13-0 Boston College tried to maintain its unbeaten record and 11-2 West Virginia was hoping to make people forget that they had just lost to Marshall. Through the miracle of streaming video, I was able to file this report as if I were attending the game, or even merely watching it on TV. Here are my uncensored musings…
1st half
15:50 BC 7, WVU 5 – West Virginia has a Princetonesque offense. There are a lot of back-cuts, it’s very deliberate, they take the open three, and they get few offensive rebounds. The 1-3-1 zone they employ is forcing BC to take a lot of time to get a shot themselves.
11:49 WVU 11, BC 9 – The first player to get in any kind of foul trouble is BC point guard Louis Hinnant, when he picks up his second foul. While WVU’s offense is based on the perimeter, their defense is solid inside with the shot-blocking platoon of D’Or Fischer and Kevin Pittsnogle. Given that BC doesn’t have much outside firepower, it’s a good matchup for the Mountaineers.
7:22 WVU 18, BC 17 – BC shows a press after a made free throw which forces a turnover. On the ensuing transition, Hinnant’s replacement, Steve Hailey, commits a charge and twists his ankle. This forces Hinnant back into the game, who subsequently commits his third foul. Jermaine Watson is pressed into some rare action at the point.
3:04 WVU 25, BC 22 – BC’s offense sputters without a ball-handler on the floor. On top of that, point guard de facto Watson picks up his third foul. Al Skinner leaves him in the game. BC has already taken seven threes (they only average 11 a game), but replays indicate the successful bomb before the last media timeout should have been a two.
Halftime, WVU 29, BC 29 – Center Nate Doornekamp joins the three-foul club for BC. BC has 11 fouls, but nine of them are spread among three players. Even with the makeshift lineup, the Eagles close the gap before intermission due to some impressive play from Jared Dudley who hits a couple of tough shots in the lane.
2nd Half
16:15 BC 40, WVU 31 – After WVU opens with a backdoor lay-up, BC reels off 11 consecutive points to open up the game and force a WVU timeout. Dudley and Craig Smith have combined for 26 points for BC.
14:04 BC 45, WVU 31 – Sean Marshall hits a three for BC, while WVU continues to throw up bricks. Three point field goals: WVU 3-13, BC 3-9. Overall FG%: WVU 31%, BC 52%.
11:18 BC 51, WVU 34 – The WVU offense has fallen apart, now resorting to forcing long threes and making none of them. BC continues to pound it inside where they get enough opportunities on each possession to eventually convert. The only remaining suspense is whether Smith and Dudley will outscore BC by themselves. Currently, Smith has 18 and Dudley 14. Smith is outscoring WVU 11-5 in the second half.
7:17 BC 59, WVU 42 – The only thing I learned from the last segment is that analyst Bob Wenzel does not know the difference between right and left. Louis Hinnant steps on a WVU players foot with his right foot, and goes down in a bit of pain. Wenzel declares that it’s Hinnant’s left foot that was injured. Not a big deal I guess, but you know Majerus wouldn’t make that mistake.
3:39 BC 63, WVU 50 – WVU has matched their putrid numbers in the loss to Marshall by going 3 for 19 from three. Their best shooter, Patrick Beilien is 0 for 6.
Final BC 73, WVU 53 – Yet another lopsided affair in the game diary section. After I jumped on the bandwagon after WVU’s 10-0 start, the Mountaineers have gone 1-3 with a loss to 2-10 Marshall and lopsided defeats against Villanova and BC. The lone win was a 4 point home tussle against potential Big East cellar dweller St. John’s. In their first ten wins, WVU shot 35% from three, and they had some impressive W’s – double-digit wins at LSU and at NC State (though without Julius Hodge) and a home win against George Washington. Over the last four games WVU has shot 20% from three.