Capital Classic: Marshall VS. WVU

Let's start this discussion of the 2007 Capital Classic with a photo montage of former
Herd star Mark Patton.

Here's Mark celebrating the 2005 Capital Classic victory...


















And here's Mark celebrating the 2006 Capital Classic victory over #9 West Virginia...




















And just for shits and giggles...here's Mark as tight end Bill James in "We Are Marshall"



















Unfortunately, Mark was only allowed to play for four years at Marshall, leaving the 06-07 Thundering Herd squad devoid of a dominating offensive center and major motion picture stars. That means Marshall will have to get some help from somebody else if they want to knock off the Mountaineers in Charleston for a third straight year.

"You can throw the records out the window when these two teams play" is one of the worst cliches in all of sport, but it applies greatly to this series. Marshall teams that have finished with losing records the past two seasons found a way to knock off Mountaineer teams that went to the Elite 8 in 2005 and the Sweet 16 in 2006.

Will it happen again in 2007? It's certainly possible. Despite getting off to a really good start, I think it's safe to say that this year's WVU squad isn't as talented as the ones that lost to the Herd over the last two years. They were picked to finish in the bottom of the Big East after losing the entire starting lineup to graduation but got out of the gate with a 13-1 record that allowed them to enjoy a short stint in the Top 25. Things came back down to Earth a bit after two road losses to Notre Dame and Marquette, but this is still a team that is almost a lock to make it to the NCAA Tournament and will probably finish in the top quarter of the Big East (a feat a lot more impressive than it sounds.)

Marshall is...well...still Marshall. They have some of the worst shooting, coaching, and fundamentals in Division I college basketball, which are all things the Mountaineers excel at. However, the Herd has the edge in athleticism. That is why Marshall was able to win the last two years - they played good defense and shut down a team that relied on outside shooting while also out-rebounding them in two ugly defensive slugfests. It doesn't appear things have changed much for either team since last year so it's hard to predict a Mountaineer blowout. Marshall plays to the level of its competition and has already proven it can stay with some of the best teams in the nation - the Herd has already defeated Virginia Tech and put big scares into George Washington and Cal. They are obviously a streaky team and definitely capable of pulling off a third straight upset if they get some shots to fall.

However, the problem is the shots usually don't fall for the Herd. Marshall will play a good game defensively and keep it close, but the loss of Patton means not enough points will come from the paint in this year's Capital Classic. It will be another ugly low-scoring game, but the Mountaineers will escape with a W.

Prediction: West Virginia 67 Marshall 59