North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: West Virginia
3/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DATE: Tuesday, March 20, 2007
TIME: 9:00 p.m. (EST) at WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, WV (14,000)
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network. Airtime: 8:30 p.m. (EST)
TELEVISION: ESPN
OPPONENT— Frank Young scored a career-high 31 points to lead West Virginia to a 90-77 victory over Massachusetts Thursday night at the WVU Coliseum in an NIT second-round game. Young made 11-of-15 shots, including 6-of-8 from three-point range. Darris Nichols with 14 points and Da’Sean Butler (10) were the only other double-figure scorers for the Mountaineers.
The difference in the game was a five-minute stretch in the first half when West Virginia used a 13-4 run to turn a one-point lead into a 26-16 advantage after a 3-pointer by Young with 5:35 remaining. The Mountaineers led 37-23 at the break.
Both teams shot 50 percent or better for the game, but their second half shooting was even more impressive. Massachusetts was an incredible 21-of-30 in the second half for 70 percent; the Minutemen were 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
The Mountaineers were nearly as lethal from the floor, hitting 16-of-26 for 61.5 percent in the second half including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc (12-of-28 for the game). The only negative for WVU was UMass pressuring the Mountaineers into 13 turnovers.
West Virginia led by as many as 19 points with 16:48 remaining before UMass made a run – mainly behind the 3-point shooting of James Life who finished with 20 points. A jumper by Life and a pair of Chris Lowe free throws with 11:24 remaining reduced the UMass deficit to four, 56-52.
The Minutemen got it to four again with 4:55 left when Life made a driving lay up, but Butler answered on the other end with a short jumper in the lane. A pair of Young free throws at the 3:52 mark got West Virginia’s lead back to eight, 78-70.
WVU has now won 12 straight home games against non-conference teams and is 31-2 against non-Big East teams under coach John Beilein at the Coliseum.
Tuesday’s match-up with NC State will be the second meeting between the two teams this season. On December 6th, West Virginia used a strong second half to beat the Wolfpack 70-61 in Charleston, WV. The Mountaineers made 8-of-14 second half 3-point shots to overcome a 28-all tie at halftime.
With the game tied at 40, West Virginia nailed four straight 3-point baskets during a five-minute stretch to take a 53-47 lead with 9:25 left. State played without injured point guard, Engin Atsur, and used only 6 players in the game. Four played the entire 40 minutes. Courtney Fells led State with 17 points.
West Virginia’s 3-point shooting (13-28) and 17 points from 17 Wolfpack turnovers were major factors. State shot 46 percent for the game, but was only 3-of-16 from the arc.
The Mountaineers, who finished 9-7 in the Big East during the regular season, have won two straight and four of their last five games. The only loss was in double overtime to Louisville in the conference tournament.
Although there are only two seniors on a roster loaded with freshmen and sophomores, West Virginia is one of the most prolific long-range shooting teams in the nation. Half of the Mountaineers shots come from beyond the arc and they average 10, three-point field goals a game. Against Providence on March 7th, WVU set a Big East Tournament record with 17, three-point field goals.
Five players take the majority of West Virginia’s 3-point shots, but Young (.411), Nichols (.416) and Alex Ruoff (.342) are the top gunners. Even 6-8 Joe Alexander and 7-foot reserve Jamie Smalligan can bury shots from the bonusphere.
Young is a difficult match-up. The 6-5 senior leads the team in scoring and has averaged 20 points and 5 rebounds over his last five games. In the December win over NC State, Young had 16 points and 7 rebounds. Alexander and Ruoff added 15 points each while Nichols tallied 11 points and 8 assists in that game.
West Virginia is a below-average rebounding team (-4 rebound margin), but the Mountaineers make up for it by taking care of the ball and tremendous 3-point shooting. WVU averages only 11 turnovers a game. Defensively, the Mountaineers are allowing only 62 points a game. Their 1-3-1 zone is very effective, especially with Alexander’s disruptive length at the point.
The Mountaineers led the Big East in 3-point field goal percentage defense and were No.2 in scoring defense and turnover margin.
The winner of Tuesday’s game will meet the winner of Florida State-Mississippi State in the NIT Semifinals on March 27th at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
PROBABLE WEST VIRGINIA STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG
21 Frank Young G 6'5 Sr. 14.7 4.3 1.9
14 Darris Nichols G 6'2 Jr. 10.7 2.7 4.5
11 Joe Alexander F 6'8 So. 11.1 4.6 2.0
22 Alex Ruoff F 6'6 So. 10.3 3.4 5.1
33 Rob Summers C 7’0 Sr. 4.5 4.4 --
TOP RESERVES:
01 Da’Sean Butler G/F 6'7 Fr. 9.9 3.4 --
43 Jamie Smalligan C/F 7’0 Jr. 5.3 2.9 --
03 Joe Mazzulla G 6’2 Fr. 3.2 -- 1.0
* Blocked shots per game
A STATE WIN—Would be the 7th for the Wolfpack in the last 9 games and the sixth in seven post-season games. State would move into the semifinals of the NIT to meet either Florida State or Mississippi State on March 27th at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The Pack would win its 21st game of the season, improving to 21-15. State would make its first trip to the NIT semifinals since 2000 when it finished fourth. The Wolfpack would stop a 12-game WVU non-conference home winning streak and become only the 3rd non-conference team to beat West Virginia at home under John Beilein.
A STATE LOSS—Would end the season for the Wolfpack at 20-16. West Virginia would win its third straight NIT home game and would advance to the NIT semifinals in New York to meet either Florida State or Mississippi State on March 27th. The top-seeded Mountaineers would improve to 25-9 and win for the fifth time in their last six games. WVU would improve to 32-2 at home against non-conference opponents under John Beilein. The Mountaineers non-conference home winning streak would extend to 13 straight.
