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Home > SECWB News & More! > Our Staff & Contributors > LeAnne Harrington > Vanderbilt vs. West Virginia preview: Who Will Survive The Pit?
Vanderbilt vs. West Virginia preview: Who Will Survive The Pit?
by LeAnne Harrington, SECWB.com
Posted: March 24th, 2008 @ 6:41pm
The Vanderbilt Commodores, the #4 seed in the Spokane regional, will face the #5 seed West Virginia Mountaineers in a second round matchup in Albuquerque, NM this evening in “The Pit”, as New Mexico’s home court is affectionately called. Vanderbilt coasted into the second round after routing #13 seed Montana 75-47 on Saturday night, but West Virginia’s road into the second round couldn’t possibly be any different: they struggled against host school and #12 seed New Mexico, finally gutting out a one-point decision in front of a decidedly hostile crowd. With leading scorer Oyalinka Sanni on the bench in foul trouble for much of the game, Chakhia Cole rose to the occasion, scoring 22 points and pulling down 13 rebounds for the Mountaineers in their 61-60 win. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt was able to rotate their lineup quite freely, allowing their starters to keep fresh legs for tonight’s game.
Vanderbilt is playing good basketball right now, taking care of the ball and playing hard-nosed defense. They seem to have passed the bump in the road they suffered during their two games of the SEC tournament, where they played sluggishly and seemed out of sorts. Vanderbilt’s hallmarks are a very nice balance of inside/outside ball and unselfish players who will give up their own shot to make the extra pass. Not noted for having any one single superstar, anybody can step up and lead the way on any given night. Vanderbilt has four players averaging between 8.6 and 12.9 points per game, and more than a few Commodores can burn their opponents from outside. They are crashing the boards hard from all positions, with 5-9 guard Jen Risper leading the team in rebounding. Vanderbilt is averaging 71.4 points per game while holding their opponents to 56.2. With only one senior on the squad, Vanderbilt’s best basketball may be yet to come.
West Virginia is led by all-Big East senior center Oyalinka Sanni, who is averaging 16.5 points per game while pulling down 7.1 rebounds per game. While everyone else was focused on perennial powerhouses Connecticut and Rutgers, West Virginia quietly put together a 12-4 Big East conference mark and beat Rutgers in the regular season. The Mountaineers have a variety of offensive threats, and Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb complimented West Virginia, saying they “looked like an SEC team.” They enter tonight’s matchup averaging 70 points per game while limiting their opponents to 56.1.
Probable starters for Vanderbilt:
G Jence Rhoads, 5-11 FR: 3.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.4 apg
G Merideth Marsh, 5-9 SO: 8.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg
G Jen Risper, 5-9 JR: 9.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 50.2% FG, 75.6% FT
F Christina Wirth, 6-1 JR: 12.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 83% FT
C Hannah Tuomi, 6-0 FR: 5.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Probable starters for West Virginia:
C Oyalinka Sanni, 6-2 SR: 16.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg
G LaQuita Owens, 5-9 SR: 13.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg
F Meg Bulger, 6-0 SR: 12.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg
F Chakhia Cole, 5-10 SR: 10.2 ppg, 3.5 apg
G Ashley Powell, 5-6 JR: 3.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg
My prediction is this may be a tough second round matchup for Vanderbilt. West Virginia is blessed with a solid group of scoring threats that could make life difficult for the Commodores, but several factors may just tip the scales in Vanderbilt’s favor. The high altitude and Saturday night’s hard fought game may have taken a toll on the Mountaineers, whereas the Commodores should come out rested and refreshed. Look for the boisterous crowd in “The Pit” to be all over West Virginia, since they are responsible for the elimination of their beloved hometown team. I think Vandy should take this in a fairly close one.
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