What Darryl Bryant's Injury Means for West Virginia

WVU starting point guard Darryl "Truck" Bryant suffered a broken bone in his right foot during Tuesday's practice and will miss the remainder of the NCAA tournament.

The biggest thing WVU will lose is his offense. Bryant, a sophomore, was averaging 9.3 points per game—although he had been struggling lately. He had not scored in double digits since the regular-season finale victory over Villanova. He was averaging just 2.3 points per game during his last six games.

For the Mountaineers, this means redshirt junior Joe Mazzulla will take over the starting role. Mazzulla had been the Mountaineers' starting point guard his sophomore year and led WVU to the Sweet 16. He was the starter last year before a shoulder injury caused him to redshirt.

Mazzulla has been getting the majority of playing time since the Big East tournament. In the last five games, he has averaged 22 minutes, 4.4 points, three assists, and one turnover per game.

He is also a better defender than Bryant—and he played over Bryant when WVU went to its 1-3-1 defense. Mazzulla is not the shooting threat Bryant is, but he plays better defense and is less careless with the ball.

The person this move will affect the most is forward Da'Sean Butler. Butler played the point for the Mountaineers earlier in the year, when Mazzulla was getting healthy. This will cause him to have to lead the offense and not be the first option—as he normally is. The Mountaineers have no other point guards on their roster.

Butler will likely see five to 10 minutes at the point. Sophomore Devin Ebanks played a little at the point in the beginning of the year, and he could fill in for a couple of minutes to give Butler and Mazzulla a rest.

When Mazzulla is resting and Butler is playing the point, junior guard Casey Mitchell will likely come in and play at the shooting guard position. Mitchell is a junior college transfer, and he was named the Junior College Player of the Year in 2009.

While Mitchell has not played a lot—mainly because he hasn't played well on defense—he is the most likely candidate to fill in when Butler is at the point. The other candidate is freshman Dalton Pepper, who has not played in five of the last eight games.

If Mitchell continues to play well on the defensive end, he will likely see about 10 minutes a game—giving Mazzulla a break and keeping him out of foul trouble.

WVU can still go far in the NCAA tournament—but Mazzulla and Mitchell will have to step up in a big way.