Big East Game Preview -- Cincinnati at Seton Hall

The Pirates of Seton Hall will host the Bearcats of Cincinnati at the Rock in Newark, NJ tomorrow night. With 16% of the conference schedule in the books is it too early to label a game "Must Win"? The Pirates are reeling from a four game losing streak, three coming complements of their Big East schedule. West Virginia, Syracuse and a mid winter road trip to Storrs, Connecticut...followed by a visit from (possibly) the most physical front court in the conference & Born Ready...who did Coach Gonzalez tick off? The Seton Hall/Cincinnati series goes back to 1955 and is knotted at 5. The Hall holds a 3-1 edge in Big East play.

Common Opponents, Good Wins, Bad Losses...
The Hall & 'Nati shared an opponent this year -- Connecticut:

	Hall		'Nati
Opponent	W/L	Diff.	W/L	Diff.
UConn	L (A)	-8	W (H)	+2

Home court might account for a few points (Pomeroy seems to go with around 4 to the home team), but this looks very close. For Cincinnati, good wins include the aforementioned Connecticut game (BE, 11-3, 2-1, #6 RPI), Vanderbilt (SEC, 10-3, #47 RPI) and Maryland (ACC, 8-4, #94 RPI). Cincinnati is saddled with four losses, none are counted as bad though. Seton Hall beat Cornell (Ivy, 11-3, #24 RPI) in Cornell. The Pirates have five losses, none counted as bad.

Lineups, Rotations
Coach Cronin will most likely start Deonta Vaughn (senior pg), Larry Davis (junior off guard), Lance Stephenson (freshman, wing/sf), Ibrahima Thomas (junior transfer, pf) and...the coach has conducted a mini-tryout the past four or so games for the #5. So far Yancy Gates (sophomore), Anthony McClain (junior) and Steven Toyloy (senior) have had one start apiece in Cincinnati's three Big East conference games. Who starts against the Pirates? Gates had a mediocre 10 minutes versus CS Bakersfield, after posting a double-double in the Pittsburgh game. Toyloy has been a very reliable (if somewhat pedestrian) in his 15 games (and 7 starts) this season. He averages 4.1 points and 4.3 rebounds. When Coach Cronin went 'tweener against Cal State Bakersfield, he started Rashad Bishop (junior, #3) and brought Davis in off the bench. In all, eight players -- five mentioned above Vaughn, Stephenson, Gates, Toyloy and Bishop, plus Cashmire Wright (red shirt freshman pg), Dion Dixon (sophomore #2) and Darnell Wilks (junior forward) -- have appeared in all 15 of Cincinnati's games this season. Thomas has appeared in every game for which he was eligible, and Larry Davis (a sometime starter) has appeared in 14 of 15 games, giving Coach Cronin a deep bench and a rotation of (at least) ten players. That does not include situational substitutes like reserve center Anthony McLean who, like Davis, started at least one game this season.

Coach Gonzalez will (according to game notes) start Keon Lawrence (junior transfer from Missouri) at the #1, Jeremy Hazell (junior) at the #2, Jeff Robinson (junior transfer from Memphis) at the #3, Herb Pope (junior transfer from New Mexico) at the #4 and John Garcia (senior) at the #5. Lawrence started at Connecticut after coming off the bench and Robinson has received minutes in virtually every game since becoming eligible after sitting a year per NCAA transfer rules. Both officially joined the roster before the Hall's 12/19 game with Temple (a 71-65 loss). Also certain to see minutes, Eugene Harvey (senior), a starter at the #1 for virtually his entire career, Jordan Theodore (sophomore combo guard), Jamel Jackson (junior JUCO, #2 guard), Robert "Stix" Mitchell (junior small forward) and Ferrakohn Hall (freshman #3/#4). Each has appeared in every Hall game this season. If Coach Gonzalez needs more than ten players, he can bring in Mel Oliver, a 6-10, 340 pound center and walk-ons Matt Cajuste or Darnell Gatling, a 5-9 pocket rocket. This is the deepest (and most talented) squad Coach Gonzalez has assembled during his 4 years at the Hall.

By the Numbers, Offense & Defense...
Cincinnati lacked a consistent scoring threat last season. Deonta Vaughn is very good, but no one else was consistent enough to draw serious attention. With the game on the line everyone knew who would get the ball and take the last shot. That Cincinnati did not have a true point guard (Cashmire Wright was injured before the season and applied for a red shirt) only complicated matters for Coach Cronin (though it simplified matters for the Bearcats' opponents, Vaughn was not going to run around a screen for a catch-and-shoot...he was the one with the ball). Cincinnati's eFG% has improved slightly over last season, Stephenson brings prolific scoring even as he draws defensive attention.

