Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas pulled out another win in dramatic style. It seems as though all the pieces are not yet in place, as the team can still go stretches with limited offensive production. But, for the third time in the Big East season, the team has been able to dig down and get scores when it matters most, and this time they have another hard-earned road win to show for their efforts.

West Virginia:
This was probably the best Big East team the Hoyas have faced this year. They played tough defense, pressuring high up top but still limiting the backdoor cuts. It was only in the second half as the Mountaineers began to tire that the Hoyas got some easy layups. On the other side of the ball, West Virginia has a lot of shooters, and they showed they can make shots under pressure. During a stretch in the second half, the Hoyas took a one point lead, only to have West Virginia make a three to regain the lead. The Hoyas responded and tied it, but again the Mountaineers answered that hoop with another three pointer.

Players

Georgetown:
Jessie Sapp again played the hero, making a critical three-pointer with 6.2 seconds left in the game to give the Hoyas a one point lead. He was the only Hoya to shoot the ball well from distance, as he made three of the team’s four three-pointers, as on the night the team shot a frigid 23.5% from beyond the arc.

West Virginia:
Nichols was the main threat for the Mountaineers as he went 4-6 from downtown and ended the game with 16 points. Unfortunately for him, he was only 2-5 from the free throw stripe, and it was his miss that left the door open for Sapp’s heroics.

Coaches

Bob Huggins created a bit of controversy when Jonathan Wallace was getting set to take the second of two free throws. He tried to claim that Tyler Crawford should have been the player at the line, not Wallace. After about a 3 minute delay, it was confirmed that Wallace was indeed the player fouled, as Crawford was not even in the game at that time. And although Wallace made the second, the referees should have recognized the ploy for what it was: an attempt to ice the shooter.

Referees

The referees were particularly atrocious in this game. Even ignoring the questionable goal-tending call at the end, they were never in control of this game, calling odd touch fouls at seemingly random times that disrupted the flow. On more than one occasion a whistle left players on both sides wondering who was going to be penalized. A bad day for the men in striped shirts.

Fans

It was an electric atmosphere at the West Virginia University Coliseum. The Mountaineer students were out in full force, and the arena got very loud when West Virginia mounted its 10 point lead. There were certain lulls though, when on seemingly important plays the crowd was almost silent, as if they were concentrating on the game. I was in section 78, along with some other Georgetown fans who made the trip, and we made our fair share of noise after Sapp’s shot went down.

Number of the Game

1: Number of three-pointers made by Georgetown in the second half. Fortunately for the Hoyas, this shot ended up being the difference, as the team’s only second half triple ended up being the game winner.

Old School Jumbotron

The atmosphere at the WVU Coliseum as great, but the one thing that seemed out of place was the big screen. It did not have video capacities, only the pixelated animation, which pales in comparison to the hi-def screen at Verizon Center. However, the screen did bring back memories of the side screens at the Capital Centre, which reminded fans not to drink and drive.