February 27, 2009


Last night in Cincinnati there were a lot of Huggs and Misses (Charleston Gazette) as Bob Huggins' Night Not One to Remember (Charleston Gazette) as West Virginia falls to UC, 65-61.

It was an Emotional Return for Huggins (Times West Virginian) who wiped tears from his eyes during a pregame video highlight tribute film to his career as the UC head coach, one which saw him become the winningest coach of the program's history. In the game, however, it was the Bearcats Who Made their Own Highlights (Cincinnati Enquirer) as Mick Cronin beat his former mentor and UC icon for the second consecutive season. It was a win UC simply had to have to keep their NCAA Tournament chances alive and they delivered by riding the back of freshman big man Yancy Gates, picking up the slack for injured starter Mike Williams, whose sprained knee could improve enough to have him back for a game at Syracuse on Sunday. Gates finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds and the Mountaineers had no answer for him when he got the ball on the block. He was 9-11 from the field. Deonta Vaughn added 13 points for the winners as UC Takes Down Huggins and WVU (Cincinnati Enquirer), improving to 18-7 in the Big East and 18-10 overall.

West Virginia fell to 8-7 in the Big East and into a tie in the standings with UC and Syracuse in Big East competition as the Mountaineers Waste an Opportunity Against the Bearcats (Daily Mail) to seperate themselves a little from the pack. They also lose an tie-breaker with both the Orange and Bearcats since they have lost to each of them.

The UC defense held the Mountaineers to just 34% shooting from the field in the game. Alex Ruoff led the Mountaineers with 18 points, but he was just 3-15 from the field and 2-11 from beyond the arc.

The Bearcats hit the road for games with Syracuse on Sunday and South Florida before wrapping up the Big East regular season at home against Seton Hall. Winning two of three should but them in a pretty good situation heading to the 2009 Big East Tournament in Madison Square Garden the second week of March.