Irish return to Joyce Center against West Virginia
BY CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Writer
It's nice to be home.
After its longest road trip of the season — a stretch of three games over eight days that saw the Irish go 2-1 — Notre Dame (16-3, 4-1) returns to the Joyce Center for a Big East matchup with West Virginia (11-6, 2-3).
"It was a long, long stretch on the road, but it's great to be home," Irish guard Matt Carroll said. "I think … we're ready and excited to play in front of our home crowd."
While the Irish got only their first two victories on the road last week against Providence and Boston College, they have been stellar on their home court. Notre Dame is a perfect 12-0 this season in the friendly confines of the Joyce Center.
The trip to South Bend may be more difficult for the Mountaineers, however, who are 0-5 on the road this season. West Virginia has been outscored by an average of 12 points in those five road losses.
A danger for the Irish could come in their opponent's inconsistency, however, as West Virginia is a team that has shown this season it has the ability to play with anyone in the country. The Mountaineers' 11-6 record includes impressive victories over No. 4 Florida, Tennessee and Miami, and a tough two-point overtime loss to Georgetown.
"They're a good team. They have a good coach there," Carroll said. "He's done a good job with them this year. It's going to be a tough game just looking at how they run their offense."
Much of that offense comes in freeing up guard Drew Schifino. The sophomore is the leading scorer for the Mountaineers this season with nearly 21 points a game. West Virginia also likes to find big man Kevin Pittsnogle open from three-point land. The 6-foot-10, freshman center has made 31-of-57 three-pointers to lead the team in that category, counting for a large portion of his 13 points a game.
"They run in a tough offense," Carroll said. "They use a lot of screens and get a lot of easy buckets against teams. I think [West Virginia's offense] is very hard to guard, so we're going to have to be very attentive to detail."
The Mountaineers have seen a lot of turnover since they last faced the Irish, with a new coach this year and several new faces on the floor.
First year head coach Joe Beilein has started three freshmen — Pittsnogle, and guards Joe Herber and Jarmon Durisseau-Collins — in all 17 games this year. Combined with sophomore starters Schifino and Tyrone Sally, that makes for a very young West Virginia squad.
"This year, their leading scorer is Schifino, and he wasn't last year," Carroll said. "Guys that played more last year aren't playing now, so you just never know. The thing about it is that you have to be ready no matter who is out there. We have to know everybody and what they can do, so we'll be prepared for whoever they have in the game."
The biggest challenge for the Irish may be to try not to look past a less talented West Virginia squad, and toward their big matchup against Georgetown Saturday.
"It's such a big game, and I think this team understands this year that every game in the Big East is a huge game," Carroll said. "No matter who you're playing, whether it's home or away, any win here is a huge one with all the great teams in the conference. Any night, anybody can beat anybody. We have to focus and be ready to get this one."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, January 29, 2003
