West Virginia looking to solidify tournament hopes against Providence

Wednesday, March 12, 2008
2 PM Madison Square Garden

#5 West Virginia vs. #12 Providence

West Virginia returns to Madison Square Garden four days after their NCAA Tournament hopes were nearly tarnished in the same venue. Last Saturday, West Virginia needed a Joe Mazzulla end-to-end layup with .3 seconds left in regulation against St. John’s to force overtime. The Mountaineers pounded the Red Storm 15-6 in the overtime session, coming from behind to beat St. John’s 83-74.

Head coach Bob Huggins has his alma mater on the verge of the NCAA Tournament, winning four of their last five games in the regular season. Since getting trounced at the hands of Huggins’ former team, Cincinnati, 62-39, West Virginia closed out their season winning seven of their last 10. The Mountaineers solidified their tournament hopes last Monday in their home finale, besting arch rival Pittsburgh 76-62. West Virginia (22-9, 11-7) boasts four players in double figures in scoring, led by forward Joe Alexander. Alexander leads WVU in scoring (16.2 ppg) and tied for the rebounding lead on the team with De’Sean Butler (6.1 rpg).

Lately, Alexander has been the best player in the Big East not named Harangody. Alexander has scored in double figures in eight straight games, guiding the Mountaineers to a 6-2 record in those eight games. Alexander has been a beast in the Big East at the end of the year, boasting consecutive 32-point games against Big East big boys UConn and Pitt, while snaring 10 rebounds in two of the last three games. Alexander is also finding his way to the free throw line, averaging 15.5 free throw attempts the last two games.

Providence (15-15, 6-12) sealed up the 12th and final spot in the Big East tournament this past Sunday, but not the way they would’ve liked to. The Friars lost their regular season finale to Villanova, 73-63, marking the sixth time Providence lost in their final eight games. The Friars got some much needed help from Pittsburgh on Sunday, ensuring their spot in the tournament. The Panthers dusted DePaul 98-79, and with DePaul losing in a must-win game, the Friars by virtue of a tiebreaker with DePaul, backed into the Big East tournament.

The No. 12 seeded Friars started out the 2007-08 campaign strong, boasting a 9-3 record to start. Then 2008 arrived, as well as the Big East portion of their schedule. Providence went just 6-12 in the new year, and fell into a drastic downward spiral, losing nine of 10 games, spanning from Jan. 24th to Feb. 23rd. Their lone win during that horrific stretch turned out to be crucial: it was a 79-65 win over DePaul.

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Despite having five players averaging double figures in scoring, Providence has failed to play consistently away from home. The Friars are just 2-8 away from the Dunkin Donuts Center, whereas the Friars were 10-5 at home during the regular season. The backcourt is the Friars’ main strength, led by guards Jeff Xavier and Weyinmi Efejuku. The duo is one-two respective in scoring for Providence (Xavier leads Providence with 12.5 ppg, Efejuku 11.6 ppg), and they have led Providence in scoring in nearly half of their 30 games played this season. While Providence impressively swept their season series with UConn this season, against the other 11 participants in the Big East tournament, the Friars are just 3-10.

The winner has a date in the second round on Thursday at 2 pm against No. 4 seed UConn Huskies.

by Frank Minniti
BigEast-fans.com Director of Content

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