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Preseason Sweet 16: West Virginia Mountaineers

clark kellogg

Editor's note: With the men's college basketball season starting to ramp back up, Yahoo! Sports analyst Clark Kellogg picks the teams he thinks have the best shot at making it to the Sweet 16 in 2006.

Each pick is listed alphabetically. Check back during the week for his latest selections.


Other Sweet 16 teams: Arizona | Boston College | Connecticut | Duke | Gonzaga | Iowa | Kentucky
Louisville | Michigan St. | Nevada | Oklahoma | Stanford | Texas | Villanova | Wake Forest

THE REST OF THE BIG EAST

CINCINNATI
Bob Huggins is no longer running the show (a big loss), but four talented senior starters are back, so the Bearcats still should be a tournament team.

CONNECTICUT
Despite a few uncertainties, the Huskies have the talent to have a terrific season.

DePAUL
Jerry Wainwright steps in after successful stints at UNC Wilmington and Richmond. And he has a proven guard to lead his new team in Sammy Mejia.

GEORGETOWN
All seven top players return from last year's 19-win team for second-year coach John Thompson III.

LOUISVILLE
The Cardinals are new to the Big East, but Rick Pitino has been here before and that should help this year.

MARQUETTE
Like Louisville, a lot of freshmen and sophomores will be counted on to contribute immediately.

NOTRE DAME
With a nice blend of experienced players and talented newcomers, the Fighting Irish should avoid repeating last season's disappointing finish.

PITTSBURGH
With Chevon Troutman and Chris Taft gone, this definitely will be Carl Krauser's team to lead.

PROVIDENCE
For two years, role players have played in the shadow of Ryan Gomes. It's time to come out of the shadows now.

RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights still are a couple of years away from being a .500 team, but progress is being made.

ST. JOHN'S
Norm Roberts did a nice job in his first year, laying a foundation that will lead to marked improvement this year.

SETON HALL
Kelly Whitney, just one of two seniors on the roster, will have some heavy lifting to do for the Pirates.

SOUTH FLORIDA
It'll be a tough year for the Bulls, but Rob McCollum is starting to improve the talent level at USF.

SYRACUSE
Gerry McNamara is the heart and pulse of the Orange. How he goes is how they go.

VILLANOVA
The Wildcats may be missing a key player, but their chances at making the tournament still look good.

West Virginia Mountaineers
News | Schedule | Roster

West Virginia started the season with 10 consecutive wins – a streak that included some impressive displays on the road at LSU and N.C. State. The Mountaineers followed their strong start with a 2-7 lull before finishing the season with a 12-4 flourish.

They carried that late-season momentum into the NCAA tournament, where they beat Wake Forest in a second-round, double-overtime thriller before beating Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 and losing to Louisville in overtime in the Elite 8.

The Mountaineers were one of the more entertaining teams to watch because of their motion offense and high-volume perimeter shooting. Almost half of their field goal attempts were threes, and they made an average of nine per game – shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc in the regular season (and 47 percent in the Tourney).

Because West Virginia could be so impressive offensively at times, their defensive prowess was often overlooked. While they didn't dominate on D, the Mountaineers enjoyed a plus-3 turnover margin by using multiple defenses to disrupt the opposition.

West Virginia returns four of its top five scorers from last year – Kevin Pittsnogle, Mike Gansey, Joe Herber and Patrick Beilein (starting point guard J.D. Collins also returns). All are seniors. Only top-scorer Tyrone Salley and leading shot-blocker D'or Fischer have moved on. Sophomore Darris Nichols and junior Frank Young got valuable playing time last year and should have increased minutes this season.

Like last year, West Virginia will rely on a balanced scoring attack with plenty of three-point shooting, which helps spread the floor for its motion offense. Defensively they will employ a lot of matchup zones to force turnovers. The player rotation will be tight, but coach John Beilein has skilled and versatile players that play well together and create matchup problems for opponents.

Pittsnogle is a big man who can really shoot the three and handle his business down low. Gansey and Herber are terrific all-around players that do everything well. Beilein is a terrific long range shooter, and Collins is solid at both ends as a primary ballhandler and defender.

West Virginia surprised a lot of folks with its tournament run last year, but that won't be the case this season. Teams will get amped up to play them from the get-go. But with the Mountaineers' experience, talent and ability to shoot the ball, I like their chances to have another very good season.