WVU-Villanova: The Mountaineers' Keys to Victory

When West Virginia travels to Villanova Saturday, third place in the Big East will be on the line for the Mountaineers. 

A win will give West Virginia third place in the Big East tournament, while a loss would give the Mountaineers fourth. Villanova will clinch the second seed with a victory—and fourth place with a loss.

The Wildcats traveled to Morgantown in early February and came away with a seven- point victory. However, they have gone just 3-3 since then—after starting the season 22-2.

The key for West Virginia this time around is to hit the free throws. In the first meeting, the Mountaineers shot just 56 percent from the line, going 18-of-32. For them to win, they need to hit at least their season average of 69 percent.

The second key for the Mountaineers is to get senior forward Da'Sean Butler going. He struggled in the first meeting, going just 2-of-12 from the field and totaling 13 points. He struggled mightily in the second half, scoring just one point.

The Wildcats will focus on stopping him, and he needs to put the team on his back for West Virginia to have a chance.

West Virginia also needs to play much better defense and rebound better than it did the first time around. Villanova shot an astonishing 56 percent from the field—way above its 46 percent average on the season. West Virginia gives up 43 percent from the field on the season.

The Mountaineers are 13th in the country in rebound margin, outrebounding their opponents by nearly seven per game. The Mountaineers were outrebounded 37-27 by Villanova, which was very out of character for them. For the Mountaineers to win, they need to play better defense and outrebound the Wildcats.

The final and most important key for West Virginia is to stop Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds. Forward Devin Ebanks guarded Reynolds in the first half of the game, and he held Reynolds to just two points on just 1-of-4 field goals. However, WVU head coach Bob Huggins decided to take Ebanks off of Reynolds—and he torched the Mountaineers for 19 points in the second half.

The key for the Mountaineers will be to contain Reynolds—especially in the second half, where he has been very good this year. If Ebanks guards him and has similar success, it will be interesting to see if Huggins decides to stick with that match-up.

For West Virginia to come away with the victory, it needs to correct the mistakes from its first game with Villanova. West Virginia was out of character for that game, playing bad defense and getting outrebounded—two things Huggins emphasizes.

If the Mountaineers can correct those two things—along with Butler having a better game and slowing down Reynolds—they should come away with a victory.