Post by elp525 on Feb 21, 2011 9:55:55 GMT -5
February 20, 2011
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - For a couple of guys who first played against each other as collegians way back in 2007, Joe Mazzulla and Ben Hansbrough don't exactly have a long history.
That first meeting seems now as if it was from a different era. Hansbrough at the time was a freshman reserve at Mississippi State, Mazzulla the same at West Virginia. The Mountaineers beat the Bulldogs 63-62 in the semifinals of the NIT at Madison Square Garden on Darris Nichols' last-second 3-pointer.
That Mazzulla and Hansbrough combined to play 26 minutes and score three points that night has, understandably, been lost to history.
Since then, between Hansbrough's transfer to Notre Dame and Mazzulla's redshirt year because of a shoulder injury, the two have faced one another just three more times. Neither of the first two was particularly memorable from a personal-battle standpoint - Notre Dame's two-point win in South Bend and WVU's one-point victory in the Big East tournament semifinals, both last season.
But then there was Saturday, when Hansbrough tried to single-handedly rescue the No. 8 Irish against West Virginia (17-9, 8-6 Big East) at the Coliseum. And Mazzulla chased him all over the floor in an effort to prevent him from doing so.
"Every possession was a battle between him and I,'' Mazzulla said. "And because of how hard we had to play against each other, we kind of gained more respect for each other throughout the game.''
Enough, in fact, that when Hansbrough fouled out trying to defend a Truck Bryant drive to the basket with 21/2 minutes to play, he made it a point to veer toward Mazzulla as he walked off the floor.
West Virginia's student section actually had to temporarily halt its "Left, right, left, right'' chant as Hansbrough walked to the bench, then stopped dead in his tracks and said something to Mazzulla and the two hugged.
"I said, 'Good game,' and he gave me a hug and said, 'Congratulations and good game,'" Mazzulla said later, after West Virginia had secured a 72-58 win over the Irish. "Then he said we were two of the toughest guys in the conference.
"But I jokingly, somewhat, said, 'Well, I'll take No. 1 and I'll give you a close second.'"
Indeed, the two waged a battle that was equal parts talent vs. talent and grit vs. grit.
Hansbrough, who continues to make a strong case for player of the year votes in the Big East, finished his afternoon with 19 points, two assists, two steals and seven rebounds. With Mazzulla fighting through screens all day to chase him down, though, the 6-foot-3 senior was just 7-for-18 from the floor and missed four of his seven 3-point tries.
Mazzulla, meanwhile, never came off the court (a first in his 138-game college career), made 6-of-10 shots - mostly on drives to the basket - scored 16 points, had seven assists, five rebounds and just one turnover.
Statistics, though, can't capture what the two meant to the game. Both played like underdogs with something to prove, which is the way they always seem to play. That they had a chance to do so against one another was a bonus.
"To a large degree, it was a battle of those two guys,'' West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "Joe was trying to make something happen for us on the defensive end, and Hansbrough was trying to calm them down and get them back into their offense.''
At times it wasn't pretty at all. Both Mazzulla and Hansbrough wound up sprawled on the floor more times than they could count. But it was still almost artful to watch.
"We gained a lot of respect for each other for the way we played, not only tonight but in general,'' Mazzulla said. "We had to battle every possession against each other.''
BRIEFLY: With most teams down to just four games remaining, the Big East standings couldn't be much tighter and the race for byes in the league tournament much more wide open.
In fact, the only team in the league that seems assured even of the first-round bye that goes to the top eight teams is Pitt (12-2 in the league). The Panthers are in pretty good shape for one of the two-round byes that goes to the top four teams.
But the gap between second-place Notre Dame (10-4) and the three teams tied for eighth (WVU, Connecticut and Cincinnati, all 8-6) is just two games. And No. 11 Marquette (7-7) is just three games out of second place.
By the time West Virginia plays again Thursday at Pitt, the Mountaineers could be looking at falling as low as a tie for 10th with a loss or as high as a tie for fourth with a win. But win or lose it won't be critical because pretty much the same stakes will be on the line the next time the Mountaineers play, too.
West Virginia's five turnovers against Notre Dame were a season low.
When Notre Dame gets beat, it does so big. The Irish (21-5) have lost all five games by 12, 12, 14, 14 and 18 points. In games decided by 10 points or less ND is 10-0, including 6-0 in games decided by five or fewer points or in overtime.
