NCAA update

I usually start with a take on the Mountaineers because more WV fans read this than Spiders' fans. The Spiders deserve it though. It's not because they won their eighth in a row or because they are now ranked in both polls or that they lead the A-10, all of which are nice of course. It's because they did something I thought not possible - they nearly filled the arena in a non televised game against a mediocre non rival team (GW). Ever since I came to Richmond 10 years ago such a game would have fallen just short of filling the Robins Center halfway up (around 4,500). Saturday night, however, the Spiders drew over 9,000 fans. The most attended game I've seen is when the Spiders hosted WV in an NIT game, but it wasn't close to 9,000. In fact, according to the local paper, it was the highest attended game since hosting Syracuse in a quarterfinal NIT game many moons ago. Have people finally bought into Richmond basketball? I don't know, but I hope so. As for the team, they have a week off before traveling to Xavier, an extremely tough game. Their win streak will be in serious jeopardy. As for the Spiders play, they had a close game against an inferior opponent, something they hadn't done recently. Still, Kevin Anderson remains a man you can count on in the clutch. He had 24 points including the game winning jumper. George Washington's coach said, "The last 8 minutes of the game, it was just Anderson making plays". Many other coaches could say the same this season. The Spiders may only need one more win to get into the tournament (including that A-10 tourney), two should definitely do it.

The Mountaineers handled Providence and Seton Hall as they should, though they fell asleep at the wheel towards the end of the game against Seton Hall. Still it was two wins that keep them in good shape for the double bye. Butler continues to struggle from the free throw line in the clutch, but this time his teammates picked him up. The best news from the week was that Mazzulla was 5-6 from the line. That may be a sign that his shoulder is getting stronger and his touch is coming back. Could he perhaps be hoisting threes come tourney time? We'll see. If not, at least decent foul shooting will allow him to be on the court as an extra ball handler to preserve a lead. Kilicli continues to show flashes of brilliance, but his defense is too aggressive for his slow feet. Ebanks, Jones, and Smith had a nice week to compliment Butler.

Up next is at Connecticut tonight. It's an interesting game because WV has consistently beaten teams down in the standings while struggling against top tier talent. UConn is down in the standings, but has top tier talent and is playing much better since Calhoun has returned the bench. The Huskies will be fighting for the NCAA tourney lives tonight. I expect a close game. I give a slight edge to the Mountaineers.

On a personal note, I look at the rankings and Kentucky (3rd favorite team) is 2nd, WV is 8th, and Richmond is 23rd. It has never been so universally sweet.

Only a family note, my pops would love to chime in on the blog. However, his keyboarding and computer skills are keeping him down. He has tried a couple of times only to fall victim to frustration. So, to the best of my memory, I'll try to relay his thoughts below according to our phone conversation. By the way, he turned a very feisty 52 yesterday. Happy Birthday dad!!!

According to my dad or as many of you know him, Spud - the legend:

I am a huge Bobby Huggins fans. I love listening to the guy and I think he would be great to play for. I know the Mountaineers are ranked 8th, but I still feel like they are underachievers. People want to run Bill Stewart out of town, but he did about as well as could be expected for what he had this year. Huggins has one of the most talented teams at West Virginia and they haven't lived up to it. The most frustrating part is that they don't play defense. Huggins' teams usually, if nothing else, play excellent defense. Bryant doesn't play any defense, Ebanks doesn't play any defense, and Butler commits stupid fouls. I don't see them going very far in the tournament. They rely on Butler way too much in the clutch. They don't shoot free throws well. They say Ebanks may come out next year, but he's not ready. He'd get eaten up. For as good as they could be, they are hard to watch.