"Take me home, country road, to the place that I belong...West Virginia, Mountain Mama, take me home, country road!". John Denver has to be smiling upon the Mountaineers these days after their unbelievable win over Wake Forest. Only two weeks ago, West Virginia was in jeopardy of not even making the tournament. They then played brillantly in the Big East tournament with a combination of determination and grit. Now, not only are they in the tournament, they are in the sweet sixteen and have a legitimate shot at the Final Four.
They knocked off Creighton and then beat Wake Forest in the most unbelievable college basketball game I have ever seen(111-105 in double overtime). They will take on the Red Raiders of Texas Tech tonight in what should be a very interesting game. Even though Bobby Knight's team will be prepared, West Virginia should prevail. They execute a stifling 1-3-1 zone defense which causes most teams fits. On offense, Mike Gansey and D'or Fischer provide a nice 1-2 punch, and Kevin Pittsnogle is the rare 7-footer with three-point range. If they get past the Red Raiders, they are looking at playing either Washington or Louisville. Who do they match up better with? I'm thinking Huskies.
Even though UW is the top seed, West Virginia has a much better chance of beating them than they do Louisville. Washington is a very similar to the Wake Forest team they have already beaten. I don't know if the Huskies are overrated or not, but they have gotten a very favorable draw up until now. Louisville on the other hand got royally shafted. They should have gotten either a 3 or a 2 seed. The Cardinals have played like a team possessed and if you need any proof just look at what they did to Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were coming off an impressive ACC tournament, but Louisville absolutely mauled them. West Virginia needs to hope that Washington can beat Louisville, as this will actually increase their chances of advancing. Whether or not it happens, one thing is for certain, the Mountaineers are going to be a very tough team to beat.
