AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

By Paul Gotham

Setting: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana is the stage when Bob Huggins and his No. 2 seed West Virginia Mountaineers (31-6) take on Mike Krzyzewski and the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils (33-5).

Plot: Big East meets Atlantic Coast Conference for a spot in Monday night’s national championship.

Sub-plot: The status of  WVU’s Darryl “Truck” Bryant looms over the result of this national semi-final. Will the sophomore point guard play despite a foot injury?

Flashback: Joe Alexander scored a game-high 22, Alex Ruoff added 17, and Joe Mazzulla chipped in 13 off the bench as the Mountaineers upended the Blue Devils 73-67 in the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.  Duke leads 17-7 in a series that began in 1951. The teams have split 4-4 on neutral floors. Tonight’s game marks just the third meeting in the past 32 years.

West Virginia is making its 23rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament and second trip to the Final Four. This is Duke’s 34th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 15th time in the Final Four.

Foreshadowing: Thirteen Mountaineers have played in the NBA. Joe Alexander is the only current alum of West Virginia basketball in the Association.  Fifty-one former Blue Devils have made their way to the NBA. Fourteen of those alums currently dot NBA rosters: Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, Mike Dunleavy, Gerald Henderson, Grant Hill, Dahntay Jones, Corey Maggette, Josh McRoberts, Shavlik Randolph, J.J. Redick, and Shelden Williams.

Conflict: Duke’s rebound margin is 6.5. WVU’s advantage on the glass is 6.6. The margin on the boards is as slim as tonight’s result.

A quick glance might lead someone to believe the Mountaineers are a one-man team. Da’Sean Butler leads WVU in points per game (17.4), assists (3.2), 3-pointers made (70), free throws made (162), free throws attempted (207), and free throw percentage (78.3), and game-winning shots (6).

But the Mountaineers are much more than that. Butler’s success is the result of a team effort. WVU has held their last two opponents well under their season average. Kentucky entered play last weekend averaging almost 80 a game. The Mountaineers won 73-66. Washington’s Huskies averaged 79 points. They lost to West Virginia 69-56.

Huggins deploys seven of his troops for double digit minutes.

Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks combine for 25 points and 15 and a half rebounds for the Mountaineers.  Jones has 131 offensive rebounds.

Joe Mazzulla has taken over at point since Bryant’s injury. The junior scored 17 and handed out three assists in the victory over Kentucky.

The emergence of Brian Zoubek and freshman Mason Plumlee gives Duke a well-rounded attack. Zoubek grabbed 13 rebounds to go with 14 points in Duke’s victory over California.

Make no mistake though, WVU must slow down Duke’s big three: Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, and Kyle Singler. The trio combine for 53 points and 13 rebounds per game.

Scheyer scores 18 a game to go with an assist to turnover ratio of 2.9:1. If Duke holds a late lead, Scheyer is deadly from the line – 186-211 (88.2).

Singler’s offensive production dropped as he drew the assignment of staying with Baylor’s LaceDarius Dunn. Still, Singler has 22 double-digit performances in Duke’s last 23 games.

Smith averages 17. The junior guard mixes a long-range game (55-139) from behind the arc) with a quick first step that allows him to get into the paint.

Lance Thomas scores slightly below five a game and grabs 4.8 rebounds.

Resolution: West Virginia used a 1-3-1 zone to slow a young Kentucky team. The Mountaineers will need more against Duke. The Blue Devils will not be confused by any defenses. The common criticism of Duke is that the Blue Devils can not handle athletic teams. Duke dispelled that theory in their victory over Baylor.

Both teams average 18.2 fouls per game. In a game sure to be decided in the paint, WVU and Duke will more than likely each commit at least 20 fouls. WVU finishes 70.3 percent from the free throw line. Duke scores 75.8 percent of the time from the stripe. Duke will advance.

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By Paul Gotham

Setting: The Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York is the place for the East Regional final as Bob Huggins and his No.2 seed West Virginia Mountaineers (30-6) tip it off with John Calipari and the No. 1 seed Kentucky Wildcats (35-2).

Plot: Big East clashes with the SEC for a spot in the Final Four. The Mountaineers seek their first trip to the Final Four in 50 years. WVU lost the national championship in 1959. Kentucky won the national title in 1998. The Wildcats have not made it back to the Final Four since then.

Sub-plot: With a win, Calipari will take a third different school to the Final Four. WVU would be the second school Huggins has taken to the last weekend of the season. Huggins is 7-1 all-time against Calipari.  WVU will play without their starting point guard, Darryl Bryant who was injured in practice.

