LAS VEGAS -- Honor Huff made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 38 to propel West Virginia to an 89-82 overtime victory over Oklahoma on Sunday in the championship game of the College Basketball Crown Tournament.
Showing posts with label west virginia mountaineers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label west virginia mountaineers. Show all posts
West Virginia: 2023 Duke's Mayo Bowl Champions
West Virginia coach Neal Brown got a bath of mayonnaise after his team beat North Carolina 30-10 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
Brown became the latest victim — for lack of a better term — of the now-traditional mayo bath for the winning coach of the game.
Mountaineers QB Garrett Greene was 12-of-24 passing for 228 yards and a TD and also rushed nine times for 64 yards thanks to a 48-yard carry. Greene’s TD came on the first play of the game as he found Traylon Ray for a 75-yard TD pass on play-action.
West Virginia shut out North Carolina in the second half as the Tar Heels played the game without Drake Maye. The junior QB opted out of the game to prepare for the NFL draft. Maye is a potential No. 1 pick in April.
Conner Harrell started in his place and was 18-of-27 passing for 199 yards and a TD and two interceptions.
The win means West Virginia finishes the season 9-4 and wins nine games in a season for the first time since 2016. It’s a massive accomplishment for Brown and the team after he entered the season in danger of losing his job if West Virginia didn’t have a good season.
Brown was entering his fifth season in 2023 and the team hadn’t won more than six games in any of his first four seasons at the school. West Virginia went 5-7 in 2022 after a 6-7 campaign in 2021.
West Virginia: 2020 Liberty Bowl Champions
Costly offensive mistakes left West Virginia trailing Army 14-10 at halftime in Thursday’s AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
Desperate to get things turned around, the Mountaineer coaches decided to make a change at quarterback.
Out went Jarret Doege, who had started the past 13 games for WVU, and in came Austin Kendall, the man Doege had replaced late in the 2019 season.
“The decision was kind of a combined decision between Sean Reagan, our quarterbacks coach, and Gerad Parker, our offense coordinator, and myself,” explained West Virginia head coach Neal Brown of the choice at halftime to make the change at QB. “Jarret has played very, very well all year, but for whatever reason, he didn’t see it (against Army).”
Doege completed 15 of 25 passes for 159 yards in the first half, but threw a bad interception when West Virginia was moving into Army territory in the first quarter. Then shortly before halftime, with the Mountaineers in front 10-7 and looking for more, the junior quarterback took a sack deep in his own end that also resulted in a fumble. The Black Knights turned that turnover into a TD and a 14-10 advantage two plays and seven yards later.
“Army did a really nice job of mixing it up, and we had two uncharacteristically bad turnovers,” noted Brown. “The interception was a play that really hurt us. And then we got the ball back after the fumble, and I didn’t think our response was very good there.”
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Kendall came on in relief of Doege but not until the Black Knights had built a 21-10 lead by taking the first possession of the second half 73 yards in 13 plays for another touchdown.
“We decided we were going to start Austin in the second half,” stated Brown. “I think it should be noted he had practiced really well during bowl prep. Really for about the last six weeks, he has practiced well and we have confidence in him.
“I thought he came in in relief and did a nice job,’ WVU’s second-year coach said. “We had some drops, and that’s kind of plagued us throughout the year, but we made the plays we needed to.”
Those plays included a couple of lengthy Mountaineer marches that wound up in end zone via Kendall passes.
“Honestly, we work with both quarterbacks, so whoever is in the game, we don’t really take offense to whoever’s in the game,” said WVU senior receiver T.J. Simmons, who had a TD catch from each QB on Thursday. “We just want, as receivers, to do a good job and be where we are supposed to be and on time. If we do that, we know the quarterback is going to get to us things that they can do.”
Kendall’s 20-yard throw to Simmons with 5:10 left to play proved to be the game winner in West Virginia’s 24-21 victory Thursday in Memphis.
“He does a good job, and he knows when to use his feet. That just comes with experience,” Simmons said of the senior quarterback, who transferred to WVU in 2019 from Oklahoma. “There was one play where he pulled it. It was supposed to be a screen pass, but he took off and picked up a yard or two, and one play he was scrambling in the backfield and, and got back to the line of scrimmage. He does a good job of just using his feet and using his instincts to make plays on the field.”
