SI.com - Writers - Notes from a dance card (cont.) - Tuesday March 21, 2006 8:32AM

Sweet 16 Game Week
The smiling jackass Seth Davis' thoughts
- West Virginia is one of those teams that does better in the tournament than in the regular season. The Mountaineers play a very unusual style, but in conference play that's not so much of an advantage because other teams are familiar with the system and personnel. In the tournament, however, that familiarity is gone, so the uniqueness becomes a more formidable weapon.

-Sorry to say it, but I'm still a little skeptical about Texas. The Longhorns did well to get by Penn and N.C. State, but West Virginia is a tough matchup. Remember, Texas is playing without a true point guard. We all know how hard it is to deal with West Virginia's offense, but its defense is better than most people realize. Of course, the Mountaineers are also far more dependent on the 3 than Texas is, so if they're missing shots they won't have much of a Plan B.

ESPN.com preview
Last year, West Virginia's Sweet 16 run was a surprise. This year, the Pittsnogling of Northwestern State was expected. The 'Eers dispatched the upstart Southland champs, 67-54, and now head to Atlanta for a chance to avenge a one-point loss to Texas.

Post-Gazette preview
"The thing I sense from our seniors is that they understand they are at the one-and-out stage," Beilein said. "That means they are taking the floor with a sense of urgency and are playing as hard as they can every second they are out there. Right now, they don't care how banged up they are. They know what is at stake."

The Georgia Dome should be a familiar venue for the Mountaineers. That's where West Virginia's football team defeated Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, which was moved from New Orleans because of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in January. Beilein, however, said he doesn't think the football team's success in the Georgia Dome is relevant to Thursday's game.
"I really don't believe in that vibe stuff a whole lot," Beilein said. "But it is good for our fans that they've been down there before."

Ray Fittipaldo: Yes. I like West Virginia for two reasons: The Mountaineers have experience and they have a big stable of shooters. Those are two important ingredients for a long tournament run. Yes, WVU would have trouble matching up with Sheldon Williams inside, but the Mountaineers could overcome that with their 1-3-1 zone defense. I'd love to WVU advance to the Final Four. John Beilein's team has been my favorite team to watch the last two years. I love the way his teams play.

Tribune-Review Preview
Revenge for a one-point loss to Texas five months ago isn't high on West Virginia coach John Beilein's agenda heading into the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
"We're just trying to survive, like everyone else," Beilein said Monday on a national conference call.
"Anybody in the Sweet 16 right now is two wins from the Final Four," he said. "You don't think about playing teams again. You think about surviving with what you're doing, and not any revenge factor."

The Mountaineers are 18-19 all time in the NCAA tournament. West Virginia coach John Beilein is 6-2 overall in his third trip to the NCAA tournament. He led Richmond to a 1-1 record in 1998, and the Mountaineers to a 3-1 run to the Elite Eight last season, followed by a 2-0 start this season on their second consecutive berth in the Sweet 16.

Mountaineers guard C.J. Collins hit the floor hard and had to sit out a key stretch of the second half against Northwestern State after drawing his fourth foul in the physical matchup.
"It looked a little rough out there, but that's how it goes when everybody knows one team is going home."

yes that does say CJ, thanks to willdee for bringing that to my attention

Facing the end of his college career, senior guard Patrick Beilein never thought he'd be so glad to attend another practice in Morgantown, W.Va.
"I like practice, but I don't like it that much," he said. "Now, I love it."

-n