Flashback: Jodie Meeks dropped 19 and Patrick Patterson added 15 as the Wildcats trimmed the Mountaineers 54-43 in last year’s Las Vegas Invitational.

Kentucky holds a 13-4 advantage in a series that dates back to the 1923-24 season. The Wildcats have taken the previous seven games in the series. The last time WVU beat Kentucky was 1959 – a 79-70 triumph in the Kentucky Invitational.

West Virginia is making its 23rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament and third trip to the Elite Eight.  This is Kentucky’s 50th appearance in The Dance. The ‘Cats have 13 Final Four appearances and seven national championships.

Foreshadowing: Thirteen Mountaineers have played in the NBA. Joe Alexander is the only current alum of West Virginia basketball in the Association. Sixty-seven Wildcats have made their way into the NBA including current players Kelenna Azubuike, Keith Bogans, Chuck Hayes, Jamal Magloire, Jodie Meeks, Nazr Mohammed, Randolph Morris, Tayshaun Prince and Rajon Rondo.

Conflict:  Who will establish tempo, and which players will execute? Kentucky averages almost 79 a game while allowing 60.  West Virginia goes for almost 73 and keeps opponents to 63. Thursday night, they held Washington to 24 points under their average.

Huggins deploys seven of his troops for double digit minutes. Da’Sean Butler leads three Mountaineers in double figures.

Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks combine for 25 points and 15 and a half rebounds for the Mountaineers. The Mountaineers hold a +7 advantage on the glass.

WVU will need to slow the ‘Cats in transition.

Freshman phenom, John Wall, leads four Wildcats in double figures with 16 and a half per game. Wall adds 6.6 assists, four rebounds, and just under two steals.

Eric Bledsoe averages 39.8 percent from long range. It is not so much that Bledsoe has hit from behind, but that he is threat from long range. West Virginia will need to stay close to Bledsoe which opens up more room for Wall to drive.

Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins combine for 17 boards per game. Cousins grabs almost four offensive rebounds per game. The front court tandem scores almost 30 a game.

Resolution: In the Regional semi-final Cornell held Kentucky to 62 points. The Wildcats did not break 40 until the game’s 32nd minute. Huggins had a front-row seat for the game. Can the Mountaineers execute a page or two from the Big Red’s play book? West Virginia will need to resist the temptation to get into a track meet with Kentucky.That would be an exercise in futility. The Mountaineers need to win the game in the paint.

Huggins’ troops will slow it down and give Butler another chance to finish one. WVU advances to the Final Four.

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Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

By Paul Gotham

Setting: The Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York is the place for the East Regional semi-final as Lorenzo Romar’s No.11 seed Washington Huskies (26-9) take on Bob Huggins and the No.2 seed West Virginia Mountaineers (29-6).

Plot: Pac 10 meets the Big East for a spot in the Regional finals. Both schools seek their first trip to the Final Four in over 50 years. The Mountaineers lost the national championship in 1959. The Huskies advanced to the national semi-final in 1953.

Sub-Plot: West Virginia is 1-9 all-time at the Dome. Thursday’s game marks Washington’s first visit to the Upstate New York indoor stadium. The game pits teams from a pair of conferences that have taken hits of late. The Pac 10 barely earned an at-large bid this year. Six Big East teams fell in the first weekend of the tournament.

Flashback: Washington won the only meeting between the two teams. In 1973, the Huskies downed the Mountaineers 96-79 in the Far West Classic.

The two coaches faced each other seven times in Conference USA when Romar led St. Louis and Huggins roamed the sidelines for Cincinnati. Huggins holds a 5-2 advantage, but Romar’s Billikens knocked off then No.1 Cincy to win the C-USA tournament and grab the automatic bid in 2000.

The teams share four common opponents from the season: Texas A&M, Portland, Georgetown, and Marquette. Washington went 3-1. WVU finished 5-0 against the quartet.

Foreshadowing:  Thirteen Mountaineers have played in the NBA. Joe Alexander is the only current alum of West Virginia basketball in the Association. Twenty-three Huskies have laced them up in the Association. Current players include Jon Brockman, Will Conroy, Spencer Hawes, Nate Robinson, and Brandon Roy.

Conflict: Who will establish tempo, and which players will execute? Washington averages almost 80 a game while allowing 70.  The Huskies opened the tournament scoring 80 on Marquette and 82 against New Mexico. The Lobos held opponents to 67.

West Virginia goes for almost 73 and keeps opponents to 63. They held Morgan State to 50 and Missouri to 59.

