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. β¦ West Virginia has 10 players scoring more than four points per game, but only two scoring more than 10. β¦ 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.Β
