by Bill Marsh » Thu Dec 01, 2016 7:49 am
A "must see" game this weekend is West Virginia @ Virginia. It should be a classic. The 2 teams are 1-2 in the country in scoring margin, but they get there in completely opposite ways. This should be the proverbial game between a rock and a hard place. Virginia is undefeated and West Virginia has 1 loss vs Temple.
West Virginia averages 95 ppg and has already gone over 100 three times this year. They lead the nation in forced turnovers (27.3 tpg) with a high of 40! They forced 24 in blowing out Illinois.
Virginia gives up only 41 ppg and turns the ball over only 8.5 times per game, 2nd fewest in the nation, with a low of 5 in blowing out Iowa.
On paper, the 2 teams are evenly matched with home court advantage to UVA. If this were tournament time, I'd be picking Virginia, but the strange dynamics involved make me think that this could be a big night for West Virginia. If they can get an early lead and force Virginia to play from behind, it's their game to lose. At this time of year, I think the Mountaineers can do that.
Two great coaches.