West Virginia On Big East Road At Seton Hall Pirates

Senior Kevin Jones has eight double-doubles in WVU’s first 13 contests.

A week ago, you couldn't swing a dead cat around without hitting someone talking up the Seton Hall Pirates.  Their relatively soft schedule to begin the season was generally noted, but the pundits still gushed about the squad second-year head coach Kevin Willard had and suggesting the Pirates could be an upset force within the Big East.

Those notions might have gone right out the window Wednesday night in Syracuse where the Orange completely dismantled Seton Hall.  If Willard and the Pirates are going to at least be a fly in the conference ointment, they'll have to quickly put that whipping behind them before hosting the West Virginia Mountaineers on Friday.

The contest will be the second half of an ESPN2 doubleheader that begins with Western Michigan at Duke in what should be a full-speed scrimmage for the Blue Devils.  The Hall and WVU will get underway at Newark's Prudential Center a little past 9:00 p.m. (ET), with the Pirates starting off on the NCAA odds board as slim 1-point favorites.  Friday's total opened at 136.

Anyone who saw the Orange's beat-down of the Pirates might have been reminded of those Animal Planet shows with footage of adult lions chasing down baby impalas.  At least the prey escapes the clutches of death on occasion, but Syracuse on Seton Hall (11-2 straight up, 6-3 against the spread) played out like one kill after another.

Granted, the Pirates were at the Carrier Dome against the No. 1 team in the land. The Orange were even playing with some revenge after Seton Hall cruised to a big upset last season in Syracuse.

The Pirates didn't perform badly on the boards, even grabbing 17 offensive rebounds, though even that positive went for naught since they couldn't find the net and convert those second chances.  Herb Pope and Fuquan Edwin – who average over 32 points a game between them while each shooting 52 percent or better – combined for seven points while going 2-for-20 from the field.

A couple of dozen turnovers didn't help, to state the obvious.  Give 'Cuse credit for the defense, but it was also on the Hall's offense which came in coughing it up a little less than 12 times a game.

If there's any good news for the Pirates and their hope to rebound back into the win column quickly, it's the fact this isn't one of Bob Huggins' best teams at West Virginia (10-3 SU, 7-3 ATS).  The bad news is the Mountaineers are still plenty dangerous and have all but owned Seton Hall in recent years.

The Mountaineers have played a stronger schedule so far, and are beginning to make friends among bettors since their poor performance at Mississippi State to begin December.  West Virginia has reeled off a 6-1 mark since then, covering five of the six lined affairs with the 'over' also 5-1 during the stretch.

The lone loss came last week against Baylor at the Las Vegas Classic, a strong showing for the Mountaineers who took the Bears to overtime before falling short, 83-81.  Baylor was giving up six on the spread, and WVU bounced right back with a solid 83-69 win this week at home as 7½-point chalk vs. Villanova.

Kevin Jones was a one-man wrecking crew against the Bears, netting 28 on the scoreboard and pulling down 17 rebounds. Neither of those marks are season-highs for Jones who ranks 14th in the country in scoring (20.4), eighth in rebounding (11.5) and has eight double-doubles to his credit before we reach the new year.

Jones is officially probable on the injury report after needing a few stitches to close a gash from an elbow over his right eye in the 'Nova triumph.  He should play and the battle between him and Pope should be a classic.

West Virginia has won the last seven matchups with Seton Hall, including the last three in New Jersey.  The Mountaineers have also cashed betting slips in the most recent five meetings, each as the favorite.  This is the first time since a 2003 meeting in East Rutherford that WVU hasn't been laying points.

Seton Hall will remain at home to take on Georgetown next Tuesday night; Wednesday (Jan. 4) finds West Virginia at Rutgers.  The Pirates and Mountaineers aren't scheduled to meet each other before a potential get-together during the Big East Tournament in March.