Kentucky Wildcat Basketball Preview – Know Your Enemy: West Virginia Mountaineers
By Paul Jordan
GAME 35
MARCH 19, 2011 12:15 PM
ST PETE TIMES FORUM – TAMPA, FL
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (21-11)
NCAA SECOND ROUND
TV – CBS
SERIES HISTORY:
KENTUCKY LEADS 13-5
RECENT MEETINGS
3/27/2010: West Virginia 73 KENTUCKY 66 *
11/29/2008: KENTUCKY 54 West Virginia 43 #
11/22/2005: KENTUCKY 80 West Virginia 66 @
*NCAA East Regional Final
#Las Vegas Invitational Championship
@Guardians Classic (Kansas City, MO)
It is well documented that John Calipari has just a 1-8 record versus West Virginia Huggins Bob Huggins, but Kentucky historically has a pretty good edge over the Mountaineers. The Kentucky/West Virginia rivalry has been an odd one, to say the least. West Virginia used to be a semi regular participant in the old UKIT during the 1960’s and then the appearances stopped. The two teams then had a home and home series in 1969 and 1970. But then it was a long 21 years before the two teams met again in the 1991 Pre-Season NIT. Then no more matchups until the 2005 Guardians Classic and ever since then, the Mountaineers have met the Wildcats in virtually every tournament possible. Saturday’s meeting will mark the fourth in less than six seasons.
Of course the last matchup was the biggest one as it was for a trip to the Final Four. In that game, Kentucky had a horrendous night shooting the ball, going 4-32 from long range and having Darius Miller, John Wall, and DeAndre Liggins foul out. Despite that, UK still lost by just seven. I realize that most of Kentucky’s players are gone, but Liggins and Miller still remain and are in a position to help even the score against the Mountaineers.
THE STARTERS
#21 – G – JOE MAZZULLA SR 6’2 200
7.3 ppg, 4.2 apg, 3.9 rpg
#25 – G – DARRYL BRYANT JR 6’2 195
11.1 ppg, 3 apg, 2.4 rpg
#2 – F – CAM THOROUGHMAN SR 6’7 235
2.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.3 apg
#5 – F – KEVIN JONES JR 6’8 250
13.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.2 apg
#41 – F – JOHN FLOWERS SR 6’7 215
9.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.7 apg
BACKCOURT
Kentucky fans need no introduction to Joe Mazulla. Mazulla was the gimpy PG that shredded Kentucky’s defense for a career high 17 points after averaging just around 2.0 points a game all season. Mazulla’s forte is as a passer and finding his open teammates. He has a very impressive 2.29 A/TO ratio this season. While not a primary scoring threat, he is still crafty enough to tally double digits on you. He is hitting 45% of his shots but is not a huge three point threat with just 8 made treys and hitting 29.6% of his trey attempts. Mazulla can be harassed into turning the ball over however. His last three games, he has been shaky with 17 assists versus 14 turnovers. Darrell Bryant is an effective scorer and can hurt you from all over the court.
He has been hitting 31.1% of his treys and just 33.1% overall. He’s not especially great at getting his own rebounds and is not an especially great defender. He can be exploited and driven on. Casey Mitchell is the leading scorer for West Virginia (13.7) and after a brief starting role now comes off the bench for the Mountaineers. He has almost evolved into just a 3-point specialist when he gets into the game now as most of his shots are from long range. Mitchell is accurate, hitting 37.8% from beyond the arc. His minutes have dwindled to about 15 a game over the last five, but he is very deadly when he is in. Dalton Pepper also shots a lot from long range when he makes an appearance and he is hitting 34.4% of his treys. For the year, he is averaging 4 points a game.
FRONTCOURT
Cam Thoroughman has moved into the starting lineup for the Mountaineers, and although he is not a big threat to score much, he has evolved into a solid rebounder lately. West Virginia is not a good shooting team however, and Thoroughman is good on the offensive glass, with half his boards being offensive ones. He is also a good passer with a 2.40 A/TO ratio. On most nights, Thoroughman does not even take enough shots to be a rack up a lot of points, he does a lot of the other things well, which keep him as a starter. Kevin Jones certainly fills the need for a scoring presence in the frontcourt. He has three double doubles in his past five games and barely missed yet another by just one rebound. He has been dreadful from long range this season, hitting just 29.7% but is heating up with two straight 3-4 performances from long range. He had a good game against UK last year with 3-6 three pointers, and 13 points and 8 boards. He does not block as many shots as he should, but is a force battling for rebounds on both ends of the court. John Flowers is the type of long, athletic presence that has given Kentucky fits in the past. He is good at battling for rebounds and he swats a lot of shots, at 2.3 a game. He can dominate defensively though as he blocked six against Louisville just a few games ago. He shoots the three pretty well at 32.8%, but tends to have games wh
ere he is not that involved in the Mountaineer offense. Let’s put the over/under at 15 times for the number of times Deniz Kilicli is mentioned in conjunction with Enes Kanter. Kilicli is the Turkish pro that was forced to sit out half a season for the Mountaineers for improper benefits. On the court, Kilicli has not been bad, averaging 6.7 points and 4.0 boards in just 16 minutes a game. His production has dipped over the last several games though, but he can still battle for the rebounds.
TEAM STATS
POINTS PER GAME
KENTUCKY 76.4 West Virginia 69.5
REBOUNDS PER GAME
KENTUCKY 38.1 West Virginia 37.4
ASSISTS PER GAME
West Virginia 15.1 KENTUCKY 12.7
FG%
KENTUCKY 46.2% West Virginia 42.9%
3-pt%
KENTUCKY 39.8% West Virginia 33.6%
FT%
KENTUCKY 71.5% West Virginia 71%
OUTLOOK
West Virginia is not a good shooting team and they get a lot of points from putbacks off of offensive rebounds. Seeing that Kentucky was outrebounded by Princeton, this is a major concern heading into this game. I know that Terrence Jones was sick in the Priceton game, but hopefully 48 hours or so is enough to kick what has been deemed the common cold. I like the way Harrellson has been playing lately and I have to say that I feel pretty good about Vargas coming in for short stints as well. Paramount to Kentucky’s success is avoiding foul trouble. I think that Darius Miller is a big upgrade over Thoroughman, the two Jones are a draw and that Flowers can have a slight advantage over Harrellson. That said, this is a game that Kentucky should hold their own in the post.
I know Mazzulla is crafty and experienced, but I have to give Knight the advantage. I know that Mazzulla looked good against Kentucky last year, but this is a better defensive backcourt than last years and the key is shutting Mazzulla down and keeping a hand in his face all day. Bryant is a mixed bag, he is talented, but inconsistent. Once again, Darius Miller can be the big difference maker and I do not anticipate Kentucky’s freshmen struggling as they did against the Tigers. Look for Kentucky to continue their redemption tour with a 71-63 win.
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