THE SHOTGUN THROWDOWN: Mike Carey Retires

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MIKE CAREY RETIRES

West Virginia women’s basketball coach Mike Carey has decided to retire after 21 years as the team’s head coach. Carey finishes his career with 735 wins. 447 of those wins were with the Mountaineers, making him the all-time winningest coach in WVU women’s basketball history. He also led the Mountaineers to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, one Big 12 regular season title, one Big 12 tournament championship, 45 wins over ranked opponents, and 18 winning seasons. Carey’s incredible tenure at WVU helped the program become competitive in the Big East and the Big 12, as well as on a national level.

WVU Director of Athletics Shane Lyons has already started his search to find the next head coach of the women’s basketball team.

WVU DECLINES WNIT

After ending the season with a 15-15 record and failing to receive an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, the West Virginia women’s basketball team has declined its invitation to compete in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). WVU cited a limited roster due to injuries and players entering the transfer portal as the main reason for not participating in the tournament.

It is also possible that head coach Mike Carey’s decision to retire could have also been an influencing factor. When Carey’s replacement arrives in Morgantown, they will have to immediately begin recruiting in the transfer portal to rebuild the depleted roster.

WEST VIRGINIA ROUNDUP

• Watching the NCAA Tournament just got more enjoyable. West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins will be on CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV as a guest studio analyst during the second round of the tournament.
• The dynasty that the West Virginia rifle team has built is starting to look a little shaky. The Mountaineers finished in sixth place at the NCAA Championships on Saturday, allowing Kentucky to win back-to-back titles, and making it five years since WVU won the championship.
• Ceili McCabe of the West Virginia track and field team finished in eighth place in the 3,000-meter run at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday. The redshirt freshman earned All-American honors and was also named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week.
• The West Virginia gymnastics team suffered two respectable losses to #3 Michigan and #5 Auburn to conclude the regular season on Saturday. But WVU continues to have one of the top floor lineups in the country, ranking 18th in the Road to Nationals rankings.
• The West Virginia baseball team lost to Duke, 2-1, on Tuesday. The game at High Point was canceled due to inclement weather, so WVU will return to action in its series against Campbell this weekend on ESPN+.

AROUND THE BIG 12

• One-seed Baylor is favored by over 20 points in its First Round NCAA Tournament game today against the 16-seed Norfolk State men’s basketball team.
• Texas Tech is a three-seed and a big favorite in its first NCAA Tournament game against the 14-seed Montana State basketball team.
• Six-seed Texas might have a tough matchup against 11-seed Virginia Tech in the First Round of the tournament tomorrow afternoon.
• Iowa State will be looking to upset six-seed LSU on Friday night in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Despite being a nine-seed, TCU is slightly favored in its game against eight-seed Seton Hall in the First Round on Friday.

AROUND THE NCAA

• In the first game of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, Texas Southern defeated Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. Following the 76-67 win, the 16-seed Tigers will face top-seeded Kansas tonight.
• Indiana slid by Wyoming in their First Four game. The Hoosiers will now face five-seed St. Mary’s in the First Round.

ODDS AND ENDS

• In a not-so-surprising turn of events, NFL quarterback Tom Brady has decided not to retire and return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will now be ESPN’s Monday Night Football commentators, with Lisa Salters staying on the broadcast as the sideline reporter.

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