Bob Huggins argues with referee Sean Corbin after his technical foul against Pitt

West Virginia is on a head-scratching three game losing streak in which it has dropped a 16-point loss at St. John’s, a controversial 2-point defeat at Syracuse, and a disappointing 6-point set back at home to Pitt. The Mountaineers have lost three games in a row for the first time ever under head coach Bob Huggins. In his career, Huggins has never lost four consecutive games as a head coach.

The Mountaineers are coming off of a much needed six days of rest. In their loss to Pitt, WVU out-rebounded the Panthers and got another double-double from Kevin Jones with 21 points and 13 rebounds, but could not stop the scoring power of Pitt guard Tray Woodall who tallied 24 points, including 9 points from beyond-the-arc.

West Virginia also experienced a potential game-changing call early in the second half. After allowing an easy lay-up basket to the Panthers which was compounded by a foul at the end of the play, Huggins was not pleased with the defensive performance of Darryl “Truck” Bryant. While yelling to scold Bryant after the play, a technical foul was issued to the coach from referee Sean Corbin who clearly thought that Huggins was yelling at him, and that he had said something other than “Truck.” The play resulted in three made free-throws by Pitt and increased the Panthers’ lead. West Virginia was never able to come back.

LaDontae Henton drives to the basket against USF

Providence is riding somewhat of a hot streak, coming off of their second conference win of the season; a 78-67 victory over Rutgers on Wednesday night. The Friars shot 52.0% overall and 50.0% from three-point range in the win. Providence’s only other conference victory came on January 10 in a 90-59 blowout win over Louisville. The Friars have notable non-conference wins at Fairfield, at South Carolina, and at home against Boston College.

The Friars get 16.1 points and 7.6 assists per game from junior guard Vincent Council. The team’s leading rebounder is 6’6″ freshman forward LaDontae Henton who grabs 8.9 boards per game. Henton has been very hot as of late, scoring nearly 17 points per game in his last seven contests.

If West Virginia hopes to win, it will need to limit trips to the foul line for Providence, who shoots 70.1% as a team, and has three of it’s top players

shooting 75% or higher from the charity stripe. The Friars won’t shoot the three very often, as they have only attempted 293 on the season (compared to 419 for West Virginia.) Providence will look to change many shots inside for the Mountaineers during the game also, as they have blocked, on average, six shots per game this season.

The Mountaineers are 16-11 all-time against Providence and have won seven games in a row and 11 of their last 12 against the Friars. WVU last defeated Providence 93-63 last January in Morgantown. The last Friars victory in the series came in February of 2007 in Rhode Island by the score of 64-61. This will mark the first time West Virginia has faced new Providence head coach, Ed Cooley.

If WVU is hoping to continue it’s run to the NCAA tournament, it must beat the last-place Friars on Sunday. On Super Bowl Sunday, the big game shouldn’t involve the Giants and Patriots, but instead the Mountaineers and Friars.

The game will tip-off at noon from the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI.

Let’s Go Mountaineers!

According to Steele, this is not his list of Top 10 teams, it is what he projects the AP Top 10 to look like at the start of the 2012 season.

These rankings are based on the number of returning starters (particularly the offensive skill positions) and the performance of the team in their bowl game. Steele is usually on the money with his predictions, so don’t be surprised if this is what it looks like when the polls come out.

Projected Preseason AP Top 10

1. LSU
2. USC
3. Alabama
4. Oregon
5. Oklahoma
6. Georgia
7. Michigan
8. Florida State
9. Arkansas
10. West Virginia

Click HERE to see his explanation for his projected AP Top 10.

WVU fans hope to see him in the gold and blue next year, but face stiff recruiting battles against the top programs in the country such as Kentucky, Syracuse and UCONN.

Noel said he enjoyed his visit for the Mountaineer Showcase high school tournament a few short weeks ago, and hopefully he makes it back for another visit. The potential addition of Noel to an already loaded incoming class (including Aaric Murray and Juwan Staten as transfers) brings even more excitement.

Next year could end up being even more special than initially expected.

Jayme Thompson

Signing Day has just come to an end and the 2012 class is pretty much wrapped up. Time for the coaches to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor… WRONG!

OhioPreps.com is reporting that WVU has already landed the first commitment of their 2013 class. Junior safety Jayme Thompson has given his pledge to Dana Holgorsen and the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Thompson is a 6’2″, 185 pound safety from Central Catholic HS in Toledo, OH. He is a highly recruited prospect who chose WVU over current offers from Notre Dame, Nebraska, Illinois, and Cincinnati. He is also being heavily recruited by Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and others.

Thompson has developed a great relationship with lead recruiter Jake Spavital and head coach Dana Holgorsen. He’s a highly recruited kid, and plenty of teams will be trying to flip him, but this is a great start to the 2013 class.

We hope to bring you an interview with Jayme sometime in the future.

Check back with GBZ for more WVU sports and recruiting updates.

Let’s Go Mountaineers!!

Jayme Thompson Highlight Videos

Check out this latest recruiting video by Dougity Dog.

Now, if you want to forget about  all of that  for a while and get a little glimpse of everything that is right with college football, look no further than this video of Jarrod Harper as he celebrates the signing of his letter of intent to play football at WVU with his friends and family.

Harper is a 6’0″, 200 pound safety from Mountain Ridge HS in Frostburg, MD. He was the first commitment of WVU’s 2012 recruiting class, and never budged or waivered. This kid bleeds gold and blue, and has dreamed about playing football at West Virginia University. Today his dream came true.

Check out this emotional video of Jarrod Harper giving a speech and signing his National Letter of Intent.

Welcome to the family, Jarrod. Let’s Go Mountaineers!!!!