WVU Basketball

The weather outside was frightful and so was No. 11 West Virginia's suffocating defense in the 74-63 upset of No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday night in Morgantown, West Virginia.

According to Fran Fraschilla and Brent Musburger during ESPN's telecast of the game, blizzard-like conditions made it nearly impossible for Kansas' team bus to traverse the three miles from their hotel to WVU Coliseum. Even with a police escort, the Jayhawks were more than an hour behind schedule by the time they arrived.

No word yet on when their offensive execution will be showing up, though.

The Jayhawks entered the game ranked 26th in the nation in offensive turnover percentage. Through 15 games, they had not committed more than 15 turnovers in a game. They were also second in the nation in scoring offense at 88.4 points per game.

Long story short, they are one of the country's best offensive teams, but Press Virginia shut them down from opening tipoff to final buzzer.

The Mountaineers came into the night ranked No. 1 in the country in defensive turnover percentage and will certainly still be there Wednesday morning after recording 12 steals and forcing a total of 22 turnovers in the game.

Better yet, they were able to apply that pressure without committing a lot of fouls, which is something they've struggled with even more than usual as of late.

Sending opponents to the free-throw line had been a real problem for West Virginia over the past couple of weeks. Its last four opponents averaged 38 free-throw attempts per game. However, it was Kansas who committed a vast majority of the frustration fouls, leading to a 47-to-21 advantage in free-throw attempts for the Mountaineers.

If the Mountaineers can keep playing with that type of disciplined aggression, there's no good reason they can't win a national championship.

Yeah. I just went there, and I'll say it again. West Virginia could win the 2016 national championship.

Is it really that crazy?

We all remember VCU pressing its way to the 2011 Final Four with "Havoc," but let's not forget Louisville won it all in 2013 while ranking second in the nation in steal percentage and 16th in offensive rebounding percentage—not much unlike WVU's current modus operandi.

Given their unique style of play, the Mountaineers likely would have been a popular Final Four sleeper pick last March were it not for the misfortune of needing to get through undefeated Kentucky in the Sweet 16. And this is a much-better team than the one we saw last year.

In 2014-15, West Virginia was a gimmick. The Mountaineers recorded tons of turnovers and offensive rebounds, but they ranked 273rd or worse in two-point and three-point percentage on both offense and defense and committed a staggering number of fouls on a nightly basis. In Big 12 play, they averaged 13.4 more field-goal attempts per game than their opponents and were still outscored by an average of 0.3 points per game.

Basically, if they weren't scoring on a fast break, they didn't know how to. And if you could get past half court against them, they couldn't stop you from putting the ball in the hoop.

This year, though, every inch of that 94'-by-50' court is their war zone.

Perceived passing lanes against this team are mirages at best and speed traps at worst. Opponents force ill-advised shots for fear of turning the ball over or needing to force an even worse one later. There's no such thing as a 50-50 ball when the Mountaineers are playing. They're always the favorite for every loose ball.

Even after Kansas shot 10-of-20 from the perimeter, West Virginia still ranks sixth in the nation in defensive three-point percentage. And the Mountaineers held the Jayhawks to just 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) from inside the arc on Tuesday night, contesting absolutely everything for 40 minutes.

On the offensive end, their shot selection has been drastically improved.

Devin Williams was a 44.7 percent two-point shooter last season, but he has improved by a full 8 percentage points to 52.7 this year. Daxter Miles skyrocketed from 46.0 percent to 61.6 percent, Elijah Macon went from 45.8 to 64.4 and Jaysean Paige—the hero against Kansas with 26 points and five steals—has improved from 42.9 percent to 60.8 percent.

When four guys improve that much in one year, it's not dumb luck or expected growth from an added year of experience. It's an intentional, team-wide effort to get better looks.

West Virginia was pretty good last season on little more than a steady diet of effort and calamity. Now that it has proven capable of mixing in quality half-court offense and defense with its relentless pursuit of the ball, this team has a chance to do something special.

We spent the first two months of the season arguing over whether Oklahoma or Iowa State was more likely to be the team that ultimately falls just short of ending Kansas' run of consecutive Big 12 Championships, but West Virginia clearly should have been a part of that conversation.

Better late than never, right?

The Mountaineers are now in sole possession of first place in arguably the country's best conference. And proof positive that there are no nights off in the Big 12, they have another absolutely massive game this Saturday at Oklahoma.

