket information will be announced at a later time. Television broadcast and online streaming details will also be released at a later date.

Men’s Basketball

The Day After | Sherman proven to be critical to WVU success

West Virginia guard Taz Sherman came off the bench to score a game-high 23 points to help the #10 Mountaineers defeat TCU 74-66 on Tuesday. Sherman’s success on offense reflects his value to Bob Huggins’ team. Huggins’ teams commonly have scorers that come off the bench to give the Mountaineers a boost on offense. Sherman’s stellar shooting could have him in contention for the Big 12 Sixth Man Award.

McNeil surging at right time for WVU basketball

The #10 West Virginia men’s basketball team has looked to many different players to contribute to their lethal scoring attack this season, and one of those contributors has been junior guard Sean McNeil. McNeil is averaging 11.8 points per game, while shooting 40% from three-point range, and has been a crucial part of a WVU team that is trending upward with the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments right around the corner.

West Virginia returns home to face Kansas State

The #10 West Virginia men’s basketball team will be playing at home for the first time in two weeks, as Big 12 foe Kansas State comes to Morgantown on Saturday. The first time these two teams met this season, the Mountaineers came away with a 69-47 victory on the road. The Wildcats are coming off of a huge upset win over #7 Oklahoma on Tuesday night.

Huggins on TCU win: ‘We’ve only played two games, but it seems like a lot more’

#10 West Virginia led for 37 minutes in its 74-66 win over TCU on Tuesday night. Senior guard Taz Sherman led the way for the Mountaineers with 23 points, 15 coming in the second half. Sherman also made three of WVU’s five three-pointers. The Mountaineers are now 16-6 this season, with a 9-4 record in Big 12 play.

Mountaineers ride Culver, Sherman to 74-66 win at TCU

Derek Culver’s first-half dominance, combined with Taz Sherman breaking out in the second half, was enough for #10 West Virginia to lead relatively comfortably over the final 20 minutes to beat TCU 74-66 on Tuesday. This was WVU’s sixth straight Big 12 road win.

Thursday’s WVU-Baylor game canceled, 3 home games set next week

Earlier this week, the Big 12 Conference announced that today’s game between #10 West Virginia and #2 Baylor would be canceled. The Mountaineers return to action against Kansas State on Saturday in the WVU Coliseum.

Women’s Basketball

Turnovers a crucial part in West Virginia’s loss at Iowa State

The #18 West Virginia women’s basketball team struggled to get anything going against Iowa State on Wednesday night, as they lost 85-68. WVU struggled to not turnover the ball, which was likely a result of the team missing starting guard Madisen Smith due to injury.

Cyclones blow out No. 18 West Virginia 85-68

The #18 West Virginia women’s basketball team faced off against Iowa State for the second time this season on Wednesday night. The Cyclones shocked the Mountaineers with a 85-68 upset. Redshirt senior guard Kysre Gondrezick led WVU with 19 points and four assists.

Women’s basketball climbs two spots in Coaches Poll

The West Virginia women’s basketball team moved up two spots to rank #22 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll. WVU is one of two Big 12 teams featured in the poll, with Baylor moving up one spot to rank #7 this week.

Men’s Soccer

A new coach but veteran players for WVU men’s soccer in 2021

A new era is upon the West Virginia men’s soccer program as new head coach Dan Stratford will take the pitch for the first time since being hired in January of 2020. Stratford was slated to begin coaching in the fall, but due to COVID-19 restrictions the Mid-American Conference moved its men soccer season to the spring.

2021 Season Preview

A new era is on the horizon for the West Virginia men’s soccer team, as Dan Stratford, the program’s 10th head coach is prepared to begin his tenure after more than a year of waiting his turn.

Dan Stratford set to begin inaugural season at helm of WVU men’s soccer

The West Virginia men’s soccer team will begin its season on Friday against Charlotte. The Mountaineers will be relying on their veteran players during this unusual spring season.

West Virginia Athletics

Asper Earns Big 12 Weekly Honor

Freshman Chloe Asper has given the West Virginia gymnastics team its first Big 12 weekly honor of the season after being named the conference Newcomer of the Week. The award follows Asper’s balance beam performance in the Mountaineers’ road contest at #10 Denver on February 21st, where she tied for first overall with a career-high score of 9.9.

West Virginia eyeing 14th conference championship in virtual GARC tourney

The #4 West Virginia rifle team is preparing for the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Championship on Friday and Saturday at the WVU Rifle Range. If the Mountaineers are able to win, it will be their 10th GARC Championship in the past 11 seasons.

WVU Begins Big 12 Championship

The West Virginia men’s and women’s swimming teams opened competition at the 2021 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship on Wednesday. The first night of competition was highlighted by the WVU men’s team’s second-place finish in the 800-freestyle relay, where the Mountaineers swam the third-best time in the event in program history.

Baseball ranking roundup: WVU baseball stays in D1Baseball.com Top 25

The West Virginia baseball team checks in at #23 in the D1Baseball.com Top 25, as well as #27 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 30 Poll. In the D1Baseball poll, WVU is one of five Big 12 schools ranked this week. The Mountaineers started the season 2-2 after splitting their season-opening series at Georgia State this past weekend.

Mountaineer wrestlers maintain rankings

Four members of the West Virginia wrestling team remain in the national rankings. Redshirt freshman Ryan Sullivan moved up one spot in FloWrestling’s Top-25 Poll to rank #11.

Around the Big 12

Ramey, No. 14 Texas rally for OT win over No. 17 Kansas

Junior guard Courtney Ramey scored 15 points to help #14 Texas earn a regular season sweep of #17 Kansas with a 75-72 win on Tuesday night. Junior guard Ochai Ogbajai scored 17 points for the Jayhawks and freshman forward Jalen Wilson added 16. Kansas also had its five-game win streak snapped by the loss.

McGuirl’s big second half lifts Kansas State past Oklahoma

Senior guard Mike McGuirl scored 19 points, hitting three straight three-pointers in the final minutes of the game, as Kansas State took down #7 Oklahoma 62-57 on Tuesday night. Senior guard Austin Reaves led the Sooners with 25 points.

Around the NCAA

Hayes, Funderburk help NC State upend No. 15 Virginia 68-61

Senior forward DJ Funderburk scored nine of his 14 points in the second half, as North Carolina State gained a big lead and held off #15 Virginia 68-61 on Wednesday night. This was the fourth straight Atlantic Coast Conference road victory for the Wolfpack.

2021 All-Star Roster

The NBA has announced this season’s All-Star starters and reserves. The rosters for the All-Star Game will be determined through a draft, where the two team captains will select from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference and make their picks without regard to conference affiliation.

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