WVU Basketball

An old Big East battle will take place in the Round of 32 of the West Region on Saturday when the fourth-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers (27-8) face the fifth-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish (26-9) as small favorites.

The Big 12's Mountaineers and ACC's Fighting Irish both survived tougher-than-expected matchups in the last round, as neither of them covered the spread.

Point spread: The Mountaineers opened as three-point favorites; the total is at 145, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report.) 

March Madness betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 68.2-67.2 Fighting Irish (College basketball picks on every game.)

Why West Virginia can cover the spread

The Round of 64 can be tricky for a lot of big favorites, and that was the case for West Virginia on Thursday in an 86-80 win over the 13th-seeded Bucknell Bison. Every time the Mountaineers seemed to pull away, the Bison would answer to keep it within single digits.

Now that West Virginia got an opening victory under its belt, the team should settle down and prove why it is the higher seed. The low number can only help the Mountaineers too, as they are 9-3 straight up and against the spread in their last 12 as chalk of three points or less.

Why Notre Dame can cover the spread

Outside of that last betting trend, most of the numbers seem to favor Notre Dame here. The Fighting Irish dodged a bullet in edging the 12th-seeded Princeton Tigers 60-58 on Thursday in a game many thought would be difficult for them until the end.

The Tigers opted to go for a game-winning three-point attempt in the final seconds rather than try to send them game to overtime, allowing Notre Dame to escape. However, the Fighting Irish are 4-1 ATS in their last five games as underdogs, and they have won 15 of the previous 19 meetings with West Virginia, covering four of the last five at online gambling sites.

Smart betting pick

The Mountaineers are just 1-7-1 ATS in their past nine games despite going 7-2 SU during that stretch. They have also failed to cover four in a row, which sets up for a loss in this spot against a solid opponent. Notre Dame has won seven of nine SU versus teams with winning records and will advance to the Sweet 16 with another victory.

March Madness betting trends

Notre Dame is 4-1 ATS in its last five games against West Virginia.

The total has gone under in Notre Dame's last 12 games against West Virginia.

The total has gone under in Notre Dame's last seven games against the Big 12.

All college basketball lines and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.

The fourth-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers advanced to the second round of the 2017 NCAA tournament Thursday, as they defeated the 13th-seeded Bucknell Bison 86-80 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.

WVU was shocked by No. 14 Stephen F. Austin in last year's opening round, but it avoided a similar fate Thursday largely because of its press defense, which forced 15 Bucknell turnovers.

One of the biggest differences in the game was bench scoring, as West Virginia's reserves combined did a number on the Bison, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

West Virginia pulls away from Bucknell. Mountaineers had 20-6 advantage in second-chance points, 37-5 advantage in bench points.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 16, 2017

Five Mountaineers reached double digits in scoring, including senior guard Tarik Phillip, who led the way with 16.

Bucknell sophomore guard Kimbal Mackenzie led all scorers with 23 points, while Patriot League Player of the Year Nana Foulland contributed 18 points before getting into foul trouble down the stretch.

Despite the loss, Dustin McComas of OrangeBloods.com felt as though Bucknell showed it belongs on the court with one of the nation's best teams:

Bucknell gave WVU a heck of a game. That was a scrappy team that matched aggressiveness. Now we get No. 1 turnover D vs No. 1 turnover O.

— Dustin McComas (@DustinLMcComas) March 16, 2017

While Bucknell had some early success against the press and had the game tied nearly five minutes in, WVU's aggressiveness eventually turned the tide.

According to Bucknell MBasketball, the Mountaineers broke open a 13-point advantage:

WVU on a 15-2 run in a little over 2 minutes to go up 25-12. They're hurting us on baseline OB plays, with 3 of their buckets in this run.

— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) March 16, 2017

NBA.com's David Aldridge marveled at West Virginia's defensive relentlessness:

That West Virginia press is a beast...

— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) March 16, 2017

Bucknell couldn't do much right at that point, as evidenced by this wayward pass by guard Avi Toomer off forward Elijah Macon's face:

March comes at you fast 😬 https://t.co/UW7HfKTcHj

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 16, 2017

WVU stretched that lead to 15, but Bucknell seemingly started to become more comfortable with the press and managed to get itself into contention.

The Bison shrunk West Virginia's lead all the way down to three with just over four minutes remaining in the half by virtue of a strong scoring run of their own, per Chris Jackson of the Daily Athenaeum:

Huggins will need to wake his team up again here. Bucknell is on a 21-9 run and only trails by 3. #WVU once led by 15

— Chris Jackson (@CJacksonWCP) March 16, 2017

West Virginia got things going again on both ends of the floor, though, and entered halftime with a 42-33 advantage, as Bucknell failed to score in the final four minutes of the half.

