WVU: This Year's UConn Huskies?

Will this be WVU come March?

In my previous post, I attempted to peer into the future of WVU basketball. It was not a knock on this year’s team, which is very good. However, this year’s team is also very young, which according to conventional wisdom, limits how well a team can do, especially come March. However, last year’s National Champions, the University of Connecticut Huskies also defied conventional wisdom on their path to cutting down the nets in March.

During the Mountaineer’s victory over Villanova, the announcers pointed out something interesting. While discussing the fact that the Mountaineers were picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the Big East this year, it was mentioned that the UConn Huskies were also picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the Big East last year. It got me thinking, so I decided to look for other similarities between this year’s WVU basketball team and last year’s UConn basketball team.

Crystal Ball: WVU Basketball Roster 2013 - 2014

Tonight I watched the Mountaineer's come out on top against a solid, albeit unranked, Villanova team led by a career night from Senior Truck Bryant. This win came on the heels of a near-win against an undefeated, top 10 Baylor teams. I expect the team to make the NCAA Tournament, and hopefully they will make a nice run in March, but on paper this doesn't look like a Final Four team. Now it must be pointed out that at this point in the season last year, UConn and Butler weren't sexy picks to go to the Final Four, but the point still stands that this Mountaineer squad lacks the experience, and probably the size down low to be a serious contender come March.

Welcome to Mountaineer Pride

Welcome to Mountaineer Pride, a new blog dedicated to West Virginia Football and Men's Basketball. I'll try and shed light on the two teams, recent news about them, and especially on recruiting that will make our athletics programs great into the future. Personally it's especially exciting to be a Mountaineer as we transition into being part of the Big XII conference.