West Virginia's tournament hopes nearly ruined against St. John's

While West Virginia firmly placed themselves on the right side of the bubble after handling rival Pittsburgh on Big Monday in their home finale, the Mountaineers nearly saw their entire body of work flushed away in their regular season finale at St. John’s.

This game potentially had letdown written all over it. WVU just reached the 10-win mark in conference play. The Mountaineers fresh off a huge win in the home finale on senior night against Pitt, could see their 11 th win in the Big East just off the horizon. All they needed to do was beat St. John’s, a team that dropped six of their last seven games. The Red Storm were grasping onto a very thin thread, still win a chance to nab the 12 th and final spot in next week’s Big East tournament. Take of business against St. John’s and West Virginia would be sitting pretty on Selection Sunday.

The funny thing about the Big East is that there are no gimmie victories, no paper wins. You earn every win you get, from opening tap to final buzzer, something St. John’s harshly reminded West Virginia of on Saturday. The Red Storm were 6.6 seconds away from severely damaging WVU’s NCAA tournament hopes, but Mountaineers guard Joe Mazzulla too the inbounds play and sprinted coast to coast, past four St. John’s defenders, and deposited a layup with .3 seconds left to tie the game at 68 and force overtime.

Mazzulla revived West Virginia and deflated St. John’s. The Red Storm, visibly stunned and disappointed, seem to quit and go home. For a team that worked the hardest for a win all year long, it was disappointing to see St. John’s fold and drop their heads in overtime. West Virginia raced out to a quick 7-0 run to begin overtime, and St. John’s couldn’t regroup. The Red Storm didn’t do themselves any favors, clanking 5-of-7 free throws in overtime, and finished the day just 7-of-18 from the line. West Virginia doubled up St. John’s and then some in the extra session, dominating the five-minute overtime frame 15-6, and the Mountaineers escaped Madison Square Garden with an 83-74 victory.

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The Mountaineers claimed their 11 th win in Big East play, and their win over St. John’s solidifies West Virginia’s at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, but just to be extra cautious, it wouldn’t hurt if the Mountaineers disposed of their first-round opponent in the Big East tournament beginning on Wednesday. As West Virginia’s tournament hopes are well in hand, the Red Storm won’t be taking part in next week’s Big East tournament, as the Red Storm finish the 2007-08 season 11-19 overall, and 5-13 in the Big East, while dropping seven of their last eight games to close out their season.

by Frank Minniti
BigEast-fans.com Director of Content

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