The NIT is one tournament short of the NCAA big dance, but Georgetown and West Virginia both insist they are treating the matchup as if it were a championship game. The Hoyas fell short in the Big East after going 8-10 in conference play. The Mountaineers finished at .500 in the Big 12, but did not have enough marquee wins to get into the NCAA Men's bracket.
West Virginia got through most of the season while riding their three-point shooting. The Mountaineers were the second best shooting team from beyond the arc in the Big 12. The Mountaineers were no slouches during the year. They topped 100 points twice, routed Kansas and even have wins over Iowa State and Oklahoma. However, finishing the regular season losing five of their last seven and falling to Texas in the conference tournament did help build their case for an NCAA tournament bid.
Junior Juwan Staten will lead West Virginia in the NIT. The guard finished the year leading the Big 12 in assists with 5.8 per game while being ranked second in the conference in points with 19.0 per game. Eron Harris adds to the offensive fire power, shooting 42 percent from the 3-point line.
Georgetown also had a streaky season. The Hoyas earned wins over Michigan State, Creighton and Virginia, but fell to Seton Hall, Northeastern and DePaul. They played well against the tough teams and terrible against the easy teams. Originally picked to finish second in the Big East, the Hoyas instead fell to seventh, killing their chances of earning a bid. A fall to DePaul in the conference tournament also did not help.
Senior Markel Starks is a player to watch. He leads the team in scoring with 17.1 points per game while earning First Team All-Big East this season. Jabril Trawick is averaging 11.8 points and 4.1 rebounds since returning from injury. His 50 percent shooting should come in handy.
