Of the various conferences in the country, the Big East is probably the deepest, and thus, the most difficult for a team to gain recognition. Remember, this is the conference in which undefeated Cincinnati didn't even make the Top 25 rankings this season until they were 15-0.Coach Bob Huggins probably feels that his West Virginia squad is equally shunned by the polls and pundits. After all, they did reach the Final Four last season, and have a record of 11-4, deserving of some respect, though in the Big East, four losses at this juncture makes you an also-ran.
In Thursday's 93-63 romp over Providence, the Mountaineers served notice to the rest of the conference that they were in it to win it. After opening the Big East schedule with back-to-back losses to St. John's and Marquette, they've won three straight and have the players and system to get them through the remaining games with a solid record. John Flowers, a 6'7" senior forward, dominated the contest with the Friars, scoring a season-high and game-high 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting and added six rebounds, five blocked shots, three steals and five assists. Providence simply had no answer for him or fellow front-man Kevin Jones, who chipped in 19 points and 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
The Mountaineers take a break from the Big East in the coming week, hosting Purdue on Sunday, january 16 and Marshall, Wednesday, January 19.
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