When the Bearcats have the ball...							FTA
	eFG%	Rnk	TO%	Rnk	OR%	Rnk	FGA	Rnk
'Nati O	49.1	159	20.0	123	38.0	42	29.2	317
Hall D	44.7	51	20.2	200	33.2	179	32.1	80

Vaughn however, still saddled with ball handling responsibilities, has a modest slump with his 3 point shooting. Vaughn is not a point guard, and has struggled with turnovers throughout his career. Concerns about Vaughn and Stephenson being able to share the ball appear to this point, to be unfounded as both are ranked in Pomeroy's top 500 for assist rates (maybe they pass to each other...). Offensive rebounding is crucial to Cincinnati; if the Bearcats miss the shot, chances are very good they will get a 2nd chance. For an offense that is not converting at a 50% or better rate, 2nd chance opportunities are important. While Cincinnati is "fairly average" at taking care of the ball, Seton Hall, with ball hawks like Paul Gause having moved on, is not particularly aggressive with take-aways.

The "Four Factors" look at Seton Hall's offense versus Cincinnati's defense:

When the Pirates have the ball...							FTA
	eFG%	Rnk	TO%	Rnk	OR%	Rnk	FGA	Rnk
Hall O	49.8	134	14.8	2	38.3	36	36.6	175
'Nati D	43.1	20	19.6	230	28.3	31	34.5	126

Note the contrasts -- The Hall shoots pretty well, but Cincinnati defends very well. The game may turn on whether the Bearcats can shut down Seton Hall's shooters (Jeremy Hazell and Herb Pope). There will be a war under the Hall's basket. The Pirates are a good offensive rebounding team (which makes their shooting even more effective), but the Bearcats are equally well-regarded as a defensive rebounding team.

Want to Beat the Bearcats? Then...
1. Get a hand in their face. When Cincinnati shoots worse than 45% (eFG%) they are 3-3. When they shoot better than 45% (eFG%) they are 8-1. When the Pirates allow their opponents a conversion rate better than 45% (eFG%) they are 3-5.
2. No second chances -- if the Bearcats miss, get the caroom. Cincinnati is ranked #6 in conference for offensive rebounding rates (38.3% overall). The Bearcats are 3-3 when opponents limit them to <39.0% of their misses. This is not a point of emphasis for the Pirates, as they are ranked #10 for defensive rebounding rates (32.5%), though only one opponent (Syracuse) has rebounded better than 39% against them (one of the Hall losses).
3. Keep them off the line. The Bearcats get to the line about 3 times for every 10 FGAs. When their FTA/FGA is < 30.0, they are 4-4 (& 7-0 when they get there =>30). This is another problem area for the Pirates, as they, on average, put their opponent on the line about once for every three FGAs (the stat maybe inflated by change-of-possession fouls).

Want to Beat the Hall? Then...
1. Make them miss. The Pirates record when held to Cincinnati's defensive eFG% or less is 1-4, when they shoot to their average or better, their record is 7-1. Their offense will most likely go through Jeremy Hazell, the Pirates' junior wing. Hazell gets about 28% of the Hall's possessions when he is on the court, and will take 34.6% of the shots when he is on the floor. For those who think Hazell is a ball hog, consider that he scores about 1.19 points per possession, better than the team's 1.11 conversion rate, an extremely unusual situation, particularly for a high-possession player. Herb Pope will be the second option, as the transfer will take about 25% of the possessions and 21% of the shots when he is on the floor. If Pope and Hazell are in together, the chances are excellent one of the two will have the ball in his hands (and will take a shot).
2. No 2nd chances. When the Hall is held to their offensive rebounding rate (or less), they are 2-4. When they exceed their average they are 7-1. Given that Cincinnati is very good at limiting 2nd chance opportunities, this will be the battle to watch.

Finally...
...This game will pit strengths against strengths - shooting versus shot defense, offensive rebounding versus defensive rebounding. Who calls this game could be very important. A "Let 'em play" crew would probably favor the Bearcats (those rebounding wars...Herb Pope is a terrible free throw shooter 38.2% conversion rate...that's not a typo, he hits less than ½ of his FTAs). Ken Pomeroy gives the Pirates a slight (3 point) nod -- that's less than the homecourt advantage.

