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WVU basketball: College Gameday shows growth of program again

By Matthew Peaslee

aMORGANTOWN, WV - FEBRUARY 20: The West Virginia Mountaineers huddle before the game against the Texas Longhorns at the WVU Coliseum on February 20, 2017 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
aMORGANTOWN, WV - FEBRUARY 20: The West Virginia Mountaineers huddle before the game against the Texas Longhorns at the WVU Coliseum on February 20, 2017 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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All eyes will be on Morgantown come Saturday. But the real hype for the WVU basketball team’s next game is already building.

It was just announced by WVUsports.com that ESPN’s College Gameday will be at the WVU Coliseum for the WVU basketball game against Kentucky. This is part of the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Not only will the game have great hype because the Mountaineers and Wildcats are coached by two of the best leaders in all of college basketball, but also because both teams are ranked in the top 25. It’s not quite a top 10 match up, but both teams have three losses each.

Bob Huggins and John Caliper are good friends and arguably two of the best coaches in all of college basketball. They are legends of the game and have forgotten more about basketball than the average fan knows as a whole. Huggins and Caliper know how to get the most out of their players and they show a great deal of emotion when their teams are on the floor.

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The last time the Mountaineers played the Wildcats was quite the embarrassment in the NCAA Tournament. It was also the game that current WVU senior Daxter Miles guaranteed a victory and caught a lot of flack after the WVU basketball team lost, 78-39.

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Kentucky also beat the WVU basketball team in the 2011 tournament. But the 2010 win by the Mountaineers against Kentucky in the Elite 8 may have been the biggest win in program history. There is a lot of history between these two blue bloods of college basketball, but the Wildcats own a 15-5 advantage against the WVU basketball team in all-time series.

A win by the Mountaineers would help their quest for a No. 1 or 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It will also cement their rightful place in the top 10 and the national pundits will think highly of this team for the rest of the year. It appears many college basketball leaders already know that the WVU basketball team is among the best in the country because of the fact that College Gameday is coming back to campus.

This also happened for a Louisville game when the Cardinals and Mountaineers were members of the Big East in 2009. Now, the Cardinals are in the ACC and the WVU basketball team is in the Big 12. The Big 12/SEC Challenge will help improve the image of the Big 12 should the conference win more games than it loses. For much of this season, there has been four Big 12 teams in the top 10, so it’s a good sign that the conference is already thought of as one of the best in the country.

Next: All-time WVU basketball team

This will be an exciting week for the WVU basketball team. It’s up to the players to control their emotions and get back on track with a win against the Wildcats.

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