2008 Woodie Awards
Final: Georgetown 72, West Virginia 55
West Virginia’s Cinderella ride through the Big East tournament is over.
Internet problems didn’t allow me to bring you normal updates, but the final score tells the story.
Roy Hibbert was absolutely unstoppable tonight, as the star center bounced back from a scoreless game Thursday to record a game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds o push the Hoyas into the championship round.
For more coverage, check out the Big East semifinals roundup on the Web site later tonight.
8:16 p.m.
Apparently there still is a little fight left in the Mountaineers.
Downby 15 after Jonathan Wallace drained a 3 to open the first half, West Virginia hit 3s on three out of four posessions to pull within eight. The Hoyas have pushed the lead back into double-digits, though, as they hold a 45-34 lead with Alexander at the line shooting two with 15:19 left to play.
Back in a bit.
Halftime
After not scoring a game ago, Hibbert has certianly made up for it tonight, scoring 13 points and leading the Hoyas to a 33-21 lead at the end of the first half. Now would’ve predicted that (see pre-game prediction).
The Mountaineers simply don’t have the size or a good enough defender to mathc-up with him. Jamie Smalligan is the only player on West Virginia with any kind of height, but like yesterday, he picked up his second foul early and has been riding the pine ever since. He played Hibbert physical eary, literally pushing him around and not letting him establish any kind of positioning down low, but after about two minutes of that, Hibbert simply took over — he’s on a whole other level. Joe Alexander guarded him most of the second half, but that’s not a favorable match-up, and it’s not a suprise he’s not winning it.
Offensively, Alexander isn’t winning the battle either, as he has just four points at the half on 2-of-7 shooting. If he can’t take control in the second half, this game could get ugly.
7:46 p.m.
Georgetown’s remains ahead, 33-21, with 31 seconds remaining.
The Hoyas simply have too much depth. They only have two starters in right now, but the team could still probably be a contender for the Big East title.
7:37 p.m.
You know, the Mountaineer gets a lot of credit as one of the best mascots, mainly because you need to grow a Grizzly Adams beard just to be considered. But I must say, this one is pretty lame. He doesn’t really do much. When the West Virginia cheeleaders were on the court a little while ago, he was just kind of lingering in the background with his musket and pumping his face.
Now, I wouldn’t tell him any of this because he’d probably turn me into one of those stylish Pat Boone-style hats, but i’d like to see just a little more effort from you, Mountaineer.
7:30 p.m.
With 6:45 left to play, the Hoyas currently boast a 22-14 lead over West Virginia. The Mountaineers have managed to keep up, but the score isn’t indicative of the stranglehold Georgetown has on this game. Roy Hibbert is dominating down low against a smaller Mountaineers lineup. The senior center already has 11, and being the expert mathematician that I am, that means he has accounted for half of the team’s output despite getting bumped around in the post.
He even nailed a 3-pointer at the top of the key, giving me bac flashbacks to the one he hit in the waning seconds to beat UConn.
On the flip side, Joe Alexander has been held in check. After dominating both of the previous two games he played in, Alexander just has two points on 1-of-4 shooting.
Pre-game
Hi all,
With the Huskies now on their way back to Connecitcut after being bounced from the Big East tournament by West Virginia, I’ll now be focusing on taking you through the magic carpet ride that is the final four.
I’ll be on hand for both of tonight’s games and most likely the finals Saturday night.
Today’s first match-up will feature the conference regular season champs, Georgetown (26-4), taking on the No. 5 seed Mountaineers (24-9).
Despite struggling to find a win to hang tis hat on throughout the season, West Virginia has rattled off four straight wins, thanks in large part to Joe Alexander. Although the junior failed to score a single point in last year’s Big East tournament, Alexander averaged 28 in wins over Providence and UConn.
Many may not have known who he was — including myself — until his fantastic play of late, but Alexander is emerging as one of the stars of the conference. If he continues to play the way he has tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised if NBA scouts don’t start sniffing around in the NCAA Tournament. At least, he will come into his senior season as one of the top three players and will be a legitimate Big East POY contender.
Complementing Alexander are Da’Sean Butler and Darris Nichols, who each scored in double-figures yesterday and streched the court for their budding star with their ability to hit the 3.
As for the Hoyas, there was no need to prove themselves here in Madison Square Garden — 26 wins and only four losses speaks for itself.
Georgetown is the reigning tourney champ and after last night’s 19-point beatdown of Villanova, it doesn’t seem like their ready to give that title up. Despite losing Jeff Green to the draft last year, the Hoyas are still a formidable oppoinent and should be a trendy pick to make it back to the Final Four.
The Hoyas have a significant size advantage over the Mountaineers, and Roy Hibbert should be able to have his way with Jamie Smalligan, West Virginia’s center who had more fouls (5) than he had points (2) last game.
Look for at least a 10-point win for Georegtown in this one.
My perdiction: Georgetown 76, West Virginia 58
Player of the Game: Hibbert
Probable Starters:
Georgetown
Jonathan Wallace, G, Sr.
Dajuan Summers, F, So.
Austin Freeman, G, Fr.
Jessie Sapp, G, Jr.
Roy Hibbert, C, Sr.
West Virginia
Joe Alexander, F, Jr.
Da’Sean Butler, F, Jr.
Alex Ruoff, F, Jr.
Darris Nichols, G, Sr.
Jamie Smalligan, C, Sr.
Back after the half.
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