Though Kendall had previously played in just one game during the 2020 season, completing three of six passes for 43 yards in WVU’s blowout of Eastern Kentucky in the opener, he certainly isn’t new to the quarterback position. He was West Virginia’s starting QB for the first nine games of 2019, completing 187 of 304 passes for 1,989 yards along the way.
Doege ultimately moved in front of Kendall on the quarterback depth chart, at least until Thursday when WVU was desperate for a spark. That’s when the Mountaineers turned to the Waxhaw, North Carolina, native who coolly, calmly came to the rescue.
“I really think I’m more excited for Austin than he is,” smiled Simmons. “He does a good job of just being a good man, a good teammate.
“He comes to work every day. He puts in extra work, regardless if he’s the starting quarterback or not.
“When (the coaches) came through and told us that (Kendall) was going to be the one leading us through the game in the second half, I was excited,” added Simmons. “I felt like with this man in his last game, he should get some time on the field. When he got in there and made some plays, it felt like last year. It was just natural with us. He was just making plays again.”
Kendall completed eight of his 17 passes in the second half for 121 yards. Two of them went for touchdowns, and none wound up in the hands of the Black Knights. That allowed the Mountaineers to leave Memphis with the AutoZone Liberty Bowl championship trophy.
West Virginia Mountaineers: 2016 Cactus Bowl Champions
Skyler Howard threw for 532 yards and rallied West Virginia to the go-ahead touchdown with 2:19 remaining.
The Mountaineers (8-5) opened as slight underdogs, then transitioned to three-point favorites in a game that projects as the consummate tossup. Not surprisingly, the partisan Sun Devil crowd made this a Pac-12 home game. (Yes, there was the obligatory “In Todd We Trust” sign, though we trust no one thought ASU would finish as a 6-7 team this season.)
A recap of the in-game updates and analysis:
FIELD GOAL: Josh Lambert 21-yard kick (12:02) WVU leads 3-0
Shelton Gibson was dinged for 15 on a personal foul and Adam Pankey jumped for 5 more, but none of that mattered after Skyler Holgorsen dropped a 53-yard bomb to Ka’Raun White (proving the ASU secondary can be burned by East Coast receivers too). WVU nearly had first-and-goal after Daikiel Shorts was interfered with on an end zone fade route, but refs waved off the flag, setting Dana Holgorsen on fire. Then, on third-and-9, Wendell Smallwood gained 6 and WVU kicked. (Drive: 9 plays, 78 yards in 2:58)
— Arizona State goes three-and-out, all incompletions by Mike Bercovici.
FIELD GOAL: Lambert 31-yard kick (8:57) WVU leads 6-0
White caught another one for 26, Rushel Shell reeled off a 14-yarder and Shorts caught a twice-tipped pass that was jarred loose from Gibson and nearly picked by ASU linebacker Salamo Fiso. West Virginia was humming with first-and-goal at the 9 when Shell was dropped for a 5-yard loss. After Howard overthrew Shell in the end zone, he missed a wide-open White crossing the middle, though in fairness to Howard he was flushed by the blitz. WVU has 142 yards to Arizona State’s 1 but hasn’t cashed in a TD. (Drive: 8 plays, 56 yards in 2:25)
— Nothing doing on the Sun Devils’ second series. Another three-and-out.
— WVU started at the 27 and faced third-and-3 when Fiso made his second interception attempt stand up. He picked Howard’s pass intended for Gibson at the 40 and returned it to the 22.
FIELD GOAL: Zane Gonzales 37-yard kick (5:06) WVU leads 6-3
The Sun Devils committed an illegal motion penalty, but the backed-up West Virginia defense made a nice stand and forced a field goal. Not much room for Arizona State to do anything so far. (Drive: 4 plays, 2 yards in 1:30)
FIELD GOAL: Lambert 27-yard kick (3:13) WVU leads 9-3
Between the 20s, West Virginia is killing it. A 31-yard strike from Howard to Gibson and a 17-yard run by Elijah Wellman have WVU over the 200-yard mark in the first quarter. The red zone has become a desert wasteland, however. This drive ended on a third-and-3 incomplete fade route to the 5-11 Gibson. (Drive: 6 plays, 55 yards in 1:53)
— Devin Lucien tip-toed the sideline for a 19-yard catch against Rick Rumph, before ASU’s drive petered out at the West Virginia 48. Bad, bad quarter of offensive football for the Sun Devils.
