- Early in the second half, West Virginia is getting killed by stupid fouls. John Flowers picks up one, and Joe Mazzulla the other. They both lead to back to back 3 point plays. They need to play smart on both ends.
- After the old fashioned three pointers, the 'Cuse heats up and hits a pair of the usual kind. Huggins takes a timeout and the Mountaineers, in the blink of an eye, go from a four point halftime lead to a three point deficit. Twelve quick points by the Orange. This one is going to be wild down the stretch. Streaky shooting by both teams.
- The Mountaineers are getting layups, but they're laying on the rim and then rolling off the wrong way. It's pretty heartbreaking. If WVU doesn't start running some good offense and get a few bounces along the way, this could get away from them very quickly.
- Casey Mitchell cuts an eleven point Orange run with a big three, but otherwise, things still aren't looking up. John Flowers is headed to the bench with his fourth foul, which is not a good sign.
- An amazing bounce off the rim gives Mitchell his seventeenth point on a big three. Then, Syracuse runs out quickly and gets dunked on. This sort of tradeoff has plagued the 'Eers all night. They need to get back, because right now they're getting burned.
- The Turk just doesn't have his touch tonight. Each hook is rattling out. Luckily, Casey Mitchell's hit six threes. He's taking everything, but he's hitting most of it.
- After a few posessions of waiting and watching Casey jack up anything, West Virginia plays smart again. Kevin Jones buries a ten footer from the stripe and the Orange lead is cut to 2. After being down 9, this is a very good thing. The Mountaineers offensive play has been improbable thus far, and their passing and rebounding have been flat out bad. Some clutch shots keep this interesting.
- Back to back turnovers from Thoroughman, and the Orange start running again, quickly stretching the lead to eight. Nothing is ever easy. Cam's such a smart player that he gets the ball in great situations, but he just can't finish to save his life. He's stretching on some of these passes, but that's because he can't get a legitimate look against a legit big man. It's frustrating. He's not playing well right now, and I like him a whole lot better at the high post than the low.
- After that run, the 'Cuse takes the air out of the ball. Huggins waited maybe a minute too long to start fouling, but it doesn't matter. The Mountaineers got killed on the boards tonight and got baited into taking a lot of long, not so great jumpers. Sixteen turnovers don't help either. The guantlet continues, but West Virginia has the rest of the week off before Notre Dame comes to town on Saturday.
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West Virginia Vs. Syracuse: Orange Drop 'Eers Despite Hot Shooting From Casey Mitchell
By
Aaron Hawley