Eight Big East teams have five or six losses, and all of them are vying for the two remaining spots in the top four that will earn a double bye in the Big East tournament.  With just two weeks left in the regular season, it’s time for some of those teams to make a move.

West Virginia (16-9/7-6), Notre Dame’s Saturday opponent, is one of those eight teams.  The Mountaineers are desperate for a win on Saturday after losing three of their last four games.  They have games remaining at Rutgers and Pittsburgh and at home against Connecticut and Louisville, so the Notre Dame game can be either the first step in a march to high post-season seeding or the first step in a march to the NIT.

Expect WVU’s best shot.

What you need to know about West Virginia

• #12 scoring offense in the Big East, 65.5 ppg
• #3 scoring defense in the Big East, 62.9 ppg
• #11 free throw percentage in the Big East, 68.6%
• #10 field goal percentage in the Bg East, 42.1%
• #6 field goal percentage defense in the Big East, 42.2%
• #9 three-point percentage in the Big East, 33.1%
• #7 rebounding margin in the Big East, +0.6
• #2 assists per game in the Big East, 16.2
• #6 turnover margin in the Big East, +0.7
• #1 assists/turnover ratio in the Big East, 1.4 (three way tie)

Senior guard Casey Mitchell, West Virginia’s leading scorer (14.0 ppg) is in his fifth game back from a disciplinary suspension.  After struggling for a few games, he appeared to find his stride with a 23-point performance against Syracuse.

Junior center Kevin Jones has averaged 12.5 points per game while grabbing 7.2 rebounds, 4th in the Big East.  John Flowers is tied for the league lead in blocks, 2.5 per game; and eighth year senior Joe Mazzulla provides a steady hand at the point with an excellent 2.2 assist/turnover ratio, 6th in the conference.  Eight Mountaineers average double digit minutes played.

What you need to know about Notre Dame

• #6 scoring offense in the Big East, 70.4 ppg
• #4 scoring defense in the Big East, 65.5 ppg
• #5 free throw percentage in the Big East, 72.5%
• #2 field goal percentage in the Big East, 46.6%
• #8 field goal percentage defense in the Big East, 42.5%
• #4 three-point percentage in the Big East, 38.6%
• #8 rebounding margin in the Big East, +0.2
• #6 assists per game in the Big East, 15.0 per game
• #8 turnover margin in the Big East, +0.5
• #4 assist/turnover ratio in the Big East, 1.3 (3 teams tied)

Ben Hansbrough’s 19.2 points per game lead the Irish in scoring and place him 3rd in the Big East.  Tim Abromaitis (12.6), Carleton Scott (10.6), and Scott Martin (10.5) and  add double-digit averages.

Scott is ND’s leading rebounder with 7.0 per game.  That would place him 6th in the Big East if he had played enough games to qualify for the rankings.  y Nash, Martin, and Abromaitis  each add more than 5 boards per game.  Eric Atkins brings his league leading 3.3 assist/turnover ratio off the bench.

The Matchup

Notre Dame’s biggest concern will be a hot shooting game from Mitchell.  He is a streaky shooter capable of making 7-10 from three point range or 2-10, and the 2-10 game won’t stop him from taking the 11th long range shot.

The next concern will be how the game is officiated.  The Mountaineers will clutch and grab as much as the referees let them; and they will use the tactic to slow Hansbrough at the top of the key and to keep Abromaitis from getting through screens for open shots.

The Mountaineers will concern themselves with rebounding, especially offensive rebounding.  Statistically the teams have nearly the same rebounding margin, so the game will be a test of manhood for both.  The Mountaineers get the ball into the lane for shots more than any other team in the conference.  They need Mitchell to loosen the defense with three point shooting; and if he doesn’t, it’s going to be a scrum that will make rebounding the most important stat of the game.

Game Information

• #8 Notre Dame (21-4, 10-3) vs. West Virginia (16-9, 7-6)
• Saturday, February 19th, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time
• VVU Coliseum, Morgantown, West Virginia
• Television: CBS.  Check local listings to see if your affiliate is carrying the game
• Internet: CBSsports.com (www.cbssports.com/video/player/cbk-live)

(Note: All cited statistics are for conference games through Thursday, February 17th)

– Kevin O’Neill