Huggins' wrath, Mountaineers' physicality tough to overcome
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Bob Huggins, always full of courtside thermonuclear rage, was in rare form during West Virginia's Sweet 16 victory over Washington. Actually, there was nothing sweet about this game and that's a good thing.
Huggins is always foul mouthed. So much that his antics and language are sometimes as entertaining as the game itself and this moment was no different. A contest that was offensively malnourished but still entertaining was propelled by Huggins' personality and emphasis on hustle and defense.
Huggins set the tone early. He temporarily sat one of his players for not hustling back on defense quick enough to Huggins' liking. With the governor of West Virginia just a few feet away, Huggins went into a profanity laced fit. A short time later after, forward Wellington Smith was beaten by a shorter player Huggins screamed at him: "A [expletive] midget is whipping your ass."
Huggins later turned to someone in the stands right behind his bench and said: "Can't score."
No one could for much of the game as it developed into a brutal slugfest before opening up into a 69-56 West Virginia win. Da'Sean Butler was flipped on his back like a wide receiver going across the middle. Bodies splayed across the floor, elbows were tossed with regularity and Washington coach Lorenzo Romar got a technical foul for mouthing off to an official over non-calls.
The physicality played directly into the hands of Huggins and his Mountaineers. Huggins coached the hell out of this team and his obsession with defense was again rewarded. Combine that with West Virginia's size advantage and it's easy to see why the Mountaineers eventually wore down the Huskies.
How physical was the game?
"You see everyone has ice [packs] on," Butler said.
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As the physical nature took hold, West Virginia players could sense something was changing in their favor.
"By the time we got to that 1-3-1 and they had about two turnovers, you could see the frustration and how they were slapping at people instead of playing, guarding the ball, I mean," Butler said. "They kind of, I won't say caved, but I would say laid down. We just pressed them. We still kept pressing them in the half court with the 1-3-1. Devin did a great job on top of the 1-3-1. It just worked out well for us in the second half."
Here's all you need to know about this game. With 7:40 left, Washington was shooting 4 of 20 from the field after shooting almost 50 percent in the first half. West Virginia had a 20-rebound advantage with 23 rebounds on offense. The Mountaineers turned those into their primary source of offense.
"Like I said before, our best chance of making a shot is missing one first," Butler said. "We just do a great job of getting guys there and they work hard. We had two guys fighting over the ball. We had one turnover one time. Devin [Ebanks] and Wells [Wellington Smith] fighting over the offensive rebound. We always get people there. It's something coach practices us on religiously. So we're always there."
The game was just 39-38 West Virginia with 13:57 remaining but a 13-3 run made it 52-41 with about nine minutes left. Goodnight. Go to your room, Washington.
The loss of West Virginia starting point guard Darryl Bryant was significant though not fatal. The Mountaineers had 13 first-half turnovers then everything settled down thanks to that defense.
The Big East may have been proven overrated as a conference but West Virginia -- the lone Big East team standing -- isn't overrated as a group. They're going to be a tough out.
A very nasty and physical tough out.
