Post by cviller on Nov 23, 2007 10:18:41 GMT -5
By Mickey Furfari
For the Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN -- The West Virginia University men's basketball team (2-0) takes on No. 7-ranked Tennessee (4-0) at 9 p.m. Friday in the semifinals of the StubHub! Legends Classic at 18,500-seat Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
In the other match-up, it will be No. 15 Texas against New Mexico State at 7 p.m. The winners will clash at 7 p.m. Saturday for the championship, following a consolation clash between Friday night's losers.The oddsmakers had not listed any odds on either semifinal contest Thursday evening.Legends Classic action will be televised on the Versus channel.
"I think this is a great opportunity for us to be able to play a couple of quality teams on a neutral floor," said Bob Huggins, WVU's new head coach. "I think we'll find out a lot about our team."We're certainly going to try to win the tournament. But Tennessee, I think, is a tough opponent for us. One, Because they're very good and two, Because they have the majority of their veterans back."Huggins thinks his team got better defensively just from a technical standpoint in opening blowouts of Arkansas Monticello 81-53 and Prairie View A&M 106-41 at home."And I think we're starting to understand the benefit of kinda what we're doing defensively."Offensively, we just don't have a lot. You have just so much time that can do only so many things. We're trying to get in enough stuff to where we can be competitive."
Bruce Pearl, in his third year as Tennessee's head coach, has four starters back from last year's team that posted a 24-11 record and reached the NCAA tournament round of "Sweet 16."
The Vols also defeated Arkansas Monticello 101-44 and Prairie View A&M 89-75 along with wins over Temple 80-63 and Middle Tennessee State 109-40.
"We're very excited to be playing in the Legends Classic, and the opportunity to get our team out East to play such a great field with the great coaches, great programs and great history," Pearl said.
"We believe we're going to be better down the road. But these matchups give you exposure to different systems and different ways of doing things. I thought we played very well in the first two (tournament games)."
Pearl admittedly likes his team very much. He noted that it includes some players who already are being looked at with interest by NBA scouts.
"It's a very good basketball team," he said. "Tennessee has never been past the NCAA 'Sweet 16,' but we think we're taking steps in the right direction."
This will be the eighth meeting all-time in the Tennessee series, with WVU leading by a 5-2 margin. The last three meetings were decided by a total of just six points.
Huggins is 2-0 against the Vols, both games being played at Cincinnati. WVU is expected to start with Da'Sean Butler (11.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Joe Alexander (10.0, 6.0) at forwards, with Jamie Smalligan (12.5, 4.5) at center, and Alex Ruoff (19.5, 2.0) and Darris Nichols (10.5, 3.0 assists) at guards.
Tennessee's probable starting lineup: Tyler Smith, 6-7 sophomore, and Wayne Chism, 6-9 sophomore, at forwards, with 6-2 senior JaJuan Smith, 6-2 senior Chris Lofton and 6-3 Jordan Howell at three guard positions.
JaJuan Smith is averaging 17.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game, Tyler Smith 12.5 ppg and 3.0 rpg, Chism 9.5 and 6.5, Lofton 11.5 and 3.5, and Howell 6.3 and 1.8.