Huggins Talks Buffalo, Health of Staten, Browne

[WVBlue]

247 Sports with CBS.com
by Chris Andersen

Huggins:



"I think they're really good," said West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins. "Bobby has done a great job coaching. They play the way he did. They compete really hard. They rebound it very well and I think they take really good care of the ball."


It will be the first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament for Buffalo, and while they have not beaten a Top 50 RPI team this season, the Bulls have already played several big-time opponents this year.


"They really compete, that's the biggest thing," said Huggins. "They've adopted Bobby's personality. They really come after you. They do a good job of gang-guarding. They play with no fear. They played Kentucky in Lexington. They played Wisconsin in Wisconsin. They're not going to be in awe of anybody."

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[WVBlue]

CBSSports: 2015 Touney's Five Most Likely Round of 64 Upsets


By Sam Vecenie
CBS Sports.com



4. No. 12 West Virginia



Reasons to pick the upset: West Virginia isn't exactly coming into this one riding a hot streak. Bob Huggins' group has lost three of its past four games (albeit to Baylor twice and Kansas once) and hasn't won a game by double-digits since January. So I think you can expect this one to be up in the air going into the final minutes at the very least. Plus, Buffalo is for real, pure and simple. The Bulls under Bobby Hurley gave Kentucky a game earlier this season and also played within 12 points of Wisconsin. This is one of the best mid-majors in the country, and it has one of the best mid-major players in Justin Moss.

Regarding the matchup, the key here is that Buffalo does not turn the ball over. The Bulls finished 35th nationally in turnover rate, which is a key against the swarming, high-pressure West Virginia defense. Plus, given that they play at the 20th-highest tempo of anyone nationally, they're not going to feel sped up by the Mountaineers' pace. Limiting turnovers and points in transition is a key against West Virginia, which can really struggle to score without those easy points.


Reasons to pick the favorite: Offensive rebounding. I'm not sure the Bulls can keep up with the Mountaineers on the glass, as West Virginia is the fourth-best offensive rebounding team in the country, swarming the offensive glass with Devin Williams, Jonathan Holton, Brandon Watkins and Elijah Macon. The Mountaineers get a ton of points off of put-backs and second chances, which could pose some issues for the somewhat undersized Bulls, who finished eighth in defensive rebounding in the MAC. That might be the Bulls' fatal flaw in an upset bid.

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[43rd Parallel]

Nothing like picking and choosing your statistics

Originally posted by WVBlue:


Reasons to pick the upset: West Virginia isn't exactly coming into this one riding a hot streak. Bob Huggins' group has lost three of its past four games (albeit to Baylor twice and Kansas once) and hasn't won a game by double-digits since January.

West Virginia also has won four of its past seven. And if I'm not mistaken, the 73-63 win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 21 was by double digits. Then again, I'm no math major.

 

[Soaring Eagle 74]

Vecenie is from ...

Shitzburg, do you expect intelligent analysis? I don't.

 

[COOL MAN]

Really, isn't that what everybody does ??