Kritik und Lob » es on Wednesday with its fifth but first hill

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Nathan Adrian will have to be West Virginias best player if the Mountaineers are going to make a deep March Madness run this season.So far, so good.Adrian had 15 points and 14 rebounds for his first career double-double, helping No. 19 West Virginia cruise past Mississippi Valley State 107-66 on Monday night.Nate just cant get hurt, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. I dont know what wed do without him. We run everything through him. You watch him and then you watch everybody else, it looks like everybody else has their feet in cement. He wants to win, he wants to do things right.Adrian set a career high for rebounds in this one, and his point total was his highest since getting 16 on Dec. 29, 2013 against William & Mary.Im just listening to coach and what he has to teach me and doing the best I can, the 6-foot-9 forward said. I dont expect to be the leading scorer on the team. It doesnt matter who does. Whoever can score points to help us win the game.The Mountaineers (2-0) were sluggish at first, but after four lead changes in the first two minutes, Adrian and Jevon Carter fueled a 17-0 run that put West Virginia ahead 21-5 at the first media timeout.West Virginia shot 72.7 percent from the free-throw line, a spike from when they made 58.6 percent in their game against Mount St. Marys last Friday. The Mountaineers also scored 34 points off of 26 turnovers Monday.Teyvon Myers and Lamont West scored 12 points for West Virginia, and Carter and Esa Ahmad had 10.For the second straight game, Daxter Miles, Jr. did not see any time on the court.Marcus Romain had 13 points for the Delta Devils (0-2). Its his eleventh straight game in double figures.Him scoring in double figures is a given, Mississippi Valley State coach Andre Payne said. What were concerned about with him is his turnovers. Its two bad games back to back where hes had six turnovers and thats where we got to get him, from turning the ball over so much, because if youre going to have the ball in your hand that much, you got to make good decisions.POLL IMPLICATIONSWest Virginia went up one spot in the AP Top 25 on Monday due to Connecticuts loss to Wagner on Friday. If the Mountaineers can handle New Hampshire on Sunday, they will likely remain at 19 or move up a spot or two depending on what happens above.THE BIG TWELVEA dozen players scored for the Mountaineers, and nine of them got more than 10 minutes on the court. Huggins is showing, once again, how deep West Virginia can be.PRESS VIRGINIAIn the first 20 minutes, the Mountaineers took advantage of the Delta Devils miscues by scoring 26 points off 18 turnovers. They continued that dominance in the second half with another eight points off eight turnovers.BIG PICTUREMississippi Valley State: After losses to two Power 5 schools, the Delta Devils continue their 15-game season-opening road trip which includes stops at No. 13 Michigan State, No. 6 Indiana, No. 14 Gonzaga and No. 20 Iowa State.West Virginia: The Mountaineers start the NIT Season Tip-Off on campus against New Hampshire before going to Brooklyn, New York to face Illinois on Thanksgiving Day.UP NEXTMississippi Valley State plays at Kent State on Wednesday.West Virginia hosts New Hampshire on Sunday.Brad Lidge Astros Jersey .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Bob Watson Jersey . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. https://www.cheapastros.com/ . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. George Springer Jersey . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Jose Cruz Astros Jersey . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss.Throughout the Tour de France, Australian professional cyclist Richie Porte will be checking in. Here is his latest entry, as told to ESPN contributor Rupert Guinness:Stage 4 - Saumur to Limoges, 237.5kmIt shows how much happens in a Tour de France - a couple of days ago, I was dealing with the frustrations of a flat tyre, and yesterday offered a rare chance to chat with mates about with great news that is not about the Tour, but the Rio Olympic Games.Kittel wins stage four in photo finishIt was a real honour to be named in the Australian Olympic team, for both the time trial and road race events. It is the first time I have ever been selected for the Games.I want to really enjoy my debut, and with that produce the best performance I can in both races.I didnt go to the 2012 London Games. I certainly wont forget them though ... or the lead-in. I was with Sky then and we had just won the Tour with Bradley Wiggins. And with the Games to start straight after the Tour, Wiggo and the other British members of their Olympic team went to London straight after the Tour finish in Paris.For the rest of us? Well, our post-Tour party was spent in the Sky team bus ... as it was driven around the sites of Paris.Four years later, I get my Olympic chance. And because of my immediate focus - that being, the Tour which resumes with stage five on Wednesday - I will now get the opportunity to go from competing in the biggest annual sporting event to the biggest sporting event of all.I reckon we will have a great team for the Olympic road race, with myself, my BMC teammate Rohan Dennis (who will also race the time trial), Simon Gerrans from the Orica-BikeExchange team - and whoever may be confirmed as a fourth rider for the event.With myself, Rohan and Gerro all here at the Tour, that should help in some way to subconsciously galvanise team spirit, even though we are all focused on doing what we need to do here for our teams here.dddddddddddd But once the Tour is over, we will all be thinking Rio.While we knew about our selection some days ago, that it was made official on Tuesday allowed us to at least congratulate each other during the Tours fourth stage on Tuesday. It was actually an exciting moment to go up to Gerro and say congratulations. Its my first selection, but then for him it will be his third Olympics ... thats some experience.Being named for the time trial and road race events does not complicate things. I wont be putting all my eggs in one race or the other. I will just go to Rio and have as good a time trial and road race I can. Touch wood, I wont have the injury, piriformis, that I had last year after the Tour.Still, the important thing now is to put all that aside, because we are here for one reason now; that being, the Tour which continues on Wednesday with its fifth but first hilly stage.Guinness: Who will prevail in the hills?It will be nice to get some hills under the legs. It has been a long time coming, these hills. Okay ... the Pyrenees, Mont Ventoux and the Alps are still to come; but its great to finally be in terrain like hills where riders like me can better race.Dont get me wrong. The Tour has certainly not been easy since its start last Saturday. You would want to slap anyone who says the Tour starts on Wednesday with stage five. Flat stages dont make for easy stages.Fact is: this last week in terrain most of us overall contenders dont like has been hard. ' ' '