I will be blogging live from the game at the Rock for the Rush the Court Blog. Stop over (I will launch a few minutes before the 6:00 tip off) and join the chat.

Other Sources
Game Notes from Cincinnati.

Deconstructing West Virginia -- The Four Forwards Offense

Missing Pieces
The strong start is not surprising; the Mountaineers were projected as either the #1 or the #2 in the Big East by virtually every MSM analyst...not to mention the Big East coaches. Though a few previews were out before Mazzulla and Bryant were re-instated to the program (both had been suspended for unrelated incidents in the spring and summer of 2009), I suspect virtually everyone familiar with West Virginia and Coach Huggins assumed the coach would have both back in uniform for the start of fall practice, the late spring recruitment of JUCO off guard Casey Mitchell (out of Chipola College) notwithstanding. And the Coach matched expectations as both were available by October 15. Mazzulla's rehab has gone more slowly than anticipated, but the back up point guard has played in all but the 1st game of the season. Bryant's injury prior to the Mississippi game (during the Cleveland State game? The origins & extent are ambiguous) however, was not anticipated and has complicated Coach Huggins' rotation in the last 4 games they have played.

Four Forwards and a Wing
Coach Huggins unveiled the unusual lineup for the Mississippi game, while suggesting Bryant was dinged and less efficient. He has used the same 5, John Flowers, Devin Ebanks, Wellington Smith, Da'Sean Butler (the wing...) and Kevin Jones. Both Bryant and Mazzulla remain in the rotation, injuries & rehabilitation notwithstanding, but with altered minutes as the tables below show.

		MIN	FG	FGA	FTM	FTA	3PM	3PA	PTS	AST	TO	STL	PF	A:TO	eFG%	PPWS
Bryant	Thru Clev.	27.3	3.0	8.4	3.0	4.1	1.6	4.5	10.6	4.3	2.4	1.3	2.6	1.8:1	45.5	1.03
Mazzulla	Thru Clev.	8.9	0.4	0.8	0.6	1.5	0.0	0.0	1.4	1.6	0.8	0.6	1.3	2.2:1	50.0	0.94
Bryant	After Clev.	16.0	1.8	5.3	1.3	2.3	0.5	1.0	5.3	2.3	2.5	0.0	1.3	0.9:1	38.1	0.83
Mazzulla	After Clev.	12.3	0.3	1.0	0.7	1.3	0.0	0.0	1.3	1.0	2.0	1.0	2.7	0.5:1	33.3	0.82

The table shows the per game averages for Bryant and Mazzulla, for the first 8 games (Loyola through Cleveland State) and the last 4 (Mississippi through Purdue). Bryant's decline in efficiency (and time) is consistent with the idea that he is injured, but a forward (Ebanks) took about 8 of the 12 minutes vacated by Bryant -- Joe Mazzulla's additional 4 minutes per game is an understatement...he only played 1 minute at Purdue. The declining shot accuracy is misleading -- the 4 forwards plus Kevin Jones could make that up (see table below) -- the assist decline, expressed in part through the declining assist-to-turnover ratio, is an area of concern. A recent article cited Bryant's shooting woes as an initial reason for the move to "The Four Forwards", and a look at some of the possession-based stats suggests the move did boost shooting efficiency...but at a cost

	Offense				Defense
	eFG%	TO%	OR%	FTR	eFG%	TO%	OR%	FTR
Thru Clev. St.	53.0	18.8	42.4	39.0	48.7	29.0	28.9	38.8
After Clev St.	54.0	24.1	40.6	27.2	47.3	11.7	30.0	33.9

WVU managed to tweak their eFG% by a point, but they also bumped their turnover percentage (turnovers per 100 possessions) up by about 6 points. The toll for playing an off guard at the #1? While shooting efficiency was affected at both sides of the ball, note that so too were turnovers and rebounding. In the latter 2 cases the affect was adverse. Most interesting is that in general shooting is recognized as the most important factor in offensive and defensive efficiency, when the full effect of turnovers and rebounding are weighed against the improvement in shot making and defense, the overall impact was negative (see table below).