— Jordan Thompson caught a 32-yarder before West Virginia’s Nick O’Toole punted into the end zone from the ASU 46.
— Bercovici hit Lucien for 29 and ASU was on the move temporarily. But Nick Kwiatkoski flattened the ASU quarterback on a third-down incompletion.
—Pinned inside its 10, WVU retreated further after a Cody Clay holding penalty. In a strange twist, Smallwood ran for 19 yards on three carries but the Mountaineers failed to gain a first down. O’Toole followed with a 38-yard punt that Tim White returned 16 yards.
TOUCHDOWN: Lucien 19-yard pass from Bercovici (9:59) Arizona State leads 10-9
Taking advantage of a short field, Lucien took advantage of Rumph for two catches that covered 40 yards. On the touchdown, he took a quick out and weaved across the goal line after Rumph slipped trying to make a shoestring tackle. (Drive: 4 plays, 40 yards in 1:06)
— Howard had Sills on a deep cross only to overthrow him by inches. The three-and-out culminated in Howard overshooting Gibson deep, though the receiver curiously stopped his route amid complaints he was grabbed by the cornerback. Assistants Ja’Juan Seider and Lonnie Galloway chewed him out for pulling up.
— After, a 16-yard pass to Foster was mostly wiped out by a holding flag on receiver Tim White, Arizona State punted.
TOUCHDOWN: Gibson 59-yard pass from Howard (6:02) WVU leads 16-10
White eclipsed the 100-yard mark on a 21-yard catch before Gibson made his third-longest gain of the season to put West Virginia ahead. Howard now up to 271 yards passing. (Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards in 0:39)
FIELD GOAL: Gonzales 19-yard kick (2:53) WVU leads 16-13
Not often does a defense celebrate an 80-yard drive, but this was one such occasion because ASU had first-and-goal at the 5 and failed on two cracks from the 1. The big third-down stop came from K.J. Dillon and Christian Brown on running back Demario Richard, and after flirting with a fourth-down gamble, Todd Graham robbed us of some late-night bowl drama by sending on the kicker. (10 plays, 80 yards in 3:00)
TOUCHDOWN: Shorts 10-yard pass from Howard (0:28) WVU leads 22-13
Howard now up to 334 yards passing IN THE FIRST HALF after winging a few more through the Arizona State secondary. White had a 16-yarder, Shorts caught one for 22 on the deep out and Thompson gained 17 over the middle, which led to the vaunted fade route … AND IT WORKED. (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards in 2:25) But about that PAT …
PAT RETURN: Tim White 98-yard kick (0:28) WVU leads 22-15
Arizona State spilled through to bat down Lambert’s extra-point try and White provided the scoop-and-score. (No drive)
FIELD GOAL: Gonzales 35-yard kick (0:01) WVU leads 22-18
Nick O’Toole appeared to mis-hit a squib kick—the kind WVU could’ve used 27 days ago—and gifted Arizona State the ball at midfield. Bercovici threaded three short passes to move the Sun Devils into chip-shot range. (4 plays, 34 yards in 0:26)
_________________________________
HALFTIME STATS: Howard has 334 yards and two TDs on 15-of-26 passing, and West Virginia has two 100-yard receivers: White with four for 116 and Gibson with three for 106. The Mountaineers have 61 yards rushing on 18 attempts. (Smallwood held to 20 yards on eight carries.)
MORE HALFTIME STATS: Bercovici threw for 205 yards on 15-of-25 passing. Lucien has seven catches for 116.
_________________________________
TOUCHDOWN: Tim White 2-yard pass from Bercovici (11:34) Arizona State leads 25-22
Gotta give it to Bercovici—he zipped the TD pass just a nanosecond before getting popped on a scramble. Earlier in the drive, his play-fake psyched out the WVU combo of Rumph and Dillon, who abandoned Tim White on what became a 40-yard gain. (8 plays, 66 yards in 3:17)
TOUCHDOWN: Gary Jennings 64-yard pass from Howard (10:02) WVU leads 29-25
Soooooo, about that “Air Raid” … Howard hit the freshman on a deep post and Jennings carried a defensive back the final 10 yards into the end zone. Big answer for WVU. Probably won’t be the last time an answer is required. By the way, Howard now has 395 yards passing—bettering the career-high of 359 he compiled against Georgia Southern. (5 plays, 5 yards in 1:32)
— Arizona State’s three-and-out ended a string of six possessions with points.
