H
@drgnslayr West Virginia is still very good this year even without Devin Williams and DeShaun Paige. Their lone loss was to Temple - they were down 20+ in the first half came back and nearly one. They have a terrific win at Virginia, though they seem a little overrated after the departures of key players from last year. WVU still plays very good defense that is relentless pressure. They score in the same way and is still good, not great.
I have watched Baylor a bit and they look like the same old Baylor team. The comeback against Louisville’s defense was impressive but it helps that Louisville labors to score, which is somewhat typical of Pitino’s teams except for his championship team in 2013. If they were down that much to North Carolina or UCLA, there is no way they comeback because those teams can score. Definitely a threat to finish at the top of the conference along with Huggy Bear.
ISU is really struggling on the offensive end. They rely on jump shots and shot themselves out of a W at home against Cincinnati. Their defense is very solid just like last year but will continue without a low post scorer. The losses of McKay and Niang were big blows to their offense.
I haven’t watched as many of OSU’s games but they seem to be a jump shooting team. They shot very well against a mediocre WSU team but were stifled by North Carolina’s half court defense, which is why 3 point defense is important despite what some have proposed in the past (wasn’t it Newell that said something about it?). I watched their game vs. Roy and Carolina’s defense was the reason Okie Lite shot around 36% from 3 in that game.
I am ready to see us get a W at some of these places - Frank is yet to win at Morgantown. Wins at WVU, ISU and OSU nearly guarantee the conference title and a one seed.