Despite the poor close to the first half, Bucknell continued to battle and kept things interesting for much of the second half.

As seen in the following video from CBS Sports, Foulland was a handful for WVU because of his inside presence:

Bucknell will NOT go quietly. pic.twitter.com/K08U8LbH8l

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 16, 2017

For as resilient as the Bison were, the Mountaineers continued to exert nonstop effort defensively, which prevented Bucknell from finding an ideal offensive rhythm.

The following play by forward Nathan Adrian at the five-minute mark was a perfect example, as he hit the deck and set up an easy basket for WVU to get the lead back to nine:

INCOMING pic.twitter.com/gA6j0Fx9Zb

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 16, 2017

Bucknell once again closed the deficit to three, but it was never able to secure a tie or seize the lead.

The tenacious play of Adrian played a huge role in that, as he did work on the offensive glass and as a scorer in the paint, as evidenced by this video courtesy of NCAA March Madness:

West Virginia closing in on a win! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/PwUONi27GR

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 16, 2017

Bucknell never again got closer than within five points of West Virginia's lead, and the Mountaineers were able to close things out by hitting their free throws down the stretch.

The Mountaineers' win sets the stage for a second-round clash with No. 5 Notre Dame, which survived a scare against 12th-seeded Princeton earlier in the day.

West Virginia and Notre Dame haven't met since 2011, but the Mountaineers have a major challenge ahead against a team that has reached the Elite Eight in each of the past two seasons.

Provided WVU can defeat the ACC tournament runner-up, it will advance to just its second Sweet 16 since 2011.

Postgame Reaction

Adrian admitted after the game that he thought about last year's upset loss to Stephen F. Austin entering the contest, but he was confident that the team was more ready to play Bucknell, which manifested itself in the victory, according to Amy Mortiz of the Buffalo News: "Personally, it was on my mind a little bit through our practice. We didn't have great practices last year, but this year I thought we prepared a little better. We've got to play a little better defense, but we'll fix it."

WVU head coach Bob Huggins echoed the sentiment of needing to improve, and specifically put the onus on his guards: "We have to get our guards to do a better job. ... We miss enough shots, you know, there's plenty to go around."

Despite the loss, Mackenzie said that he and his teammates believed throughout the game that they could hang with the Mountaineers and had a chance to win:

You know, this year, we've been down a couple times. We've been down big, and we know we're a mentally tough team who is able to fight back. We have a lot of weapons and we didn't panic. We just, you know, tried to win every possession, one possession at a time. And we looked up a couple minutes later and we were back in the game.

While Bucknell is heading home, West Virginia will meet Notre Dame in the second round on Saturday.

For more news and analysis on West Virginia basketball, go to BlueGoldNews.com.  

After falling to his knees just prior to halftime of West Virginia's 77-62 win over Texas on Monday night, Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins explained that the situation was caused by his defibrillator. 

According to ESPN.com, Huggins said it felt as though someone had hit him in the back, which caused him to go down.

The 63-year-old coach further described the feeling and also the mechanics behind the defibrillator: 

"That's what happened when I fell down before; you stand up, you get lightheaded. ... It goes off, and what it does is it shocks your heart back into rhythm. I'm like 99.9 percent of other guys my age in America—I got AFib [irregular heartbeat]. Jerry [West] has AFib for crying out loud; he does the commercial."

Huggins was fitted for the defibrillator after having a heart attack in 2002, and he said Monday marked only the second time it had gone off.

The WVU alum is in the midst of his 10th season coaching the Mountaineers and his 32nd year overall as a Division I head coach after previous stints at Akron, Cincinnati and Kansas State.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders fell short of pulling off their second upset against a Top 10 team this week after losing 83-74 in two overtimes on the road to the No. 9 West Virginia Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum.   

EerSports' Chris Anderson spoke for every Mountaineers fan who watched Saturday's game:

#WVU fans with every game in every sport ever pic.twitter.com/xIcke2pZt8

— Chris Anderson (@CMAnderson247) February 18, 2017

Jevon Carter led West Virginia with 24 points and added seven rebounds to a strong all-around effort, while Elijah Macon posted a double-double (17 points, 12 rebounds).

According to NCAA.com, the Mountaineers entered Saturday forcing an NCAA-best 21.88 turnovers per game. Between regulation and two overtimes, the Red Raiders committed 20 turnovers.

Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore thought Texas Tech did well handling West Virginia's high-pressure defense in its two matchups with the Mountaineers: 

Apparently anyone who gets West Virginia in NCAA tournament should consult Chris Beard. Only 23 turnovers in 70 minutes vs Press Virginia.

— CJ Moore (@CJMooreHoops) February 18, 2017

Keenan Evans was the game's leading scorer (28 points). After the Red Raiders trailed by six points with a little over a minute remaining, Evans sent the contest into overtime with a three-pointer with 4.6 seconds left in regulation. Texas Tech shared a replay of the pivotal shot:

🏀🎥: FREE BASKETBALL. Keenan Evans buries the circus-shot #GunsUpThreeBall to send us to OT in Morgantown! Get to ESPN2! #WreckEm #4To1 pic.twitter.com/Zgeu8MibVH

— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 18, 2017

As Keenan Cummings of WVSports.com tweeted, Texas Tech's late outburst coincided with a barren spell for West Virginia:

The last time #WVU made a field goal in this game was with 5:42 left in the second half. Under two minutes left in overtime now.

— Keenan Cummings (@rivalskeenan) February 18, 2017

The Mountaineers' offensive struggles continued in the first overtime, when their six points all came from the charity stripe.

Texas Tech had the final possession, but Evans' potential game-winner missed the rim entirely.

In the second overtime, West Virginia scored six points in the first 2:03 of the period, digging the Red Raiders into a deep hole early. Daxter Miles Jr. restored the Mountaineers' six-point lead, 78-72, with 1:44 remaining on a putback dunk that was effectively the final nail in Texas Tech's coffin.

Even though the Red Raiders pushed West Virginia to two overtimes, Saturday's defeat will be a major blow to their NCAA tournament hopes. In his most recent edition of bracketology, ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi listed Texas Tech as one of the "next four out."

The Red Raiders could still qualify for the Big Dance with a Big 12 tournament win, but their hopes of receiving an at-large bid might have evaporated in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Postgame Reaction

Texas Tech provided head coach Chris Beard's postgame press conference:

Let's hear from Coach Beard following today's double overtime loss at #9 West Virginia #WreckEm #4to1 pic.twitter.com/KTyYAYWDJV

— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) February 18, 2017

"We’ve been in this position all year," said Carter of the close win, per the Associated Press (h/t FoxSports.com). All of our losses have been close games. We just kept going after them. We just kept attacking."

West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins praised the work of Macon inside.

"I think that's the [Macon] [we] thought we got when we recruited him," he said, per Chris Jackson of the Daily Athenaeum. "His attitude is so much better. He's become extremely coachable. He's bought in more to try to understand, to not just play basketball, but to understand basketball."

For more WVU basketball news and analysis, visit BlueGoldNews.com.

For the second consecutive week, the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 took an undefeated record into a hostile environment and emerged with an L, as the No. 10 West Virginia Mountaineers knocked off the No. 1 Baylor Bears in Morgantown by a score of 89-68 Tuesday night.

Whatever you do, though, don't call it an upset.

West Virginia was the lower-ranked team, sure, but the Mountaineers were 5.5-point favorites, according to OddsShark.com. Moreover, KenPom.com projected West Virginia to win 72-67, giving Baylor only a 31 percent chance of winning.

But it only took a few possessions for 31 percent to feel overly optimistic, as Press Virginia had its way with the Bears.

In the first six minutes, Baylor committed nine turnovers of nearly every possible variety—traveling, stepping out of bounds, three-second violation, live-ball steals and balls thrown out of bounds. The only things missing were offensive fouls and shot-clock violations. The Bears nearly committed the latter on the first possession of the game and barely possessed the ball long enough to commit the former.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Baylor's comfort level operating against West Virginia's press so far: Minus-7

— Jeff Eisenberg (@JeffEisenberg) January 11, 2017

By the time the final buzzer sounded, it was the worst margin of defeat by a No. 1 team since the Duke Blue Devils lost by 27 to the Miami Hurricanes four seasons ago. It's the eighth-worst loss by a No. 1-ranked team dating back to the 1949-50 season, according to Sports Reference.

This isn't to say the Bears are a bunch of overrated frauds. Far from it. They earned their ranking by putting together what still stands as arguably the nation's best NCAA tournament resume. And it's worth noting that each of the six teams that suffered the worst losses by a No. 1 team still made it at least to the Elite Eight during those respective seasons.

If you're trying to write off Baylor's 2017 championship dreams because of this one game, try again.

