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DePaul Vs. West Virginia: Mountaineers Still Looking For A Big East Tournament Bye

The Mountaineers still have an opportunity to earn a bye in the Big East tournament. To stay alive in that race they need to defeat the DePaul Blue Demons in Morgantown Tuesday night.

Feb. 22, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Darryl Bryant (25) shoots in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame won 71-44. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-US PRESSWIRE
Feb. 22, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Darryl Bryant (25) shoots in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame won 71-44. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-US PRESSWIRE

Despite the West Virginia Mountaineers having lost seven of their last nine games, they are still within reach of a bye in the Big East mens basketball tournament. They welcome the last-place DePaul Blue Demons to the WVU Coliseum Tuesday evening. With the Mountaineers only a half game behind Seton Hall for the final bye in the Big East tournament, the Mountaineers cannot allow themselves to falter against a last-place team in the Blue Demons.

The Mountaineers nearly upset the Marquette Golden Eagles on Friday night but eventually lost 61-60.

DePaul has not won a game since Jan 25 against Rutgers, an eight game losing streak. Also, the Blue Demons have lost 13 of their last 14 games dating back to Jan. 8. Their last three games, however, including an eight-point loss to Louisville in overtime, have been decided by single digits. Forward Cleveland Melvin leads the Blue Demons with 17.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Also a key contributor for the Blue Demons is guard Brandon Young averaging 14.8 points and 4.8 assists per game.

The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip off and will be available streaming live on ESPN3.com.

For more on the Mountaineers, check out The Smoking Musket.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.