Porter's already expounded on the importance of tonight's game. Rest assured: it is very important, if "getting a bye before UConn's Wednesday Big East Tournament loss" is important to you.
I kid, I kid. But the Big East is such a crapshoot that whatever seed (and potential quarterfinal opponent) the Huskies draw really makes no difference.
Does anyone really think there isn't a Big East team UConn can't beat on a good day?
Conversely, does anyone really think there isn't a Big East team UConn wouldn't lose to on a bad day?
If the Huskies can play well for 3 or 4 days, they'll be fine. Nevertheless, the important thing is to not play one of the spoiler teams in front of a dead crowd on Tuesday and tire out Kemba early on. And as Porter points out, that makes tonight a big one.
Last time out, Kemba and the frosh all played reasonably well, and the Huskies shot over 50 percent from 3 in a fairly comfortable win at Cincinnati. Tonight in Morgantown, they will look to come out on the good side of a virtual coinflip (KenPom efficiency national rankings - offense: West Virginia 29, UConn 33; defense: West Virginia 30, UConn 31) and earn a little separation from the pack.
Your game coverage is on ESPN2, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Your OpenThread is right here, so join in.
Let's go Huskies.