— West Virginia also punted. After three measly plays. Game turning into a yawner.
TOUCHDOWN: Tim White 33-yard pass from Bercovici (4:35) Arizona State leads 32-29
Bercovici has heated up and it’s looking like it’ll take 50 points to win this one. White’s scoring catch featured more YAC than Tony Gibson can stand after the receiver ran through a Dillon tackle and scooted along the sideline. Earlier in the drive Lucien absorbed a crushing tackle by Dravon Askew-Henry on a 19-yard catch. It was a Hit Tribute for Karl Joseph. (6 plays, 66 yards in 2:26)
TOUCHDOWN: Shorts 17-yard pass from Howard (3:01) WVU leads 36-32
Nevermind the fade route that Shorts caught for the score—which was an acrobatic grab, by the way. Of more consequence was the 37-yarder Gibson caught on the previous play, a catch he appeared to make out-of-bounds according to everybody except the replay official. The wild, wild night continues. (4 plays, 75 yards in 1:34)
— Tim White’s 59-yard kick return (which followed Shorts being penalized 15 for a post-touchdown spike) set up ASU at the Mountaineers 28. But alas, the trusty Gonzales missed wide right from 40 yards.
— When Howard overthrew Ka’Raun White on the deep post, Arizona State made its second interception of the night. Kareem Orr chewed up 25 yards on the runback before Wendell Smallwood’s tackle at the WVU 35.
FIELD GOAL: Gonzales 48-yard kick (14:09) WVU leads 36-35
Bercovici missed Lucien on a third-and-5 out-route and West Virginia mitigated the damage from Howard’s turnover. (4 plays, 5 yards in 1:09)
— Wendell Smallwood ran around the right edge for 16, his best run of the night. (He has 11 carries for 41 yards and stands 4 shy of Texas Tech’s DeAndre Washington for the Big 12 rushing crown.) On a less personal note, WVU had to punt after Howard’s third-down pass for Gibson was broken up by Kweishi Brown. ASU will have the ball and a chance to retake the lead.
— Sun Devils punted.
— West Virginia punted, but only after Howard overthrew David Sills on what could’ve been a 70-yarder.
TOUCHDOWN: Gary Chambers 58-yard pass from Bercovici (4:56) Arizona State leads 42-36
The drive started ominously with backup QB Manny Wilkins bouncing up from a no-gain carry and taking off downfield, where linebacker Jared Barber popped him and drew a 15-yard penalty. On a third-and-10 play, against one of the best third-down defenses in the nation, Bercovici flipped a pass out to Chambers, who juked Askew-Henry on the sideline and went the distance. (4 plays, 73 yards in 1:23)
TOUCHDOWN: David Sills 15-yard pass from Howard (2:19) WVU leads 43-42
Just your average come-from-behind drive on which WVU converted a third-and-22 by handing off to Smallwood for 24. (This game is officially nuts.) With WVU struggling to protect Howard, the long-yardage run actually made sense. (10 plays, 75 yards in 2:37)
— Arizona State’s shot at a comeback ended on a fourth-and-10 incompletion from the 50. Ballgame.
FINAL
Duke 78, West Virginia 57
Duke makes it look easy, to play for title Monday
By Ken Tysiac
ktysiac@charlotteoberver.com
Posted: Sunday, Apr. 04, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS -- One of Duke's coaches shouted to guard Nolan Smith as the shot clock wound down with West Virginia desperately needing to stop the Blue Devils to get back in the game.
"Six, five."
Smith dribbled right, turned the corner at the free throw line and drove for a gorgeous right-handed layup with 7 minutes, 7 seconds remaining.
Too easy. In what was supposed to be a defensive duel, West Virginia never found a way to stop Smith, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer as Duke rolled to a 78-57 win Saturday night in the NCAA semifinals in front of a crowd of 71,298 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Blue Devils used excellent 3-point shooting and tenacious rebounding by center Brian Zoubek to advance to the NCAA championship game for the first time since they won the 2001 NCAA title.
