It seems whenever West Virginia goes on a road trip we always point out that this is a huge game for the sought-after NCAA Tournament berth. Tonight’s game in the suburbs of Chi-town will determine whether West Virginia will be in the NCAA tournament or the Not Important Tournament. Simply put, West Virginia MUST WIN THIS GAME! They cannot look, act, or say they’re scared like they were against Villanova last week.

Yes, this is a business trip. We must seal the deal. This team must come out cocky, confident, and handle their business with relative ease. I can hear it in the locker room in their pre-game prep. An Ipod-worthy mix of “We Ready”, “Headstrong”, “Never Scarred” and other varieties of hardcore rap. It’s like a huge final exam to get an A in biology. No nerves, no worries, just get it done. The message is simple - West Virginia MUST WIN THIS GAME! The tipoff is at 9pm and will be televised on The Duece.

DePaul is hanging by the thread for a berth in the Big East Tournament. They are one game ahead of Providence and St. John’s for the dreaded 13th spot in the Big East Tournnament. Remember, only 12 teams can make it to NYC. DePaul from what I’ve learned has been known to have big leads only to blow it. Case in point, they were up by 17 against Villanova on January 16th only to lose by seven. Last Tuesday, DePaul had an 11-point lead over UCONN with five minutes left ON THEIR COURT. They promptly blew that lead and lost by five. While that’s a good sign for us they cannot fall behind like that. The Eers must come out the gate like a bat outta hell.

The players to watch for the Blue Demons begins with Draelon Burns. The Milwaukee native leads the team with 17 points a game. He is also the team-leader in treys made with 48 and also is a good foul shooter at 81 percent. He must be contained. The teams best rebounder is Mac Koshwal. The five-star freshman averages 8 rebounds a game with 10 points. There’s also a couple decent guards that might have big games if indeed Burns is contained. Three-point sniper Will Walker makes 46 percent from three. Former NYC phenom Cliff Clinkscales was suppose to be the second coming of Stephon Marbury until Sebastian Telfair took that claim away from him. Throughout his Blue Demon career he averaged only 2.4 points in 118 career games however this season he has an ATT ratio of 3.3 to 1 and has only committed 33 turnovers.

It would be nice to see Wellington Smith in the lineup tonight. His play has been pimp-strong. He is actually 7 blocks away from setting a school record for most blocks by a sophomore. His type of athleticism is the shot in the arm the Mountaineers need to come roaring out the gate. Here’s hoping for a good game, which means a Mountaineer blowout. Tonight’s the night. GIT-R-DONE AND GOOOOOOOOOOOOO MOUNTAINEERS!