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Washington vs. West Virginia
Sweet 16
3/25/10
The West Virginia Mountaineers (29-6) are experiencing great success under head
coach Bob Huggins. They won the Big East Tournament narrowly by a combined total
of just 7 points. The Mountaineers now find themselves in the Sweet Sixteen
after winning their first two games of the Big Dance. They will face a tough
squad in the Washington Huskies who made the Tournament on virtue of taking the
Pacific 10 Tournament. Washington has looked great in the latter half of the
year. They are a completely different team than the one that lost 5 games in
January.
The Washington Huskies had to battle from the start to stay alive in this
Tournament as the 11 seed in their region. Their first round game came against a
tough Big East team in the Marquette Golden Eagles. Quincy Pondexter was a bit
off scoring 17 points on 7-17, but made up for it by hitting a leaner with 1.7
seconds left to give the Huskies the win 80-78. He also had 11 rebounds and 2
assists. Isaiah Thomas was stellar with 19 points and 8 assists. The sophomore
guard sank 3 of 5 three point attempts. The Huskies were down by as much as 15
in the second half. They can’t afford to get behind against a team like West
Virginia. The Mountaineers won’t let them back in the game if they do.
Despite the seeding Washington was a narrow favorite in the second round against
New Mexico. They crushed the Lobos 82-64. Scoring was much more balanced for the
Huskies in this game, but Pondexter led the charge with 18 points on 7-12
shooting. Matthew Bryan-Amaning had the best game with 15 points, 9 rebounds,
and 2 blocks. The junior will be a big factor in this Sweet Sixteen game. The
Huskies made just 10 of 20 free throws. This game with West Virginia will be a
dog fight and they need every point they can get. That means they MUST make
their free throws.
Bob Huggin’s team finds themselves in a good spot after tip toeing through the
Big East Tournament. After a sluggish start in the first round against Morgan
State where they trailed 10-0, the Mountaineers rebounded for an easy 77-50 win.
Sophomore Kevin Jones had 17 points on 8-10 shooting. He also had 8 rebounds
even though he played just 24 minutes. Devin Ebanks contributed 16 points and 13
rebounds. He was 8-8 from the FT line and had 2 blocks. It was nice to see them
pull away. We all know that a win is never guaranteed in the first round no
matter how high your seed is. Georgetown was bounced in the first round this
year and Robert Morris nearly knocked off Villanova.
The second round provided a better challenge for the Mountaineers in the form of
the Missouri Tigers, but they easily passed the test. The Tigers are a tough Big
12 team and they knocked off heavyweight Memphis last year. Da’Sean Butler
showed why he is the star of the team by putting up 28 points on 6-14 shooting.
He sank 4 of 9 three pointers and 12 of 13 free throws. He also had 8 rebounds
and 2 blocks. Devin Ebanks also played well with 14 points.
This game pits one of the best teams in the country against one of the hottest
teams in the country. Anything can happen. We like West Virginia though. They
have proved countless times they can win big games. Coach Bob Huggins will have
them breathing fire early in the game. Don’t expect an upset here. The
Mountaineers are headed to the Elite Eight.
Predicted Score - West Virginia 75 Washington 68