Duke (34-5), the No. 1 seed out of the South Region, will play No. 5 regional seed Butler (33-4) at 9:21 p.m. Monday in the NCAA championship game.
This season's Duke team crashed its way into the Final Four by depending largely on physical half-court defense. On Saturday, though, Duke's half-court offense cranked into high gear.
Scheyer scored 23 points, Singler 21 and Smith 19 Duke shot 29-for-55 from the field, including 13-for-25 from 3-point range.
"Can't we guard?" exasperated West Virginia coach Bob Huggins pleaded with his team early in the second half.
They couldn't, and Zoubek added to the offense as he crashed the boards hard with his 7-foot-1 frame to grab 10 rebounds. He added three assists, many of them on kick-out passes to 3-point shooters after offensive rebounds.
It wasn't a perfect night for Duke, by any means. West Virginia (31-7), the No. 2 seed from the East Regional, demonstrated on offense in the first half why it had won the Big East tournament and upset top-seeded Kentucky in the regional final.
The Mountaineers shot 13-for-26 from the field in the first half, but West Virginia's defense never found an answer for Duke.
After a week of questions from reporters about how Duke would handle West Virginia's 1-3-1 zone defense, the Mountaineers opened in a man-to-man.
Regardless of the defense used, junior forward Singler was ready after shooting an abysmal 0-for-10 from the field in the Blue Devils' regional final win over Baylor.
The Blue Devils immediately got the ball to Singler in the low post on a set play. The shot was blocked, but Singler bounced back quickly. Coach Mike Krzyzewski clapped his hands hard after Singler scored early on a driving layup.
By halftime, Singler had 14 points on 6-for-12 from the field as Duke was on target from 3-point range. Smith made three 3-pointers and Singler and Scheyer two apiece as Duke led by as many as 11 points in the first half and held a 39-31 advantage at halftime.
West Virginia tried its zone just once before halftime. Smith immediately sank a 3-pointer to take the Mountaineers out of it.
The only negative point for the Blue Devils in the first half was that Smith committed three fouls and spent the final 2:54 of the half on the bench.
Although West Virginia closed the gap to six points early in the second half, Scheyer immediately answered with a 3-pointer from the wing with 15:28 remaining, and Duke began to pull away to a lead that reached 15 points.
ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com or 919-829-8942
By Ken Tysiac
ktysiac@charlotteoberver.com
Posted: Sunday, Apr. 04, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS -- One of Duke's coaches shouted to guard Nolan Smith as the shot clock wound down with West Virginia desperately needing to stop the Blue Devils to get back in the game.
"Six, five."
Smith dribbled right, turned the corner at the free throw line and drove for a gorgeous right-handed layup with 7 minutes, 7 seconds remaining.
Too easy. In what was supposed to be a defensive duel, West Virginia never found a way to stop Smith, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer as Duke rolled to a 78-57 win Saturday night in the NCAA semifinals in front of a crowd of 71,298 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Blue Devils used excellent 3-point shooting and tenacious rebounding by center Brian Zoubek to advance to the NCAA championship game for the first time since they won the 2001 NCAA title.
Duke (34-5), the No. 1 seed out of the South Region, will play No. 5 regional seed Butler (33-4) at 9:21 p.m. Monday in the NCAA championship game.
This season's Duke team crashed its way into the Final Four by depending largely on physical half-court defense. On Saturday, though, Duke's half-court offense cranked into high gear.
Scheyer scored 23 points, Singler 21 and Smith 19 Duke shot 29-for-55 from the field, including 13-for-25 from 3-point range.
"Can't we guard?" exasperated West Virginia coach Bob Huggins pleaded with his team early in the second half.
They couldn't, and Zoubek added to the offense as he crashed the boards hard with his 7-foot-1 frame to grab 10 rebounds. He added three assists, many of them on kick-out passes to 3-point shooters after offensive rebounds.
It wasn't a perfect night for Duke, by any means. West Virginia (31-7), the No. 2 seed from the East Regional, demonstrated on offense in the first half why it had won the Big East tournament and upset top-seeded Kentucky in the regional final.
