Providence knocks off No. 22 West Virginia

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Alexander missed a wide open three for a tie with 14.5 seconds left then Herbert Hill iced the tournament resume- building victory with a breakaway slam, as Providence downed No. 22 West Virginia, 64-61, at Dunkin' Donuts Center.

Holding a slim 60-56 lead with just over one minute left, Sharaud Curry tossed a deft alley-oop to Hill for a lay-in and a six-point edge. Joe Alexander then converted a three-point play to make it a one-score game with 40 seconds to play.

After a Curry turnover, Alexander had a chance to tie, but failed to convert. Da'Sean Butler did drain two free throws to pull the Mountaineers within one with nine seconds left, but a failed press and attempt to foul resulted in Hill's flush.

While not a factor in the frantic final minute, Weyinmi Efejuku led Providence (17-9, 7-6 Big East) with 24 points and seven rebounds. Hill donated 12 points, while Jonathan Kale added nine points and nine rebounds.

Frank Young and Darris Nichols donated 14 points apiece and Alexander had 11 points and eight rebounds for West Virginia (20-7, 8-6), which saw its four- game winning streak in the series snapped.

The Mountaineers led by five at the half and quickly took a nine-point edge, 34-25, on back-to-back layups from Rob Summers and Alexander.

Providence scored nine straight points nearing the midway point of the second half, capped by Kane's lay-in, to take a 41-39 advantage. The game remained close the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The all-time series is squared at 10-10...The victory was Providence's first over a ranked opponent since a conference-opening victory against Marquette...The Friars improved to 16-2 at home, while West Virginia dropped to 3-5 on the road...The Mountaineers shot just 37 percent from the floor and went to the free throw line just six times...Providence continued its season- long domination on the glass, outrebounding West Virginia, 41-33.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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