THE SHOTGUN THROWDOWN: West Virginia prepares for Sweet Sixteen match

Happy Thanksgiving and welcome, By-Godders, to The Shotgun Throwdown, WVU’s best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor, and daily distractions.

SOCCER SWEET SIXTEEN

After a thrilling overtime win over Virginia Tech, the West Virginia men’s soccer team is preparing for its Sweet Sixteen match with Tulsa in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers improved to 11-3-5 after defeating the Hokies, while the Golden Hurricane is 16-1-1 this season. Tulsa also won the American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships.

WVU has been very successful in the short time that head coach Dan Stratford has been leading the program. Moving on to the Elite Eight, and potentially further in the NCAA Tournament, will help Stratford continue building WVU soccer into one of the nation’s elite programs. The Sweet Sixteen match at Tulsa is set to kick off at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday night and will be streamed on ESPN+.

WEST VIRGINIA ROUNDUP

• Head coach Bob Huggins and the West Virginia men’s basketball team will start a five-game homestand on Friday night against Eastern Kentucky. Huggins would like to see the Mountaineers improve on their rebounding and passing as they move through this stretch of non-conference games.
• The #22 West Virginia women’s basketball team has a Thanksgiving Day matchup with Purdue today at the 2021 St. Pete Showcase. The undefeated Mountaineers and the 4-1 Boilermakers will play at 5:00 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on FloHoops. WVU will face either #17 Florida State or BYU in the second game of the tournament.

AROUND THE BIG 12

• The Iowa State men’s basketball team upset #25 Xavier, 82-70, in its first game at the NIT Season Tip-Off. Senior guard Izaiah Brockington led the Cyclones with 30 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
• A strong first half helped #6 Baylor defeat Arizona State, 75-63, at the Battle 4 Atlantis. Sophomore guard L.J. Cryer came off the bench to lead the Bears in scoring, with 15 points. BU will face VCU in the semifinals of the tournament.

AROUND THE NCAA

• The Battle 4 Atlantis also had a double-overtime showdown on Wednesday when #19 Auburn and #22 Connecticut faced off. The Huskies moved on with a 115-109 victory and will face Michigan State in the next round of the tournament.

ODDS AND ENDS

• The NFL’s Thanksgiving Day slate will start with the Chicago Bears traveling to Detroit to face the Lions at 12:30 p.m. ET on Fox. The Dallas Cowboys will then host the Oakland Raiders in a 4:30 p.m. ET game on CBS. And the day of football will wrap up with Bills and Saints facing off in New Orleans at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.

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