The Mountaineers shot 13-for-26 from the field in the first half, but West Virginia's defense never found an answer for Duke.
After a week of questions from reporters about how Duke would handle West Virginia's 1-3-1 zone defense, the Mountaineers opened in a man-to-man.
Regardless of the defense used, junior forward Singler was ready after shooting an abysmal 0-for-10 from the field in the Blue Devils' regional final win over Baylor.
The Blue Devils immediately got the ball to Singler in the low post on a set play. The shot was blocked, but Singler bounced back quickly. Coach Mike Krzyzewski clapped his hands hard after Singler scored early on a driving layup.
By halftime, Singler had 14 points on 6-for-12 from the field as Duke was on target from 3-point range. Smith made three 3-pointers and Singler and Scheyer two apiece as Duke led by as many as 11 points in the first half and held a 39-31 advantage at halftime.
West Virginia tried its zone just once before halftime. Smith immediately sank a 3-pointer to take the Mountaineers out of it.
The only negative point for the Blue Devils in the first half was that Smith committed three fouls and spent the final 2:54 of the half on the bench.
Although West Virginia closed the gap to six points early in the second half, Scheyer immediately answered with a 3-pointer from the wing with 15:28 remaining, and Duke began to pull away to a lead that reached 15 points.
ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com or 919-829-8942
West Virginia 73, Kentucky 66
WVU headed to Final Four
Mountaineers methodically conquer Kentucky, 73-66
by Mike Casazza
Daily Mail sports writer
The Associated Press
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - West Virginia's basketball players were ready for biggest game of their still young lives Saturday night when they began the short jog from the tunnel inside the Carrier Dome to the floor. The pep band played their song. The fans sprang suddenly to their feet and cheered. Jonnie West was first to squeak his sneakers across the floor. Then came Cam Payne.
And that was it.
"Once we saw Jonnie and Cam go out there, we stopped to see how far they'd go before they noticed," said point guard Joe Mazzulla, who with teammate Cam Thoroughman orchestrated this Elite Eight prank.
West and Payne eventually realized it and Mazzulla and Thoroughman led the rest of the laughing Mountaineers toward tipoff against Kentucky.
"That wasn't very nice," West would say later, "but that shows who we are. We're loose. Everyone stays loose before the game and even during it, but when we get in the games, we have a killer mentality and it's going to wear you down."
After wondering for most of the season if they'd ever figure out who they are, the Mountaineers have for the entire month mastered their identity, cemented an approach and insisted their way would cut it.
And now they're cutting down nets.
In the only matchup of a region's top two seeds in this NCAA Tournament, No. 2 seed WVU defeated No. 1 seed Kentucky, 73-66, before a crowd of 22,497. The Mountaineers advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1959 when West's father, Jerry, was a junior.
WVU (31-6) plays the winner of the South Region championship game between No. 1 seed Duke and No. 3 Seed Baylor Saturday in Indianapolis.
"We win games because of our tempo," senior Da'Sean Butler said. "We don't do well going up and down the court with other people. We're not a fast break team. If we control the tempo, nine times out of 10 we win that game."
Ten times in the past 10 games, WVU been funny before and then ferocious within and won each with discipline on offense and determination on defense. Noted for man-to-man throughout the season, the Mountaineers played a 1-3-1 zone for the majority of the game. The Wildcats (35-3) shot 34.3 percent for the game, missed their first 20 3-point attempts on the way to 4-for-32 shooting and had 16 turnovers that led to 19 WVU points.
"It was pretty tough," said Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall. "They're a long, athletic team. They did a great job denying us getting to the wings and we weren't making shots. I think if we would have made shots, it would have spread them out. Hats off for them. Their defense did a great job on us."
Wall was 7-for-18 and banked in a 3-pointer after missing four others. He added five assists, but also five turnovers and five fouls in what is likely his last college game. Shooting guard Eric Bledsoe, who was 8-for-9 from 3-point range in the first round, was 0-for-5 and had seven points. Guard Darnell Dodson was 2-for-9 from 3-point range.
WVU caused problems inside, too, and center DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and eight rebounds, but also five turnovers. He was often made to deal with Mazzulla at the bottom of the zone.
