Hey, old lady under the hairnet – quit judging me.

Anyway, back to the news, on Thursday afternoon, the Big East announced the conference’s share of Big Monday games for the upcoming basketball season. The Orange’s games include a Martin Luther King Day matchup with Pittsburgh on January 17, a Valentine’s Day date with the Mountaineers, and what could be another pivotal Big East game the following Monday on the road at Villanova.

The first of the three games might not be too flattering. There are two coaches in the conference who seem to have Boeheim’s number in recent seasons: Rick Pitino and Jamie Dixon. The Orange have beaten the Panthers just once in the last six seasons, a memorable 65-61 victory in the championship game of the memorable 2006 conference tournament. To find SU’s last regular season triumph over Pitt, you have to go all the way back to 2004, the Panthers’ first ever loss at the Peterson Events Center. You could say that SU is due, and for some Orange fans, the crushing loss late in the 2008 season still resonates.

Vegas partygoer Mountaineer head coach Bob Huggins lost a good deal from last year’s team, with Da’Sean Butler, Devin Ebanks and Wellington Smith all gone. But Deniz Kilicili will finally be eligible for the full season and Kevin Jones is set to explode, according to early reports.  Joe Mazzulla is also back, as is Cam Thoroughman, the latest entry to my All-”You Mean He STILL Hasn’t Graduated Yet?” team. On Valentine’s Day, love will be in the air, as well as many lobs to Kris Joseph.

The next Monday will bring a rematch of the biggest game of last season, this time on Villanova’s home floor. The return trip could again be the deciding game in the Big East. The Wildcats lost Scottie Reynolds, but the backcourt belongs to Corey Fisher and his Gypsy 105-point pickup games. They also bring in a couple nice freshmen in JayVaughn Pinkston and James Bell, while Corey Stokes brings back his deadly aim.

What we know

The defending Big East champs aren’t without controversy as they start the season.  Rich Rodriguez left his alma mater to take the Michigan job.  The messy divorce from the WV program is going to cost him and UM $4 million.  His replacement, Bill Stewart, may have been the perfect person to guide them in their BCS dismantling of Oklahoma, but he could be a long term risk, as evidenced by SI’s Stewart Mandel shredding.

We like to think of WV as some inconquerable beast, but in reality this team lost two games in conference last season.  The wins were to Western Michigan, Marshall, maryland, East Carolina, Cuse, Mississippi St, Rutgers, Louisville, Cincinnati.  The losses:  South Florida and Pitt – a game that cost them a shot at the BCS title.

The offense will be just as potent as last season.  Seven starters return, including QB Pat White and a veteran offensive line.  Noel Devine replaces Steve Slaton at RB.  The big concern is durability at the skill slots as Slaton and White lost time in several games with various nagging injuries.  The WR core is inexperienced but talented with Dorrell Jalloh and Wes Lyons stepping in.

On defense, only four starters return but they are key.  Linebackers Reed Williams and Mortty Ivy were the teams top tacklers.  The secondary will be competely overhauled and the line will be manned by sophomore Scooter Berry and Frosh Chris Neild.  I’m not sure they can expect to maintain their standing as a top 10 D (7th overall last season – 8th in scoring/16th rushing/14th passing), but they should be enough given their potent offense.

Quick Fact

Dan Mozes’ 2006 Dave Remington award is the only major hardware garnerd by a WV player.

Why we can win

We have a week to prepare for this game and this could be trap game for WV sandwiched between Rutgers and Auburn. Wait a minute, I think I hear something. Oh its my alarm clock waking me from the ’87 SU/WV classic.
1987 SU/WV

Why we can lose

Well we have lost the last 6 games by an average of 34-13. We haven’t won in Morgantown since 2000. To think we can pull of a big upset would be surprising to say the least. I think we can easily expect another 20+ point pounding.

ZHK says

I’m not one for moral victories, but I think this season is going to need a number of these such “wins” to save GRob’s job. And how SU plays against the top dawgs like WV will go along way in determining his fate. SU will have to try and match WV’s speed on offense by controlling the ball and taking advantage of WV’s young line and secondary. Can we do it? Maybe for a quarter or half, but I would expect that SU will have a hard time winning in Morgantown.

Next ZHK: South Florida breakdown