WVU Basketball: Mountaineers Crash the Boards in Upset of No. 13 Georgetown

In a bright-and-early start in our nation’s capital, the Mountaineers entered the MCI Center to take on the No. 13-ranked Georgetown Hoyas in a rematch of the Big East Championship game from last March.

For the Hoyas, the team entered today coming off an upset 61-58 loss to a resurgent St. John's team back on the 3rd of January in Madison Square Garden.

For the Mountaineers, the team came in after a near upset of their own when they nearly let an underperforming DePaul back for a win on January 4th at the Allstate Arena in the Windy City.

With the background set for the game, let’s check out the stats from the game to see how Casey Mitchell and the Mountaineers were able to win this morning and jump up in the Big East standings after a rough start.

Shooting

West Virginia Mountaineers: 21-50 field-goal attempts, 42 percent from the floor

Georgetown Hoyas: 22-44 field goal attempts, 50 percent from the floor

In a game where Austin Freeman was limited to what was said to be an illness, senior guard Casey Mitchell took over the game toward the middle to end of the second half that propelled the Mountaineers to their second straight win in conference play.

Three-Point Shooting

West Virginia Mountaineers: 6-15, 40 percent from the three-point line

Georgetown Hoyas: 5-17, 29.4 percent from the three-pointline

Throughout the game, Mitchell was able to continue to stay hot from deep, as he went four of seven, accounting for nearly half of his game-high 28 points, only three shy of his career high of 31 this season.

Turnovers

West Virginia Mountaineers: 13 combined

Georgetown Hoyas: 18 combined

The two clubs, near the top of the league in giveaways, were quite sloppy with the ball today, as many passes were picked off on the fast break, with both schools combining for more than 30 points per game, a facet of the game that has doomed the Hoyas this season.

Rebounding

West Virginia Mountaineers: 25 combined, 11 offensive rebounds

Georgetown Hoyas: 21 combined, two offensive rebounds

During the game, the Mountaineers were able to control the rebounding game, with Cam Thoroughman and Kevin Jones combining for five rebounds while Julian Vaughn pulled down the only two for the Hoyas.

Standings/Next Game for the Mountaineers & Hoyas:

West Virginia: Providence – January 13, 2011 – 7:00 p.m.

Standings for Mountaineers: 10-4 Overall (2-2 Big East)

Georgetown: vs. Pittsburgh - January 12, 2011 – 7:00 p.m.

Standings for the Hoyas: 12-4 Overall (1-3 Big East)

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