"At one point he looked and me and said, 'Are you serious?'" Mazzulla said. "I said, 'Yeah, I'm serious. You're going to have to punch me in the face to get me off you.'"
The Mountaineers turned a two-point halftime lead into a nine-point advantage early in the second half and built it to 11 points when Mazzulla drove for an open layup when Cousins walked back up the court on defense. The margin grew to be as large as 16 points and WVU felt they had the Wildcats, who start three freshmen and a sophomore and have two sophomores and a freshman in their rotation.
"They outplayed us," Kentucky Coach John Calipari said. "I think there were times that the inexperience hurt us. Understanding you're not going to catch it all at once. Knowing that this is the guy we have to stop and then you lose him. There were things that happened. And I think their veterans - especially Mazzulla - were good. He got some layups that were back-breaking. He just played so well and ran their team."
Mazzulla played a season-high 30 minutes and scored a career-high 17 points. He also made his first 3-pointer since Nov. 28, 2008. Butler had 18 points and made four 3-pointers. Kevin Jones added 13 points and eight rebounds and Devin Ebanks had 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Mountaineers were 10-for-23 from 3-point range and 8-for-15 in the first half. They were also 0-for-16 from 2-point range and outrebounded 29-16. WVU shot 57.1 percent in the second half and outrebounded the Wildcats by one.
"We're not as good in the first half as we are in the second because people get tired of chasing it," said Coach Bob Huggins, who returns to the Final Four after appearing there in 1992. "They get tired of chasing it. They get tired of being screened. They get tired of chasing those curls. We got nothing at the rim in the first half. We got a lot of things at the rim in the second half."
The game unfolded not only in the fashion predicted by the Mountaineers, who believed their grinding style could trump Kentucky's talent, but also by Cornell Coach Steve Donahue.
"I think there are a lot of positives about Kentucky," Donahue said after Thursday's Sweet Sixteen loss to the Wildcats. "My concern is that I don't necessarily think for 40 minutes that they may be able to handle this against a team like us that's a little more longer and athletic with experience the next game. West Virginia is terrific."
The Mountaineers were in their third regional final and first since 2005, when they lost in overtime to Louisville. The team has broken every huddle in practice and before games this season by reminding one another they want to be national champs. Not since WVU lost to Cal 71-70 in the final in 1959 has the school been as close. The team that's 8-0 in this state this year will play Saturday in Hoosier State, where WVU is 0-2 with losses to Purdue and Notre Dame.
"The first day I was there I told them I came back to win a national championship," Huggins said. "I came back to win it for the university, having played there and for the great people in our state. And it's going to take a lot of work. And I said this many times, the wonderful thing about these guys is they never doubt. They never ask why. They never kind of bucked it. They just said, 'OK, that's what we have to do. We're going to go do it.' And they've done it and done with it great enthusiasm and great vigor. And they deserve all the credit for it. They're really good guys."
Mountaineers methodically conquer Kentucky, 73-66
by Mike Casazza
Daily Mail sports writer
The Associated Press
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - West Virginia's basketball players were ready for biggest game of their still young lives Saturday night when they began the short jog from the tunnel inside the Carrier Dome to the floor. The pep band played their song. The fans sprang suddenly to their feet and cheered. Jonnie West was first to squeak his sneakers across the floor. Then came Cam Payne.
And that was it.
"Once we saw Jonnie and Cam go out there, we stopped to see how far they'd go before they noticed," said point guard Joe Mazzulla, who with teammate Cam Thoroughman orchestrated this Elite Eight prank.
West and Payne eventually realized it and Mazzulla and Thoroughman led the rest of the laughing Mountaineers toward tipoff against Kentucky.
"That wasn't very nice," West would say later, "but that shows who we are. We're loose. Everyone stays loose before the game and even during it, but when we get in the games, we have a killer mentality and it's going to wear you down."
After wondering for most of the season if they'd ever figure out who they are, the Mountaineers have for the entire month mastered their identity, cemented an approach and insisted their way would cut it.
And now they're cutting down nets.
In the only matchup of a region's top two seeds in this NCAA Tournament, No. 2 seed WVU defeated No. 1 seed Kentucky, 73-66, before a crowd of 22,497. The Mountaineers advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1959 when West's father, Jerry, was a junior.