The Bears just had the misfortune of drawing their worst possible matchup less than 36 hours after ascending to the top of the AP poll for the first time in program history.

Baylor hadn't displayed any glaring weaknesses during its 15-0 start, but its two least strong areas this season had been turnovers and rebounding. You could not pick a worse combination to take into a rock fight with West Virginia. 

The Mountaineers entered the game with an average turnover margin of plus-13.7, leading the nation by a laughable margin in that category, according to NCAA.com. Their defensive turnover percentage of 32.8 was more than two full percentage points higher than any other team has posted in the KenPom era—and that's certain to increase after forcing 29 Baylor turnovers. And on the rebounding front, West Virginia came into Tuesday's matchup ranked fifth in the nation in offensive rebound percentage.

Even if the game was played at a neutral site, West Virginia likely would have been favored. Forcing the Bears to face their nightmare opponent in Morgantown was a bridge too far.

Over the past two-plus seasons, Phog Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas) and Cameron Indoor Stadium (Duke) might be the only venues more challenging for opposing teams than WVU Coliseum. Since the start of 2014-15, Press Virginia is 35-5 at home with an average margin of victory of 21.1 points. Granted, that includes a lot of blowouts of nonconference cupcakes, but even in Big 12 play, the Mountaineers are 16-4, with 11 of those victories coming by a double-digit margin.

One of those blowout wins came almost exactly one year ago on Jan. 12, 2016, when they beat the then-No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks by an 11-point margin. They forced 22 turnovers and corralled 32 percent of their own misses, which is roughly the same combo they used to knock off Baylor.

Ironically, Baylor delivered West Virginia's worst home loss of the past few seasons, thumping the Mountaineers 87-69 in February 2015. The Bears committed 19 turnovers and allowed West Virginia to grab 18 offensive rebounds, but they shot 61 percent from two-point range while the Mountaineers couldn't buy a field goal.

That's where West Virginia has changed the most since adopting this Press Virginia scheme. Two years ago, if the Mountaineers didn't score in transition, they didn't score much at all. If they didn't turn opponents over, their half-court defense offered little resistance. This time around, they were the ones blocking shots (six of them), and they were the ones making shots (45.0 percent from three-point range).

Back when Press Virginia first began, it was arguably a gimmick head coach Bob Huggins used to compensate for a lack of talent. They couldn't outshoot you or outjump you, but doggone it, they were going to outwork you. But this is now a team that can legitimately play half-court basketball and just so happens to also play the best full-court defense we've seen in decades.

If you hadn't been taking West Virginia seriously as a national championship threat before this game, there's no time like the present to correct that error in judgment.

Now that Baylor has fallen, the next team up for the top spot would seem to be No. 2 Kansas. The Jayhawks have a few hurdles to clear before Jan. 24 (at Oklahoma, vs. Oklahoma State, at Iowa State, vs. Texas), but they could well carry the No. 1 ranking into West Virginia in two weeks' time.

Could the Mountaineers knock off a third No. 1-ranked team in a span of less than 13 months?

Better question: Would that be enough to get West Virginia to No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time since 1958?

That might be the only way to ensure the top-ranked team doesn't lose a road game in Morgantown.

Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of KenPom.com and Sports Reference. 

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.

West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins joined elite company Saturday when the Mountaineers dominated UMKC 112-67 for his 800th career victory.

Huggins is the 10th men's basketball coach to win at least 800 games.

8️⃣0️⃣0️⃣

Bob Huggins becomes 10th men’s basketball coach to reach 800 career wins pic.twitter.com/RmicQPcVax

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 17, 2016

Huggins' career as a head coach began in 1980 at Walsh College, but it wasn't until 1984 when he got his first crack at a Division I job with Akron. He was with the Zips for five seasons, leading the program to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 1986.

Prior to Saturday's game, Huggins said the significance of his impending accomplishment hadn't hit him.

"I don't know if it's sunk in," he said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "I really don't think about the past. I try to live in the present."

The AP noted that among coaches with at least 10 years of Division I experience Rollie Massimino joined the 800-win club Wednesday with Keiser in the NAIA. Meanwhile, North Carolina head coach Roy Williams is just seven wins from the milestone.

Huggins' greatest success as a head coach came at the University of Cincinnati, where he spent 16 seasons from 1989-2005. He led the Bearcats to the Final Four in 1992 and made the NCAA tournament in each of his last 14 years with the program.

West Virginia hired Huggins prior to the 2007-08 season. He helped return the Mountaineers into national prominence with seven NCAA tournament appearances in his first nine seasons, including a trip to the Final Four in 2010 and Sweet Sixteen runs in 2008 and 2015.