		Efficiency
	Pace	Off	Def	Diff
Thru Clev. St.	66.1	115.6	87.7	0.280
After Clev St.	65.8	106.6	106.7	-0.001

The stepback was significant enough to produce a net negative in efficiency differentials, also reflected (slightly) in the game results over those four games. West Virginia did go 3-1 over that stretch, but while they beat Mississippi by 10, they took Marquette by a single point and had to go to overtime to subdue the Hall. And of course they lost to Purdue in West Lafayette. The experiment was short lived. Injuries, lack of confidence, whatever, Coach Huggins started Bryant against Rutgers. The sophomore logged 20 minutes even as his junior backup spelled him for 15 more. The two pgs managed to score 19 points (Bryant had 15) and dish 7 assists to 1 turnover (Mazzulla had 5 assists to 0 turnovers). And the Mountaineers won 86-52.

Preview 2009-10 -- West Virginia Mountaineers

Too Busy for the Details?
Returning 65.9% of a squad that finished #7 in the conference last season before a disappointingly early exit from the NCAAs, hopes are very high for the Mountaineers, with many pegging West Virginia as the #1 or #2 team in the conference. This would be a tremendous development for Coach Bob Huggins, a West Virginia alum who returned to Morgantown 2 seasons ago when John Beilein took the Michigan job. Huggins and staff have incorporated the strengths of Beilein's "Flying Circus" squad into a more inside, power basketball-focused offensive system. This could be, despite the loss of senior Alex Ruoff, a breakout season for the 'Eers...if they can get consistent play from their backcourt. Prognosis -- A 1st quartile finish.

3 Years At a Glance
Coach Huggins gets a double bonus this season -- this season's squad will have the most "Huggins-oriented" make up of any squad he has had at Morgantown, and it is the most experienced Mountaineer squad he has managed in his short tenure.

	Returning...
	2010	2009	2008
%Min	65.9	58.8	53.8
%Pts	63.5	59.2	56.4
%FGM	66.7	60.0	57.0
%3FGM	41.6	64.8	52.8
%OReb	88.2	65.2	52.8
%DReb	77.1	60.0	58.9
%TReb	81.2	61.7	57.0

Losing Alex Ruoff hurts, especially with outside shooting (note the 41.6% returning %3FGM above), but much of the rest of West Virginia's offense and defense returns intact as Coach Huggins works to balance his outside threats (Butler & the newcomers Mitchell and Pepper) with inside 'tweeners like Smith, Ebanks, Jones and Flowers (& the newcomers Kilicli & Jennings).

	According to Pomeroy...
	2008-09		2007-08		2006-07
	#	Rank	#	Rank	#	Rank
Overall ORtg	115.3	18	116.7	21	118.3	13
Overall DRtg	89.1	14	90.4	24	94.0	57
Big East ORtg	106.3	8	107.4	4	106.2	4
Big East DRtg	98.1	3	99.6	4	103.4	12
Four Factors -- Overall
All Off. eFG%	48.5	193	51.4	112	54.7	17
All Off. TOv%	17.9	42	16.1	6	17.0	10
All Off. OReb%	40.8	5	34.6	99	30.2	270
All Off. FTA/FGA	35.9	190	36.6	171	28.2	320
All Def. eFG%	46.6	61	48.0	80	49.3	131
All Def. TOv%	23.3	33	22.6	76	23.8	39
All Def. OReb%	31.6	119	30.7	80	35.2	251
All Def. FTA/FGA	38.4	222	39.7	237	28.8	33
Four Factors -- Big East Only
BE Off. eFG%	47.5	12	48.2	10	53.9	2
BE Off. TOv%	17.4	5	14.8	1	17.3	3
BE Off. OReb%	37.7	3	33.0	9	24.8	16
BE Off. FTA/FGA	29.2	13	40.1	3	30.3	13
BE Def. eFG%	47.7	3	50.2	11	51.6	14
BE Def. TOv%	20.9	3	21.7	3	21.1	4
BE Def. OReb%	32.1	5	31.3	5	35.9	14
BE Def. FTA/FGA	39.7	13	37.7	8	34.8	10
Miscellanious
All Gms Cons	25.3	327	27.1	333	24.2	295
All Gms Luck	-.075	311	-.025	203	+.015	122

Possibly a reflection of the change in coaching styles, the Mountaineers rank for the 2nd season running, near the bottom of DI for Luck and Consistency. A troubling trend that hints the Mountaineers may struggle unexpectedly at times and could well post a won-loss record lower than the squad's Pythagorean Winning Percentage would suggest.

