Smoke and Mirrors, 91-87

Villanova was the same team that beat WVU by 38 in the regular season last year. They seemed well on their way to doing that again this year. All the things you look for from a team like Villanova, slam dunks, blocked shots, and shooting the lights out from 3-point range, were happening in this game. Plenty of offensive rebounds too. So, how does WVU do it? I don't believe in the title I put up there, but it is my point. The genius of John Beline is that he gets his team to focus on getting turnovers, and not turning the ball over. WVU had 9 turnovers compared to Villanova's 22. Because of this, WVU doesn't have to focus on rebounds so much, and when you watch WVU, you shouldn't either. You should focus more on how WVU moves without the ball. When they are on defense, watch how the players away from the ball move.
This was another big win for WVU that should look really good come tournament time. Beating two top 10 teams on the road is very impressive. The Big East if going to be tough from top to bottom this year. A .500 record in conference could be good enough to get you into the tournament this year.

BIG, BIG, BIG WIN!

The win over UGA was huge, in case you missed the heading! It was a huge win because the team we beat is always a very good if not great team. When was the last time Georgia was not in the top 25? I couldn't tell you. Much like WVU, there was no quit in the Georgia players. Georgia is a class act, from the coach and players, all the way down to the fans. Talk about wearing it, this guy had the look!

It was an incredible feeling to see us go up by 28 in the first half! It was an all too familiar sick feeling seeing Georgia come back from that deficit. Our bowl record over the past 20 years has been bad. Most years I approached the bowl games hoping we could at least stay close and make a good showing. This bowl win helped to erase those feelings of dread.

Most of the posts that I have seen from Georgia bloggers have been respectful and they have congradulated us on a big win. I understand many feel that their team did not put on it's best performance. I'm sure that is true, but it is what it is. I don't think it takes away from the incredible season they had. The SEC is by far the best football conference in the country. Being the champion of that conference should mean something, despite the result of the bowl.

My two favorite Georgia bloggers are, Paul Westerdawg (Replacements fan? I am!) and I'm A Realist. Paul is just damn funny! I love his comments. I'm A Realist is just that. He seemed to see a lot more in WVU than I did. His comments on the last two blog polls of the year sum it up:

"10. West Virginia (10) - I think I'm the only person that thinks West Virginia is pretty good. Don't let the Big East Champion fool you. They'll come to play in the Sugar Bowl. - Blogpoll v.1.14"

"9. West Virginia (10) - This is a dangerous team. Every time that I've seen them play, I've come away impressed. - Blogpoll v.1.15"

I hope I have the time someday to make my blog on par with these two.

Way to go Mountaineers! The people of WV needed this, especially with the news that came out of Upshire County today. Thoughts a prayers to the families of the miners.