On the cover of the 2006-'07 West Virginia men's basketball media guide lies the image of rings that honor the program's NCAA tournament runs of recent years. Many believed such accomplishments would not transfer to this year's club, which lost Mike Gansey, Kevin Pittsnogle and Johannes Herber – names that likely soon will be part of Morgantown folklore.
But coach John Beilein has worked wonders with an inexperienced club. Frank Young (the sole returning starter), Joe Alexander and Darris Nichols have transitioned smoothly into starring roles and fit in with Beilein's system emphasizing backdoor cuts and three-point shooting.
West Virginia opened the Big East season with double-digit home wins over Connecticut, Villanova and St. John's. Although they still haven't won a meaningful road game, the Mountaineers have a favorable Big East schedule, with four games against CincinnatiSM and Seton Hall, and look on course for another NCAA bid.
Don't let their record fool you
Connecticut is not an NCAA tournament-caliber team. The young Huskies dropped out of the top-25 polls this week after losing at home to Marquette, and it was long overdue. UConn's number of quality wins equals the win total of the Iona Gaels.
The doormat of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is 0-16, in case the punch line whooshed over your head. A home win over a mediocre Mississippi squad and a victory at struggling St. John's are UConn's only noteworthy wins.
Puhleez.
The bright side for the Huskies is that with eight freshmen, they're bound to improve, and they still can register résumé-boosting nonconference wins against Indiana and Georgia Tech.
Enough about this 'Glue guy'
For the incessant praise he gets from ESPN.com's Andy Katz and SI.com's Seth Davis as a prototypical role player, Pittsburgh's Levon Kendall isn't that good. His scoring average is down from 7.0 points per game last year to 5.5, his field-goal percentage is just 42.9 and he averages less than two assists per outing. We know, we know, he's a solid complementary player who does the little things that don't show up on box scores. Just don't canonize him while fellow Panthers Levance Fields, Mike Cook and Ronald Ramon quietly are having brilliant seasons.
The more you know .
Providence forward Geoff McDermott leads the Big East in rebounding (10.8 per game) AND assists per game (5.6).
Who's Hot?
Pittsburgh – The Panthers are undefeated in conference play and can take out a third straight (after beating Georgetown and UConn) potential title challenger Sunday with a win over Marquette.
Who's Not?
St. John's – A trendy preseason pick as the surprise team of the conference, the Red Storm have dropped four straight, including a 16-point loss at Seton Hall.
Player of the Week
Russell Carter, Notre Dame – The Irish guard continued his breakout senior season with a 24-point, 10-rebound performance against Seton Hall.