	For the Record...
	2008-09			2007-08			2006-07
	W	L	Pct.	W	L	Pct.	W	L	Pct.
Overall	23	12	0.657	26	11	0.703	27	9	0.750
Big East	10	8	0.556	11	7	0.611	9	7	0.563
Post Season?	NCAA/Rnd 1			NCAA/Rnd 3			NIT/Champ

The Mountaineer's Nucleus
Coach Huggins will bring back Ebanks & Butler, two of West Virginia's 3 top scorers from 2009. Losses from the #5 spot (little used Josh Sowards and Dee Proby both transferred out) have thinned the front court, but Coach Huggins, not a big fan of the space eater-type low post player, will go with quartet of 'tweeners who range from 6-7 to 6-9, and tip the scales from 215 to 250 or so. A handful of those 'tweeners are returnees -- Butler, Smith, Jones, Flowers & Thoroughman.

On Offense
Player	Min%	ORtg	Poss%	Shot%	eFG%	PPWS	OR%	FTRA
Butler	82.6	107.7	26.1	29.0	49.2	1.06	7.1	30.4
Ebanks	75.2	108.7	20.5	18.1	47.9	1.06	9.6	49.8
Bryant	63.7	102.6	21.9	21.3	47.9	1.05	1.6	35.7
Smith	53.3	104.4	15.8	15.0	43.6	0.94	10.2	37.6
Jones	48.1	113.6	16.7	19.5	50.3	1.02	10.7	23.7
Flowers	42.0	104.9	15.6	15.3	49.6	0.98	9.4	33.8
Thoroughman	21.7	94.0	13.1	7.1	43.8	0.92	14.0	68.8
Mazzulla	10.7	102.4	18.9	12.7	41.1	0.99	2.2	85.7

Bryant and Mazzulla were suspended from all basketball activities during the off season. The school however posted both to the preseason roster, and sure enough they were re-instated before the Fall practice (mid October). With Ebanks and Mazzulla reinstated, the Mountaineers will enter the season with a deep and experienced back court, including bodies (returning and entering) to man the #1 and #2. And the same goes for their front court.

On Defense
Player	Min%	DR%	Ast%	TO%	Stls%	Blk%
Da'Sean Butler	82.6	13.5	11.5	16.1	1.0	2.3
Devin Ebanks	75.2	20.2	17.4	18.7	2.6	1.7
Darryl Bryant	63.7	6.7	21.2	22.2	0.1	1.3
Wellington Smith	53.3	9.8	11.3	17.3	7.8	1.6
Kevin Jones	48.1	18.2	6.7	9.6	3.8	1.9
John Flowers	42.0	12.6	11.0	16.4	4.9	1.7
Cam Thoroughman	21.7	14.3	12.9	31.7	1.5	2.6
Joe Mazzulla	10.7	10.2	31.1	23.5	0.0	2.8

Bryant and Mazzulla are clearly the point guards (note their assist and turnover rates -- Ast% and TO% respectively), but the others are very good at distributing the ball. No one, Thoroughman excepted, is especially loose with the ball either.

Significant Additions
Coach Huggins continues to stock his squad with athletic forwards, consistent with teams/programs he built at Akron, Cincinnati and Kansas State, before coming to West Virginia. The incoming class, 3 Top 100 (ESPNU) ranked freshmen and the JUCO Player of the Year (also consistent with his recruiting practices), is a consensus top 2/3 class in the Big East. , if short of point guards. Casey Mitchell, a 6-4 SG out of Chipola Junior College, Florida will step into the wing spot vacated by Alex Ruoff. Mitchell was JUCO player of the year last season when he chipped in 20 ppg for Chipola. He will go a long way in filling the point void left by the departed Ruoff. He may take some ball handling responsibilities should Mazzulla and/or Bryant not be re-instated in 2009-10. Deniz Kilicli is a 6-9 Turkish import who will step into the #4/#5 and push Smith, Jones and Thoroughman for time. Kilicli played for the Turkish national team this past summer in the World University Games (Serbia), and was ranked #47 by ESPN/Scouts, Inc., in their 2009 Top 100. The NCAA, however, suspended him for West Virginia's first 20 games this season for play on a Turkish team that also employed a professional player. Strictly prohibited under NCAA rules. Dan Jennings, a 6-8, 225lb #4 out of St. Thomas More School in Connecticut (a name that should be familiar to Villanova fans), will compete for time in the low post. A physical player who likes to draw contact, Jennings was ranked #60 by ESPN/Scouts, Inc. Dalton Pepper is another name familiar to the Wildcat faithful. Pepper graduated from Pennsbury HS in Pennsylvania, was on Villanova's recruiting radar until he pulled the trigger for West Virginia in 2008. Pepper continues the "Philadelphia guard" tradition with physical play and rebounding to go with his shooting. Pepper is also rated in ESPN/Scout Inc.'s Top 100 (#96), and will compete with wing Da'Sean Butler for playing time. If Mazzulla & Bryant remain suspended through the beginning of the season look for Pepper to get a look at the #1.

