Chris - Red hot Joe Alexander versus one of the best teams in the nation at shutting down an opposing teams star player. Although Xavier does not have a big inside presence, which teams who do have been successful against Alexander do, but they play extremely solid team defense. Xavier is also an extremely balanced with six guys averaging between 9.8 and team leader Josh Duncan's 12.1 PPG.

This is a tough West Virginia team that Coach Huggins will have playing physical for a full 40 minutes, but XU will have too much firepower and will do too good a job spreading around the offense.
The Pick: Xavier 72  West Virginia 69. Take Xavier and the points to win outright.

Brian - Let's see, who's tougher; a Mountaineer or a Musketeer? 

West Virginia has been hot lately and Joe Alexander has established himself as a serious load in the paint.  West Virginia pulled off what looked to be an easy win down the stretch against Duke without one of the top players, Darris Nichols even really getting going on the offensive end.  Joe Mazzulla also came off the bench and played wonderfully, which allows Huggy Bear the ability to go deep and wear out Drew Lavender and the Musketeers.

I look for Dub V to pounce on Xavier early and control the game from the start and finally shut down this fluke that is Xavier as a 3 seed.
The Pick: West Virginia covering the 2.5.  WVU 78  Xavier 71.

UCLA vs Western Kentucky 9:40 pm (UCLA -12.5)

Chris - I think the Hilltoppers give the Bruins an interesting match up. They're great from 3 point range, which we all know is the great equalizer in every NCAA tournament game. They're strong inside and on the boards. Super fresh Kevin Love might be forced to make more plays from the outside. This is an experienced, veteran, senior laden Western Kentucky squad that is good enough to hang around because of their three point shooting ability, and could pull off the shocker if the backcourt gets red hot.

Look for UCLA to really sweat in this one. But eventually pull it out as they are just too talented & too deep for the Sun Belt Cinderella Hilltoppers. Look for the Bruins aggressive defense to be too much to handle for undersized PG Tyrone Brazleton for 40 minutes.
The Pick: UCLA 68  Western Kentucky 61.  12.5 is a high spread for this level of competition, take the points.  UCLA wins but W Kentucky covers.

Brian - The buck stops here for the Hilltoppers.  UCLA will get back on the high horse they have been riding all year after a lackluster performance against Texas A&M.  They played awful and still managed to pull it out at the end. 

I think they get their act together tonight and get an easy win.  Darren Collison will prove too much to handle for Tyrone Brazleton and the combo of Westbrook, Shipp, and Mbah a Moute will finally cancel out Courtney Lee.
The Pick - UCLA covers the 12.5 in a statement game.  And they are my champ in my bracket, so I need to go with my gut.  UCLA 82  WKU 69.

EAST Region - Charlotte, NC
Washington St vs North Carolina 7:27 pm (UNC -8)

Chris - The most curious of the Sweet 16 match ups features the powerhouse that's always in the national spotlight, North Carolina. We know the coach, the players, the history. Versus the no-name Washington State Cougars.

This will be a grind it out, control tempo, extremely hardnosed defense Cougars team. After holding the high powered Notre Dame offense to under 25% shooting; if they can play THAT type of defense against the Heels, we could be in for a dandy.

This is going to be an ultimate battle of willing your style into the game. The UNC offense which has been strong all season seems to be hitting its stride at the perfect time. After exploding in the ACC tournament, the offense has seemingly gotten even better in the first 2 rounds.

Ultimately with Coach Roy Williams and his staff having a week to prepare for the Cougar defensive attack, the Heels will be too much down the stretch, and the Cougars will not be able to match baskets with the North Carolina
The Pick: North Carolina 80 Washington State 69.  UNC covers easy.

Brian - UPSET SPECIAL.  Washington State in a thriller.  Actually I know nothing about Washington State.  Their games are never on TV, and being a resident of the (215) I didn't even get to see their games so far during the tournament. 
The Pick - WAZZU 79  UNC 76.  Going out on a limb here.  Take the points though.

