WVU, Xavier men battle tonight

By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian

MORGANTOWN March 27, 2008 12:11 am

— Can West Virginia continue its climb in the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament?
Peaking in postseason, the seventh-seeded Mountaineers (26-10) hope to upset third-seeded Xavier (29-6) in the West Region semifinals at 7:10 p.m. Thursday in the US Airways Arena at Phoenix, Ariz.
It shapes up as another chief challenge for WVU following victories over Arizona and Duke last week in Washington, D.C.
Asked whether having made deep tournament runs before gives him an advantage, veteran coach Bob Huggins, in his first year at his alma mater, replied:
“In 1992 everybody said, ‘This was great for your team (Cincinnati). You’ll get in and get some experience and maybe next year you can make a run,’ and we went to the Final Four. I was probably better before I had any experience.
“You’ve just got to make shots at the right time. When you get this far, you’re not going to run into somebody who’s not prepared.”
Xavier, which is ranked No. 12 in The Associated Press poll, advanced this far with victories over Georgia 73-61 and Purdue 85-78 last week.
“This is our third time in the Sweet 16,” coach Sean Miller said. “We want to be at our very best. We’ve been very consistent as a team in practice and games. That’s been really our goal.”
Statistically, these two teams couldn’t be much closer. The Musketeers are averaging 75.5 points while limiting opponents to 62.7; the Mountaineers 74.8 and holding their foes to 63.1.
However, Xavier is shooting 47.8 percent from the field compared to WVU’s 45.4, although Huggins has been encouraged by his team’s sharper goaling of late.
Xavier, a member of the Atlantic 10, is one of the best balanced teams West Virginia will have faced. Five scorers are averaging double digits and a sixth has a 9.8 gait.
“The balance was something I aspired (to develop) as a coach,” said Miller, who’s 1-1 in games against Huggins. “We’ve been more consistent, and that has made us a better team.”
His boast that “toughness and fearlessness” characterizes Xavier’s team eventually can be said about WVU, if not already.
Miller noted that the Musketeers’ “heart and soul” is provided by the team’s three seniors. Those are 6-9 forward Josh Duncan, 6-3 guard Stanley Burrell, and 5-7 point guard Drew Lavender.
Duncan is scoring at a 12.1 clip, Lavender at 11.0, and Burrell at 9.8. Other top point-producers include 6-8 Derrick Brown (10.9), 6-6 junior C.J. Anderson (10.7) and 6-6 junior B.J. Raymond (10.1).
Lavender and Burrell are the leading playmakers with 149 and 132 assists, respectively. Xavier’s leading rebounders are Brown (6.7 rpg) and Raymond (5.9).
Joe “The Hammer” Alexander, 6-8 junior forward, continues to be West Virginia’s leader in both scoring (16.8) and rebounding (6.3).
Alex Ruoff is next at 13.8 and 3.4, followed by Da’Sean Butler 12.9 and 6.1, and point guard Darris Nichols 10.8 and 3.3 Nichols has 115 assists and Ruoff 102.
Jamie Smalligan, 7-0 senior center, rounds out the starting lineup and makes key contributions.
However, Joe Mazzullo, 6-3 sophomore, is coming off his best performance with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in the triumph over No. 2 seed Duke.
Xavier’s Lavender said, “The Mountaineers are a great team with one of the best players in the country in Joe Alexander. They’ve got one of the best coaches in Bob Huggins. But it’s not Xavier against Bob Huggins. It’s Xavier vs. West Virginia.”
The winner will advance to the Elite Eight against either No. 1 seed UCLA or No. 12 Western Kentucky on Saturday.