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - For a couple of guys who first played against each other as collegians way back in 2007, Joe Mazzulla and Ben Hansbrough don't exactly have a long history.
That first meeting seems now as if it was from a different era. Hansbrough at the time was a freshman reserve at Mississippi State, Mazzulla the same at West Virginia. The Mountaineers beat the Bulldogs 63-62 in the semifinals of the NIT at Madison Square Garden on Darris Nichols' last-second 3-pointer.
That Mazzulla and Hansbrough combined to play 26 minutes and score three points that night has, understandably, been lost to history.
Since then, between Hansbrough's transfer to Notre Dame and Mazzulla's redshirt year because of a shoulder injury, the two have faced one another just three more times. Neither of the first two was particularly memorable from a personal-battle standpoint - Notre Dame's two-point win in South Bend and WVU's one-point victory in the Big East tournament semifinals, both last season.
But then there was Saturday, when Hansbrough tried to single-handedly rescue the No. 8 Irish against West Virginia (17-9, 8-6 Big East) at the Coliseum. And Mazzulla chased him all over the floor in an effort to prevent him from doing so.
"Every possession was a battle between him and I,'' Mazzulla said. "And because of how hard we had to play against each other, we kind of gained more respect for each other throughout the game.''
Enough, in fact, that when Hansbrough fouled out trying to defend a Truck Bryant drive to the basket with 21/2 minutes to play, he made it a point to veer toward Mazzulla as he walked off the floor.
West Virginia's student section actually had to temporarily halt its "Left, right, left, right'' chant as Hansbrough walked to the bench, then stopped dead in his tracks and said something to Mazzulla and the two hugged.
"I said, 'Good game,' and he gave me a hug and said, 'Congratulations and good game,'" Mazzulla said later, after West Virginia had secured a 72-58 win over the Irish. "Then he said we were two of the toughest guys in the conference.
"But I jokingly, somewhat, said, 'Well, I'll take No. 1 and I'll give you a close second.'"
Indeed, the two waged a battle that was equal parts talent vs. talent and grit vs. grit.
Hansbrough, who continues to make a strong case for player of the year votes in the Big East, finished his afternoon with 19 points, two assists, two steals and seven rebounds. With Mazzulla fighting through screens all day to chase him down, though, the 6-foot-3 senior was just 7-for-18 from the floor and missed four of his seven 3-point tries.
Mazzulla, meanwhile, never came off the court (a first in his 138-game college career), made 6-of-10 shots - mostly on drives to the basket - scored 16 points, had seven assists, five rebounds and just one turnover.
Statistics, though, can't capture what the two meant to the game. Both played like underdogs with something to prove, which is the way they always seem to play. That they had a chance to do so against one another was a bonus.
"To a large degree, it was a battle of those two guys,'' West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "Joe was trying to make something happen for us on the defensive end, and Hansbrough was trying to calm them down and get them back into their offense.''
At times it wasn't pretty at all. Both Mazzulla and Hansbrough wound up sprawled on the floor more times than they could count. But it was still almost artful to watch.
"We gained a lot of respect for each other for the way we played, not only tonight but in general,'' Mazzulla said. "We had to battle every possession against each other.''
BRIEFLY: With most teams down to just four games remaining, the Big East standings couldn't be much tighter and the race for byes in the league tournament much more wide open.
In fact, the only team in the league that seems assured even of the first-round bye that goes to the top eight teams is Pitt (12-2 in the league). The Panthers are in pretty good shape for one of the two-round byes that goes to the top four teams.
But the gap between second-place Notre Dame (10-4) and the three teams tied for eighth (WVU, Connecticut and Cincinnati, all 8-6) is just two games. And No. 11 Marquette (7-7) is just three games out of second place.
By the time West Virginia plays again Thursday at Pitt, the Mountaineers could be looking at falling as low as a tie for 10th with a loss or as high as a tie for fourth with a win. But win or lose it won't be critical because pretty much the same stakes will be on the line the next time the Mountaineers play, too.
West Virginia's five turnovers against Notre Dame were a season low.
When Notre Dame gets beat, it does so big. The Irish (21-5) have lost all five games by 12, 12, 14, 14 and 18 points. In games decided by 10 points or less ND is 10-0, including 6-0 in games decided by five or fewer points or in overtime.