Louisville vs Tennessee 9:57 pm (Louisville -2.5)

Chris - The best game of the Thursday foursome. Rick Pitino's Cardinals have been playing great basketball for the past month (minus the early Big East tourney exit). With guard Chris Lofton going to playing on a bulky ankle, many are calling for the Cardinals upset. I do not. Tennessee is loaded, playing 9 players 15+ minutes Bruce Pearl and his gang will find a way to force this into the shoot-out they want. The Smith's; JaJaun, Tyler and Raymour, as well as Wayne Chism will be able to pick up any slack Chris Lofton has as result of a sore foot, achilles, and ankle (which might be none at all) and the Vols will shoot their way into the Elite 8.
The Pick: Tennessee 84 Louisville 82. I think it will be close, I'm going with Pitino and the points.

Brian - Completley agree with Chris above that this is the best game of the night.  We better get plenty of live look-ins into this one. 

I see Bruce Pearl's gangsta ass squad of the Smith's and Chism combined with Chris Lofton's ankle being fine (probably a Tom Brady strategy) running and gunning all night long.  They are too big and too athletic and ultimatley... will be too much.
The Pick - TENN 83  L'VILLE 74.  Tennesee getting points,  TAKE IT.

I. Randall Hanke: I really don't have too much to say about this guy, I just like his name a lot. Does anyone else automatically think of Hank Williams, Jr. when they hear this name? Hanke led Providence with 18 points despite inexplicably sitting on the bench for most of the first half. It was Hanke's first 15+ point output against a Big East team this year. I'm surprised the Friars didn't try to use him even more, WVU didn't really have an answer. Hanke and Ray Hall on the court together would have been deadly. Glad that didn't transpire.

II. Cam Thoroughman: Cam might have played more minutes tonight than he did all season. He played at least 8-9 straight minutes in the first half and played the entire second half down to the last minute or two. The game turned when Cam was able to come in and add some physicality and hustle. He got a few points and rebounds, but that's not even what he needed to do. I like the mentality he brought to the court that he would not be shoved around. Obviously Huggs liked this too.  And I just checked the box score, Cam logged 21 minutes, compared to his season thus far of 27 minutes played. Cam also recorded his first field goal in a Mountaineer uniform.

III. Providence shot selection: Not to take anything away from WVU, but Providence looked very out of sync offensively for most of the later part of the game. In first they were clicking pretty well and nailing some open threes, but WVU was able to adjust and take some of that away and they looked lost. I also think they're struggling to find their go-to man, it should be Geoff McDermott. But he was hassled by Joe Alexander for a lot of the night, finishing with only 4 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds, all well below his average. Again you have to figure it's not just Providence playing that bad offensively but WVU finding a defense (or a combination of many defenses) that worked. Providence took more 3-point attempts than WVU and that just doesn't seem right for a team that seemingly outmatched the Mountaineers on the front line.

For the bonus shot, how about Darris Nichols? He is doing so many great things for this team every night that it kind of goes unnoticed, you just expect those things, but he had 23 points to tie a season-high and hit some clutch threes and the dagger layup for a three-point play on a back-door cut. Overall, this is a good win for WVU that in some ways cancels out the home loss to Cincinnati. Any road win in the Big East is a huge deal.

Statistically the Mountaineers' 20 percent from the field set the mark for worst shooting game ever by any group to don the gold and blue. The Mountaineers made 1 of 22 three-point attempts, thanks Darris Nichols for keeping us completely out of the dark. Nichols also shone with a 10-of-10 effort from the foul line to finish with 17 points, the only WVU player in double digits. Despite taking care of the ball with only 9 turnovers, any time you can't throw it in the ocean you just can't win games. The game was played at a snail's pace, with 52 or 53 possessions by my calculations which are usually a little off. Once Basketball State posts their enhanced boxscore it should be easier to tell, but by my calculation Cincy hit 1.19 PPP while WVU musters a laughable 0.75. That's your worst offensive and defensive outing of the year coming on the same night. Offensive efficiency for WVU has only dipped below 0.9 on two occasions this season, Louisville and Notre Dame, while the only other team WVU allowed anywhere in the neighborhood of a 1.19 was Georgetown at 1.09.