WVU (31-6) plays the winner of the South Region championship game between No. 1 seed Duke and No. 3 Seed Baylor Saturday in Indianapolis.
"We win games because of our tempo," senior Da'Sean Butler said. "We don't do well going up and down the court with other people. We're not a fast break team. If we control the tempo, nine times out of 10 we win that game."
Ten times in the past 10 games, WVU been funny before and then ferocious within and won each with discipline on offense and determination on defense. Noted for man-to-man throughout the season, the Mountaineers played a 1-3-1 zone for the majority of the game. The Wildcats (35-3) shot 34.3 percent for the game, missed their first 20 3-point attempts on the way to 4-for-32 shooting and had 16 turnovers that led to 19 WVU points.
"It was pretty tough," said Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall. "They're a long, athletic team. They did a great job denying us getting to the wings and we weren't making shots. I think if we would have made shots, it would have spread them out. Hats off for them. Their defense did a great job on us."
Wall was 7-for-18 and banked in a 3-pointer after missing four others. He added five assists, but also five turnovers and five fouls in what is likely his last college game. Shooting guard Eric Bledsoe, who was 8-for-9 from 3-point range in the first round, was 0-for-5 and had seven points. Guard Darnell Dodson was 2-for-9 from 3-point range.
WVU caused problems inside, too, and center DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and eight rebounds, but also five turnovers. He was often made to deal with Mazzulla at the bottom of the zone.
"At one point he looked and me and said, 'Are you serious?'" Mazzulla said. "I said, 'Yeah, I'm serious. You're going to have to punch me in the face to get me off you.'"
The Mountaineers turned a two-point halftime lead into a nine-point advantage early in the second half and built it to 11 points when Mazzulla drove for an open layup when Cousins walked back up the court on defense. The margin grew to be as large as 16 points and WVU felt they had the Wildcats, who start three freshmen and a sophomore and have two sophomores and a freshman in their rotation.
"They outplayed us," Kentucky Coach John Calipari said. "I think there were times that the inexperience hurt us. Understanding you're not going to catch it all at once. Knowing that this is the guy we have to stop and then you lose him. There were things that happened. And I think their veterans - especially Mazzulla - were good. He got some layups that were back-breaking. He just played so well and ran their team."
Mazzulla played a season-high 30 minutes and scored a career-high 17 points. He also made his first 3-pointer since Nov. 28, 2008. Butler had 18 points and made four 3-pointers. Kevin Jones added 13 points and eight rebounds and Devin Ebanks had 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Mountaineers were 10-for-23 from 3-point range and 8-for-15 in the first half. They were also 0-for-16 from 2-point range and outrebounded 29-16. WVU shot 57.1 percent in the second half and outrebounded the Wildcats by one.
"We're not as good in the first half as we are in the second because people get tired of chasing it," said Coach Bob Huggins, who returns to the Final Four after appearing there in 1992. "They get tired of chasing it. They get tired of being screened. They get tired of chasing those curls. We got nothing at the rim in the first half. We got a lot of things at the rim in the second half."
The game unfolded not only in the fashion predicted by the Mountaineers, who believed their grinding style could trump Kentucky's talent, but also by Cornell Coach Steve Donahue.
"I think there are a lot of positives about Kentucky," Donahue said after Thursday's Sweet Sixteen loss to the Wildcats. "My concern is that I don't necessarily think for 40 minutes that they may be able to handle this against a team like us that's a little more longer and athletic with experience the next game. West Virginia is terrific."
The Mountaineers were in their third regional final and first since 2005, when they lost in overtime to Louisville. The team has broken every huddle in practice and before games this season by reminding one another they want to be national champs. Not since WVU lost to Cal 71-70 in the final in 1959 has the school been as close. The team that's 8-0 in this state this year will play Saturday in Hoosier State, where WVU is 0-2 with losses to Purdue and Notre Dame.
"The first day I was there I told them I came back to win a national championship," Huggins said. "I came back to win it for the university, having played there and for the great people in our state. And it's going to take a lot of work. And I said this many times, the wonderful thing about these guys is they never doubt. They never ask why. They never kind of bucked it. They just said, 'OK, that's what we have to do. We're going to go do it.' And they've done it and done with it great enthusiasm and great vigor. And they deserve all the credit for it. They're really good guys."
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