NCAA Basketball Season to date Summary

We are less than 4 weeks away from March and the Madness that will ensue. I look forward to analyzing and predicting the layout of the NCAA tournament. First, however, let's take a look at the season to date of my primary two teams of interest - WVU and UR.

West Virginia is ranked sixth and in line for a #2 seed at this point, so obviously there shouldn't be much to complain about. It certainly makes Mountaineer nation very happy to see them stomp their rivals Pittsburgh last night. Pitt is a little down this year, but that was still a good win. In fact it is their best win outside of an earlier win at home versus Ohio St. This makes me wonder how good West Virginia is and of what they are capable. I would like to consider them a national title contender. Perhaps they are if the pieces fall into place just right. Other results against ranked opponents include a pounding they took to the hands of Purdue at their place and a narrow one point loss to Syracuse at home. However that loss is a little deceiving since Syracuse led by 10 with 1:20 to go and by 6 with just 7 seconds remaining. West Virginia looked outclassed by both of those teams. The Notre Dame loss was a bad one, but I'm willing to throw out one bad game. So, to me it appears that WVU is a solid top 15 team but it remains to be seen if they can handle to the top teams in the land and make a run at a title. I would say no if it were not for the addition of Kilicli. He has now served his suspension and I'm anxious to see what he can do. His stats in his debut were impressive (I did not get to see the game since it was not on in Richmond). I also think that Truck Bryant has really settled down of late and become more reliable with his ball handling and distribution. That has been huge for the Mountaineers. I still have two concerns. The first is that the defense has been a bit disappointing from a Huggins coached team. In fact Louisville appeared to be leaving Morgantown with a win until the Mountaineers changed to a 1-3-1 (coached by Mazzulla) and confused them. I'd like to see the man to man defense improve. Secondly is that they lack slashers. If teams can get up into the faces of the Mountaineers they struggle. On some positive notes, Wellington Smith's three point shooting is a welcome surprise, Kevin Jones is much improved, and Butler seems to finding his stroke lately. So we'll see where they go from here. I'll be disappointed if they miss the sweet 16 and I'm hoping for a trip to the final 4.

Richmond is a bubble team at 17-6. Lunardi has them on the inside of that bubble right now. The team is a bit perplexing and inconsistent. They have some nice wins and questionable losses. They entertain Temple this weekend and go to Rhode Island, a couple of big games for them. Kevin Anderson is a terrific point guard (if he were on the Mountaineers, WV would be in much better shape), Gonzalvez is a nice 2 though he is very streaky, and Harper has been more consistent with scoring this year and improved on his strength inside to go with his 6-8 frame. Butler gives them good reliable minutes. The pleasant surprise and big disappointment have come at the same position, center. Dan Geriot was returning from a redshirt year with big expectations. He was supposed to be the missing piece to put the team over the top since he lead the team in scoring and rebounding two years ago. He has been a shell of his former self. However, Darrius Garrett has stepped up and been impressive. He is a shot blocking force and moves well defensively. Offensively he's much improved from his freshman season but still has a long way to go to be a threat inside. Who gets the majority of the minutes should depend on the matchup the opponent presents as Geriot still has superior offensive skills. I like the look of the team more with Garrett on the floor, however. I will be disappointed if the Spiders miss the tournament, but it could go either way right now. The A-10 is solid with 3 teams (Temple, Rhode Island, Xavier) almost assured of a bid and another 3 (Dayton, Charlotte, Richmond) aiming for a bid. The Spiders have to make it happen down the stretch. If they can get in, the Spiders could make some noise in the tournament considering their strong guard play.

Weekend games:

WV @ St. Johns - I would think the Mountaineers would not have much problems there.
UR vs Temple - I plan on attending this game, it's a big game and a measuring stick for the team. I think they come up with a big win.