Posted By:
Rob FouchNo offense to the Duke fans out there -- it's a tremendous program and I have great respect for Coach K -- but there was another team on the floor yesterday, and with all the comments, it's as if Duke lost in a vacuum, or simply beat itself.
WVU (yes, I'm a fan) played a great second half. Terrific defense, clutch shooting and their backup point guard almost had a triple-double. Coack K called him a "mini Jason Kidd."
And while WVU certainly isn't a national power, they barely get any recognition for having made the Sweet 16 three out of the last four years, and the Elite 8 once. (Not to mention winning the NIT last year after they probably should have gotten an NCAA bid.) And the year they went to the Elite 8, they lost in OT to Louisville. Just a few seconds from the Final Four. Argh!
What's been fun about this year's team has been the way Huggins has molded John Beilein/three-point-shooting/no-rebounding type players into the kind of players he recruits. They now rebound pretty well, play tough, in-your-face defense and they can still knock down threes. And they have a star in Joe Alexander. The Big East coaches picked WVU 10th before the season. They finished 5th and made it to the semifinals in the Big East Tourney. I wasn't sold on the Huggins hire when he got the job (knowing his occasionally spotty past), but he's certainly proved himself to be a tremendous coach. Making the Sweet 16 (and beating a top program like Duke along the way) with someone else's players is a real accomplishment.
Anyway, if they play well, I think they can beat Xavier. UCLA would be a tough out to get to the Final Four. But you never know. That's why they play the games.
Again, no disrespect to Duke. But I watched every minute of that game, and it looked to me like WVU just wanted it more and played with a lot more toughness.
Rob