Huggins deploys seven of his troops for double digit minutes. Da’Sean Butler leads three Mountaineers in double figures.

Romar uses nine players for at least ten minutes a game. Quincy Pontdexter and Isaiah Thomas are the only two Huskies that score double figures, but combined they score less than half of Washington’s points. Can Romar exploit his team’s depth?

Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks combine for 25 points and 15 and a half rebounds for the Mountaineers. The Mountaineers hold a +7 advantage on the glass.

WVU will need to slow the Huskies in transition. Thomas and Venoy Overton push the ball from foul line to foul line as quick as any tandem in the country.

Resolution: Strange as it may sound, the Carrier Dome provides some comfort for West Virginia. WVU’s frequent visits during Big East play will create some familiarity. They will need it. Led by Pondexter, the Huskies are playing like they have nothing to lose – because they don’t. Not much has been expected of Washington since some early season struggles. West Virginia shoulders the burden of expectation. Washington does its work in the paint. The Huskies have hit just 188 three-pointers this season. By comparison, Cornell has hit 321. Washington will keep this game close until late in the game where their bench will have chance to make the difference.

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Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

By Paul Gotham

It is that time again. Let’s hear from you readers. We had another week of stellar performances.  Pick the ONE that stands out to you, and tell us a story.

Just in case you have not gotten sick of hearing it: “The Butler did it!”

Yeah, West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler earns my POTW.

Finishing the Big East tournament with 59 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists is one thing. But to score two dramatic baskets is another thing. Butler hit the winner against Cincinnati as the buzzer sounded. For an encore, two nights later, the senior power forward burned Georgetown with a dagger in the last ten seconds of the game.

Who gets your POTW?

‘08 – 09 Results: 23 – 12 (10 – 8 Big East). Lost to Dayton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 68 -60.

Coach: Bob Huggins 49 – 23 (2 seasons at WVU) 639 – 234 27 seasons.

Key Returners:

Da’Sean Butler – 17.1ppg, 5.9rpg

Devin Ebanks – 10.5ppg, 7.8rpg

Wellington Smith – 5.2ppg, 3.8rpg

Darryl Bryant – 9.8ppg, 1.8rpg

Notable Non-Conference Tilts: 11/26 vs. Long Beach State, 11/27 vs. Clemson or Texas A&M, 12/9 vs. Duquesne, 12/19 at Cleveland State, 12/23 vs. Ole Miss, 1/1 at Purdue, 1/23 vs. Ohio State

Stat of Identity: 30.2% Three point FG defense.

By Paul Gotham

It’s year three of the Bob Huggins reign in Morgantown, and it’s all systems go. While some of the Big East heavyweights will operate in rebuilding mode, the Mountaineers have reloaded and are ready to make a run. Will the Mountainneers have a sweet ending in 2010?

Naismith watch candidates, De’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks lead a Mountaineer squad which returns four starters and plenty of depth on the bench.

The always dangerous Butler scored 20+ points in six consecutive conference games. Then the Newark, New Jersey native went off for 43 against Villanova. Butler hit 35% (62 -177) from behind the arc, but he can go off the dribble. Opponents need to ready themselves for Butler developing his mid range game.

Ebanks finished the Big East regular season with back-to-back 20 point games at Pittsburgh and at Syracuse. There is more where that came from.

What the Mountaineers don’t bring with size in the front court, they make up for with athleticism. Wellington Smith and Kevin Jones will pull down their share of rebounds.

Junior college transfer, Casey Mitchell should fit in well with the Mountaineers. Mitchell was the JUCO Player of the Year.

Joe Mazzulla returns to the lineup after suffering an injury last season.

West Virginia has made five Sweet Sixteen appearances – ’59, ’60, ’63, ’98, and ’06.

Friday night offered a surprise treat for college basketball junkies.  While great match-ups are usually reserved for Monday-Thursday nights, Friday night tends to be a night off for college viewing.

Not this past Friday.

#13 Villanova (Gee – think there might be anything to number 13 playing on Friday the 13th?) made the trek to Morgantown for a Big East tilt with the Mountaineers.  The Wildcats came into the contest with a six-game winning streak that helped them climb to fifth in the Big East.

The Mountaineers came in with a conference record of 5-6 being losers of three of four.

No worry.

Butler hit 12 -23 including 6-13 from long range as West Virginia dropped Villanova 93-72.  Butler finished with 43 on the evening.

There were a ton of great performances this week.

Who gets your POTW?