Was it Georgetown hangover? There has to be some explanation. This game was certainly an anomaly but to absolutely not show up for this one in a home game with a back story like Huggins-Cronin is inexcusable. If WVU recovers to have a decent season but falls short of the NCAA yet again, they will have only to point to this game to figure out why. If WVU fails to recover then it could be a long last month of the season, in the Big East. I have a lot of faith in Huggs and these players that this will not lead the season down the skids, but certainly everyone has to do some soul searching after this outcome.

UPDATE (1-31): The Basketball State boxscore records a pace of 63.4 for WVU to 60.2 for the Bearcats, much higher that I calculated (which is why I don't do the calculations). Good for WVU's defense which makes a more-respectable 1.03 OPPP but tragic for the offense by putting them at 0.62 PPP. I thought this had to be the worst offensive output of any D-I team this season, but again according to State, there have been about 76 less efficient offensive performances, including St. Louis' 20-point output of 0.35 PPP against George Washington earlier this season. So at least we're not the Billikens!

Stiles, our resident basketball expert, will check in periodically with his thoughts on the season. Luckily for you, this is one of those times.

I can’t take it anymore. Somebody wake me up when the new coach is hired. I’m too preoccupied with this upcoming test for the basketball team against Oklahoma.

With Charley and 5th Year playing the role of Woodward and Bernstein, let’s take a look at the upcoming showdown…

Since the narrow loss to Tennessee, the Mountaineer basketball team has been a juggernaut. This has included blowing out teams left and right, featuring decent Auburn and Duquesne teams. With these blowouts, three positive trends have emerged during the stretch. They are (in no particular order):

Darris Nichols: If you can recall the preseason preview, I was very high on Nichols. Love his game. Well, the started the season out slow for the senior. While watching it unfold, I came to realize he was suffering from “Beilein Syndrome”. What’s “Beilein Syndrome?” It’s something I just made up! It was born of the idea that Huggins had given the players the green light on offense. However, after playing three years under Beilein, Nichols tried to stay in the offense too much. Now, he’s seeing the light. Nichols can practically take anybody off the dribble and once he starts doing this more, the offense will only open up.

John Flowers: Interesting player. Interesting game. One thing I love: his aggression on the offensive end. Sure he’ll be up and down, but when he’s on, he can fill it up. No matter what, he’s gives WVU another solid guy off the bench.

Joe Alexander: Wow. Saying he’s found himself early on would be an understatement. He’s aggressive, yet he’s not forcing things like he would sometimes last year. He’s the key to the season. Last year, Alexander started off strong, but when they hit Big East play; he struggled big time. Let’s hope the big start will continue.

These three items have me pumped for big things. Come Saturday, we’ll have a better idea where the team stands. The Sooners are no slouch, as evidenced by their wins over Arkansas and Gonzaga. They’ve also given decent games to Memphis and USC.

The Sooners are a team that has a strong frontline, which makes this upcoming game even more interesting. In other words, I’ll be interested to see how WVU plays against a physical team.

One thing is for sure: the game will sure beat reading about being left at the altar by Jimbo Fisher. Or leaving Doc Holliday at the altar. (Ed. -- not really)

For the past 4 years, Nichols has been one of the steadiest point guards in Mountaineer history.  Always stingy with the ball (as exampled by his 28 minute, 0 turnover performance last night), Nichols has also become a reliable scorer for the Mountaineers.  In my mind, he will be forever remembered for two plays: his block against Wake Forest and the last-gasp, game-winning shot against Mississippi State in last year's NIT.

So, regardless of what happens over the next few weeks, WBGV salutes Darris Nichols.  Thanks for the memories, you'll be missed.