Candidate Watch: Niko Medved's Rams Put the Clamps on Virginia in First Four

Colorado State wins convincingly in Dayton.

Niko Medved has been tied to the West Virginia job for quite some time, but probably needs a nice little run in the NCAA Tournament and other candidates to say no before he gets a real shot at being the next head coach in Morgantown.

So far, he's off to a good start by knocking off Virginia 67-42 in the First Four on Tuesday night in Dayton. The Cavaliers had absolutely no offensive rhythm and notched just 14 points in the first half. For the night, Virginia shot 14/56 (25%) from the field and 3/17 (17.6%) from three-point land.

WVU athletic director Wren Baker talked extensively in his press conference last week about hiring a coach who could teach and coach his team to play good defense. Although Virginia is not known to be a high-scoring team, it's still a performance that likely raised Baker's eyebrows. Medved's Rams rank 74th nationally out of 351 schools in points allowed per game (68.4) - a pretty respectable number.

But it wasn't just the stingy defense that allowed Colorado State to win this one going away. They dominated virtually every aspect of the game. CSU crushed Virginia on the boards 43-24, outscored them in the paint 36-20, and nearly doubled them in team assists, 13-6.

Guard Nique Clifford (17 pts, 10 rebs) and forward Joel Scott (23 pts, 11 rebs) each finished the game with a double-double and were the top two scorers for the Rams.

Medved and Colorado State will be back at it on Thursday in the round of 64, taking on No. 7 Texas at 6:50 p.m. EST on TNT.

Tracking Possible WVU Candidates in the NCAA Tournament