Musketeers-Mountaineers: Xavier and West Virginia Set to Battle in Sweet Sixteen

For the second time in 2008, West Virginia fans will be making the cross-country journey to Phoenix to cheer on their Mountaineers in a high-profile sporting event.  In January, the WVU football team trounced a heavily favored Oklahoma squad 48-28.  This time, the Mountaineer cagers look to do the same to Xavier.  Well, not the score.  That would have to set some kind of record in the shot clock era.  But another upset on the national stage would all but erase the memory of some guy named Beilein who led WVU to its last Elite Eight appearance.  

After upending the second-seeded Duke Blue Devils to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, Bob Huggins and company look to parlay that momentum into WVU's second Elite Eight appearance in four years.  Against Duke, and for seemingly the first time all season, the Mountaineers displayed the kind of sheer determination and grit that became the staple of Huggins' teams in Cincinnati.  If they can maintain that hunger through their matchup with Xavier, they have a chance to earn a date with UCLA (be honest, Western Kentucky, you know the clock is about to strike midnight) in the regional finals.

With "Broadway Joe" Alexander leading the charge and opening room for snipers Alex Ruoff and Darris Nichols, West Virginia packs a formidable punch on the offensive end to counter Xavier's stifling defense.  Aside from two "did that really just happen?" nights against Cincinnati and at Villanova (a fellow Sweet Sixteen team, in case you've been hibernating lately), the only teams to shut down WVU's offense have one thing in common: a strong inside presence.  Xavier?  Not so much.  The Musketeers' tallest players (there are actually three of them) are 6'9, meaning that in order to beat WVU they are going to have to shoot lights out from behind the arc.  Ask Coach K how that worked out.

Unfortunately, one of those 6'9'ers is man-child Josh Duncan, who is averaging 12.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.  WVU will look to counter Duncan with Wellington Smith, who was limited against Duke due to foul trouble.  If Smith can lock down on Duncan, the rest of the Mountaineers will man up on Xavier's smallish guards and force them inside where Smith and Alexander will be waiting to serve up a few Wilson sandwiches.  (Right, DeMarcus Nelson?)  And if Joe Mazzulla can limit catalyst Drew Lavender's productivity, WVU should be able to keep it close and hopefully pull out a win in the final minutes.

While WVU has been hot as of late, don't sell Xavier short.  The Musketeers own solid wins over Kent State and Indiana (when they were, you know, actually good) and a twenty-six point rout of Kansas State, not to mention their routine dispatching of Purdue and a red hot Georgia team to make it this far.  This is Xavier's best team in decades, possibly ever, and they won't easily fade away into the desert night. 

In a game of similar styles, the outcome could be decided on a few loose balls or close calls late in the game.  If WVU can get Ruoff and Nichols loose for some early threes, Xavier will be in for a battle.  However, if Smith and Da'Sean Butler (or, gulp, Joe Alexander) get into foul trouble, it could spell doom for the Mountaineers.