2011-12 West Virginia Basketball Predictions

2010-11 Recap

Overall: 21-12 overall (Home 16-4, Road 4-6, Neutral 1-2, Post Season 1-2)
Big East: 11-7
Conference Tournament: Lost in the second round of the Big East tournament.
Postseason: Lost in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

Bob Huggins led West Virginia to a 21-12 record and a NCAA Tournament berth last year. West Virginia tied for sixth in the Big East conference and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Last year West Virginia showed flashes of potential at times, but was disappointing at others. West Virginia was especially disappointing losing in their first game of the Big East tournament and in the third round of the NCAA tournament to Kentucky. West Virginia beat eventual NCAA champion UCONN in the regular season and Kevin Jones proved to be one of the best players in the Big East both offensively and on the boards.

West Virginia ranked 11th in the Big East in scoring last year and fifth in scoring defense. Expectations are high for the Mountaineers this year but to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament they need to improve their shooting and overall offensive game. WVU will need Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant to step up their offensive game to compete for the Big East title. Jones flashed his potential in the Big East tournament and NCAA tournament last year.

Roster
Returning Starters
Kevin Jones
Truck Bryant

Other Returning Players
Darryl Bryant
Deniz Kilicli
Aaric Murray
Juwan Staten

Newcomers
Aaron Brown
Jabarie Hinds
Gary Browne
Pat Forsythe
Tommie McCune
Keaton Miles
Dominique Rutledge

Head Coach
Bob Huggins

Key Losses

West Virginia lost three of their starters from last year. Not to mention that Casey Mitchell was West Virginia’s second leading scorer last season. Bob Huggins will look for someone to step up and fill his offensive role. The Mountaineers struggled from the field last year so a new influx of players is likely to make them a better offensive team.

Schedule

Date	Opponent
11-Nov	Oral Roberts
15-Nov	Kent State
17-Nov	Alcorn State
22-Nov	Morehead State (Charleston, W.Va.)
28-Nov	Akron
3-Dec	@ Mississippi State
8-Dec	vs. Kansas State (Wichita, Kan.)
10-Dec	Miami
17-Dec	Texas A&M- Corpus Christi
19-Dec	Tennessee Tech
22-Dec	vs. Missouri State (Las Vegas, Nev.)
23-Dec	vs. Baylor (Las Vegas, Nev.)
28-Dec	Villanova
30-Dec	@ Seton Hall
4-Jan	@ Rutgers
7-Jan	Georgetown
9-Jan	vs. Connecticut (Hartford, Conn.)
14-Jan	Rutgers
18-Jan	vs. Marshall (Charleston, W.Va.)
21-Jan	Cincinnati
25-Jan	@ St. John’s (Madison Square Garden)
28-Jan	@ Syracuse
30-Jan	Pitt
5-Feb	@ Providence
8-Feb	Notre Dame
11-Feb	Louisville
16-Feb	@ Pitt
22-Feb	@ Notre Dame
24-Feb	Marquette
28-Feb	DePaul
3-Mar	@ USF
6-Mar	@ Big East Championships (New York, N.Y.)

2011-12 Preview

Bob Huggins is just nine wins away from 700 for his career and will likely lead the Mountaineers to a fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance. It is hard to complain about a coach that has led his team to the NCAA tournament every year and a Final Four appearance in 2010. This team will feature a lot of young players who Huggins will mold. Look for the Mountaineers to continuously improve over the season.

Backcourt

Bryant will need to provide the outside scoring touch that West Virginia seemed to lack last year. Last year Bryant was the third leading scorer for the Mountaineers but was erratic and times and had too many costly turnovers. His play improved when he was moved to off-guard and was paired with Joe Mazzulla.

Huggins will now pair Bryant with freshman Jabarie Hinds. Bryant will be expected to make more outside shows coming off the ball. One of the biggest questions for the Mountaineers is whether Hinds will be able to step into the Big East as a freshman and make an impact.

Another newcomer that the Mountaineers will count upon is 6-1 Gary Browne, who played on the Puerto Rican national team. For added physical presence at guard, 6-5 freshman Aaron Brown will be counted upon to cover taller guards.

Frontcourt

Jones will return to lead WVU’s frontcourt after a disappointing season last year. He will look to improve on last year’s numbers of 13.1 points per game and 7.5 rebounds. His play at the end of last year has increased expectations. In the home final against Louisville he scored 25 points with 16 rebounds against Louisville and had 17 points with nine boards over Clemson in the NCAA tournament.

Jones will need to lead the team this year and Huggins will look for him to step up his play. Center Deniz Kilicli needs to improve his rebounding while continuing to contribute offensively. Kevin Noreen at 6-10 could prove to provide some help on the boards who was a medical redshirt (knee) last season. Junior college transfer Dominique Rutledge, Keaton Miles, and Pat Forsythe will round out the rotation for West Virginia.

More Big East Basketball Predictions

Syracuse Orange	Marquette Golden Eagles	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Georgetown Hoyas
Cincinnati Bearcats	South Florida Bulls	Louisville Cardinals	West Virginia Mountaineers
Seton Hall Pirates	Connecticut Huskies	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	St. Johns Red Storm
Pittsburgh Panthers	Villanova Wildcats	Providence Friars	DePaul Blue Demons

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