At 63 years old, Huggins figures to have several years of high-quality coaching ahead of him. While it would likely take at least another decade, 1,000 wins isn't out of the question.

The West Virginia Mountaineers dropped Tuesday’s game to the Texas Longhorns, 85-78, but that wasn’t the only thing they lost. Senior guard Jaysean Paige suffered an ankle injury in the defeat.

Continue for updates.

---

Paige Could Play Against Oklahoma

Tuesday, Feb. 16

According to Alex Chippin of theScore.com, Paige’s injury was an ankle sprain. West Virginia’s next contest is Saturday against Oklahoma, and head coach Bob Huggins said, “If there’s any way possible, Jaysean will play,” per Chris Anderson of 247Sports.

Paige left Tuesday’s game in the first half and did return, but he ultimately checked out for the remainder. He was held scoreless in six minutes.

As of Tuesday, he led his team with 14 points a night as one of the go-to options on the offensive end. Paige was shooting 36.7 percent from three-point range and helps space the floor for facilitators such as Jevon Carter and Tarik Phillip. He also averages 3.7 boards and 1.6 steals per game as an important part of the full-court press West Virginia is known for on defense.

West Virginia is now 9-4 in Big 12 play and a game behind the 10-3 Kansas Jayhawks. This injury is even more concerning because the Mountaineers have lost two of their last three games, including a showdown on Feb. 9 at Allen Fieldhouse in Kansas, and need to turn things around in their upcoming matchups. 

Their next two games come against No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday and No. 13 Iowa State on Monday, which is a daunting enough task at full strength. This is a critical stretch of the season, and No. 10 West Virginia needs its leading scorer in the lineup if it plans on making a run at the Jayhawks and contending for a top-notch seed in the NCAA tournament. 

That is especially the case because Paige carried West Virginia’s offense for large stretches in earlier matchups against those Sooners and Cyclones:

Date	Opponent	Result	Points	Field Goals	Three-Pointers	Rebounds	Assists	Steals
Jan. 16	Oklahoma	70-68 loss	18	6-10	2-3	4	3	2
Feb. 2	Iowa State	81-76 win	23	10-17	1-2	6	0	1

Paige also scored 26 points in West Virginia's 74-63 victory over Kansas on Jan. 12 and capped it off with this dunk, per WVUSports:

Kansas has won an incredible 11 straight regular-season Big 12 titles, and its closest competition in the standings is the Mountaineers. Huggins said Paige will play “if there’s any way possible,” but the Jayhawks’ seemingly never-ending grip on the conference could get even tighter down the stretch if West Virginia’s top scorer is limited or missing in crucial Big 12 games.

The West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team is about to start one of its most difficult stretches of the 2015-16 season, and it will reportedly be short-handed.

According to Raphielle Johnson of College Basketball Talk, West Virginia suspended senior forward Jonathan Holton indefinitely for violating team rules Thursday.

Mike Casazza of the Charleston Gazette-Mail said Holton is expected to miss West Virginia’s showdown with the Florida Gators on Saturday and the following two contests, a road matchup against the No. 14 Iowa State Cyclones and a home contest against the No. 17 Baylor Bears.

After that three-game stretch, the Mountaineers will face the No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse.

West Virginia likely couldn’t have picked a worse regular-season stretch to lose depth, especially since the 6’7” Holton is a critical piece of the team’s famed press defense. He brings impressive athleticism and size, which helps him stay in front of ball-handlers and challenge shots at the rim.

He is averaging 9.7 points, 7.5 rebounds (second on the team) and 1.1 steals per game and tallied two double-doubles in his previous three contests.

West Virginia is No. 9 in the country and a legitimate threat to take home the Big 12 title. As of Thursday, the Mountaineers were tied with Oklahoma and Baylor at 6-2 in the Big 12 and ahead of the 11-time defending conference champion Jayhawks (5-3). West Virginia has already defeated Kansas once this season in a game during which Holton grabbed eight rebounds.

Fortunately for the Mountaineers, they have pieces such as Devin Williams and Elijah Macon to fill the void in the frontcourt while Holton is out. Williams is the second-leading scorer (13.1 points per night) and leading rebounder (8.2 boards a night) on the team, while Macon is the squad’s third-leading rebounder.

Ideally for West Virginia, Holton will return in time for a late-season run and the conference and NCAA tournaments, but it will sorely miss him during a challenging stretch of games that could determine its fate in the Big 12 race.