Head coach: Bob Huggins, 10th year at West Virginia (813-328 overall, 227-117 at West Virginia)
Brass tacks: 28-8 overall, 12-6 Big-12
Bona fides: Second in Big-12, lost Big-12 championship game to Iowa State
Signature wins: Dec. 3 at Virginia, 66-57; Jan. 10 vs. Baylor, 89-68; Jan. 24 vs. Kansas, 85-69; March 3 vs. Iowa State, 87-76
Lamentable losses: Nov. 25 vs. Temple, 81-77; Jan. 3 at Texas Tech, 77-76; Feb. 4 vs. Oklahoma State, 82-75
Key players: G Jevon Carter (12.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg); G Tarik Phillip (9.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg); Daxter Miles (9.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg); Nathan Adrian (10.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
Strengths: The Huggins-led squad has a talented and impactful defense that allows just 67 points a game. ... The Mountaineers have several top-25 wins, including wins over Kansas and Baylor.
Weaknesses: The Mountaineers are truly mediocre at the free-throw line, shooting 68 percent. âĻ West Virginia has 10 players scoring more than four points per game, but only two scoring more than 10. âĻ Do the Mountaineers have the firepower to pull this off?
The way to San Jose: After squeaking by Bucknell with an 86-80 opening-round win, the Mountaineers soared to an 83-71 win over Notre Dame in Round 2. Bonzie Colson had 27 points for the Fighting Irish but West Virginia had five players in double-figures. The Mountaineers were in control the whole way after jumping to a 10-0 lead.Â



