These two opened the season a year ago to the tune of a complete ass whooping by the host Zags. Tonight, a slightly different Gonzaga bunch heads to Morgantown as they will have to deal with a vengeful WVU team.
No one really knew how good the Zags would be in 2012 and how bad West Virginia would look at times prior to that season opener. Kelly Olynyk is gone, but most of Gonzaga’s core remains. For the Mountaineers, they have some fresh faces and roster turnover to an even heavier extent.
Devin Williams takes over for Aaric Murray at the center position and he has proven to be a player with much promise. He was exposed in the Virginia Tech game as not being sound enough defensively to hang with experienced bigs however, and that will likely be his challenge again tonight.
Sam Dower and Przemek Karnowski are different players but will create a headache for the West Virginia front court. Dower is very versatile and can step out and hit from the perimeter with regularity. Karnowski is is equally as important but plays at the rim and on the low block extensively.
West Virginia will have to hope Williams can hang with Dower as Kevin Noreen will be forced to take on Karnowski. Neither group has great depth, but Noreen and Williams for the Mountaineers have foul trouble issues and that could become a major factor here.
Gonzaga’s three guard lineup doesn’t involve anyone big enough to play a true wing position. their style is dependent upon pick and roll opportunities, although this game may feature some serious zone from Bob Huggins. Defending ball handlers and preventing pick and pop opportunities for Dower could be a tall task for the young Williams. Kevin Pangos and David Stockton do a great job of getting into the teeth of the defense by using those ball screens, and this game will test West Virginia defensively as much as any opponent they will face all year.
The one thing working for WVU goes back to their size at the guard position, however. Juwan Staten is a pretty good player and if he can keep Pangos in check, it’ll offer the Mountaineers an opportunity to win this game.
Staten logged 40 minutes in the Missouri game, but the WVU guards proved completely incapable of defending Missouri at that position. The Tigers guards are good and have excellent size, especially Jordan Clarkson. The lead guard from Tulsa had his way with Staten last week, but I think Staten is better built to defend a smaller player like Pangos, as he will have the athletic ability to stay in front of him and prevent mid range pull up opportunities.
Gary Browne, Terry Henderson and Eron Harris have to play well here. This team has a decent bench, but if they are going to make up for their inadequacy down loan, it will have to be through dynamite guard play that includes contribution on the glass.
I had this game at Gonzaga -3.5. The number opened at 2.5 and has since depleted to 2 despite a massive disparity in spread bets. I don’t have the courage to back a WVU team with the question marks this one has, but I do believe it should be a tight game. Most of this WVU roster was around for the blasting they took last year, and this will mark Gonzaga’s first road non conference matchup since a win at Oklahoma State on New Year’s Eve, 2012.
It’s a big one for the Mountaineers and should tell us a lot about their toughness as they head into the regular season. This is a much improved offensive bunch and they have a lot of playmaking guards who are willing to take big shots, a key ingredient in pulling off any upset. They held large, early leads in both the Virginia Tech and Wisconsin losses, and actually played the Badgers about as tough as anyone short of Florida. I just can’t back them given what Gonzaga has going on down low here.
