Cincinnati-West Virginia Has Strong NCAA Implications

When the Cincinnati Bearcats travel to Morgantown to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday, they will do so in a game that has huge stakes for both teams.

For the Bearcats, they will be looking for their first NCAA Tournament bid since current West Virginia head coach John Beilein led them to the second round in 2005. 

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has the Bearcats as one of the last four teams in, and a win over the Mountaineers would certainly boost their resume.

For the Mountaineers, they are playing for seeding in the Big East and NCAA Tournaments.  They are currently tied for third in the Big East with Pitt, and have games left with No. 11 Georgetown and No. 7 Villanova. 

With only a one game lead in the standings over Georgetown, Marquette and Louisville, losing to the Bearcats would make it difficult for the Mountaineers to finish fourth and get a double-bye in the Big East Tournament.  It would also hurt the Mountaineers chances of getting a top three seed in NCAA Tournament.

The key for the Bearcats is to stop senior WVU forward Da'Sean Butler.  When Butler struggles, so do the Mountaineers.  In three of WVU's six losses, he has failed to reach his season average in points (17.2 ppg), and rebounds (6.1 rpg). 

However, sophomore forward Devin Ebanks has been stepping up lately, averaging 16 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 turnovers accounted for (blocks + steals) over his last 6 games.

The key for the Mountaineers will be to stop freshman guard Lance Stephenson. While he has struggled lately, he is still capable of going for 20 points on a given night.  Expect the Mountaineers best defender, Devin Ebanks, to be on him when the Mountaineers are in man defense.

The Bearcats come in struggling, losing five of their last eight games.  However, they have beaten former coach Huggins in their only two meetings against him.  WVU has also struggled, dropping three of their last five, with two tough games to close out the season.

Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. et at the WVU Coliseum.  The game can be seen on ESPN360.