Explode If...
1. Coach Huggins can solidify the point guard position. Having either (or both) of junior Joe Mazzulla and sophomore Darryl Bryant would be a huge step for the program. Both are fast, can slash into the lane and are strong enough to finish after contact. Mazzulla may be a bit rusty after taking a red shirt last season. The summer suspension may also have set him back. Bryant spent most of last season on the steep side of the learning curve. His shooting should be more accurate this season, which will be a big boon for the program.
2. Coach Huggins can find a productive rotation for the forward spots. One or more of Kilicli, Jennings or Smith (more likely) will spend time in the low post. Of the returning players Ebanks and Jones were the more productive on the boards. Kilicli or Jennings can get time if he can rebound.
3. A combination of (an improved) Ebanks, Bryant, Flowers and Jones, along with newcomers Casey Mitchell and/or Dalton Pepper surpasses Alex Ruoff's offensive production. The staff will no doubt give each a long look.
4. The 'Eers can figure out how to break on the high side of .500 on the road. Over the past 2 conference seasons West Virginia has gone 13-5 at home, and a far more modest 8-10 on the road. They went 7-2 at home, very close to the max. An 8-1 home record coupled with a 5-4/6-3 road record should seal a #1 seed in New York City next March.


Implode If...
The usual demons of injury & egos aside, Huggins' teams have often proven to be their own worst enemies. The first two seasons passed with only 2 - 3 distractions. Are Mazzulla and Bryant an anamoly or a hint of things to come.

Crucial Run/Bellweather Games
West Virginia will face Long Beach State in the first round of the 76 Classic. The second round opponent will be either Texas A&M or Clemson, with the third rond opponent coming from the other bracket...one of UCLA, Minnesota or Butler, most likely. 2-1 -- or better 3-0 -- should warm the hearts throughout the Mountaineer Nation. WVU will host (former Rutgers Coach) Gary Waters' Cleveland State Vikings, a team that upset Syracuse last season in the Carrier Dome, then face Ole Miss, coached by former Huggins' assistant Andy Kennedy. Going undefeated (or 9-1...) into the Big East regular season would be a strong signal the 'Eers are ready to contend for the Big East title. Their January/February leg contains three more OOC opponents, in-state rival Marshall, along with national powers Purdue and Ohio State -- both nationally televised games.

West Virginia jump starts their Big East season with a trip to Newark to face the Seton Hall Pirates at the Rock in what promises to be a good test. A run back to Morgantown for their home opener versus the Marquette Golden Eagles will be followed by a trip to Indiana to play Purdue. Marquette may be the breather in that run. A breather back home against Rutgers will be followed by a two game road trip, first to South Bend and the Fighting Irish, followed by a swing down to Tampa and a matchup with the Bulls. Those games should be a good barometer of how far the Mountaineers are progressing. Beating both the Irish (generally tough to do at the Joyce Center) and the Bulls could put WVU at 5-0 (or 4-1) going into a mini-homestand where they deal first with Syracuse and then their last two (before the NCAAs) OOC opponents (Marchall & Ohio State). 3-0 through that stand should have the 'Eers ranked in the top 10, especially if they are #1 in the Big East standings at that point. The real test for Coach Huggins' squad will come in the last 5 games of the regular season, as WVU will come off of another two game road trip (to Pittsburgh and then Providence) to host Seton Hall and close out their home-n-away series with the Pirates. The 'Eers travel to Storrs to close out their mirror games with the Huskies, and return home to face Cincinnati, then Georgetown. And then they finish with a road closer at Villanova. Note four of those five opponents are projected to finish in the top 6 of the conference, with a season-ending clash between the preseason #1 & #2 ranked teams. Irrespective of their record entering this last leg of the conference play (13-0? 12-1? 11-2?), it is very unlikely they will go 5-0. 4-1 is likely (not necessarily Villanova), even 3-2 (or 2-3?) would not be shocking.