If they win that one—thus defeating both No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP Top 25 in the span of five days—West Virginia just might be your new No. 1 team on Monday.

"This ain't our championship," Williams told ESPN's Holly Rowe after the win over Kansas. "We're trying to get something bigger than this."

If the nation's top-ranked team couldn't stop the Mountaineers, who can?

Unless otherwise noted, all statistics via KenPom.com. 

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

Because winning in the NCAA tournament isn't hard enough, West Virginia star guard Daxter Miles is providing some bulletin-board material for Kentucky ahead of their Sweet 16 showdown Thursday.   

Per Brett Dawson of Rivals.com, Miles believes that Kentucky should be intimidated coming into the game because of where it stands:

Miles was also nice enough to congratulate the Wildcats on being 36-0 before saying that would be the end of their undefeated streak:

Kentucky star Willie Cauley-Stein told Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal that he doesn't mind an opponent talking before a big game:

John Clay of the Lexington Herald-Leader provided a video with more comments from Cauley-Stein:

Kudos to Miles for having the confidence to speak out and boldly believe his team has a chance to compete with this undefeated monster that most people have pegged as the eventual national champion. But if the Mountaineers lose, he will only be added to the list of athletes who couldn't follow through on their guarantees.

Most predict that to be the outcome, but even experts aren't convinced yet. 

If there was lingering fear that Kentucky would grow complacent with just four games left to capture a title, Miles might have just provided a spark to squash that.

Whatever happens, Thursday's 9:45 p.m ET tip time cannot get here soon enough. 

The second-ranked Kansas Jayhawks (18-1) appear to be nearly flawless. They rebound well, have good interior defense, shoot well and get up and down the floor quickly. Their lone loss this season came against a ranked Michigan State team.

By three.

Although it may appear to be an uphill battle, the West Virginia Mountaineers (9-10) are upset-minded as the Jayhawks invade Morgantown tonight. The Mountaineers have a duo of players who could cause major problems for the heavily favored Jayhawks.

West Virginia more than likely won't have any success moving the ball inside and trying to score on the interior. Jayhawk seven-footer Jeff Withey is averaging over four blocks a game and won't be allowing any Mountaineer movement near the hoop. The Mountaineers will likely be using outside shooting as their "sling" to bring down the Goliath in Kansas.  

Eron Harris is one of West Virginia's leaders from the perimeter.

Harris, a true freshman out of the Hoosier state, is shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc this season and 46 percent from the floor. When he makes his outside shots, the Kansas defense will be forced to spread out and will open the interior for better WVU shots. This will be crucial for West Virginia to succeed in tonight's Big 12 matchup.

Sophomore guard Juwan Staten, the team's leader in assists, also needs to have a huge game in order for West Virginia to be able to compete with and beat the Jayhawks.  

Staten is currently averaging 3.1 assists per game and his ability to find the open man will be crucial in order to soften the stifling Jayhawks defense.  Although he's in a shooting and scoring slump, is still one of the team's co-leaders in points per game.  Driving and dishing will be a must for him and the Mountaineers in their attempt to knock off one of the most dominant programs in the nation.

Coming off of an embarrassing 14 point loss in Stillwater against Oklahoma State, and having lost four of their last five, tonight's game is a great chance for Bob Huggins' squad to redeem themselves and get back on track in Big 12 play.  West Virginia has lost four games by a combined 10 points; it's been a season of near-misses for Morgantown's Mountaineers.  A win tonight against a formidable foe would certainly help ease the pain of West Virginia's regular season.

Patrick Beilein, former West Virginia University basketball player and son of University of Michigan men’s basketball coach John Beilein, is set to make his head coaching debut with West Virginia Wesleyan.

When I interviewed Beilein, the first thing I asked him was what fueled his decision to apply for the head coaching position at West Virginia Wesleyan. “The number one thing was coming back to West Virginia,” he told me. “It’s a state my family has always loved.”

“The campus at West Virginia Wesleyan is beautiful,” Beilein added. “Being a head coach at the young age of 29 is a big learning experience. I’m going to learn so much in the position. Probably more bad than good, but that will help me in the long run.”

Beilein and the team have jumped right into preparing for the season. “I like to stay low-key so we didn’t do a Midnight Madness,” he said. “I want to come in and build a good foundation and build from the ground up.”

“We’re about a week and a half in and I like what I see offensively and defensively,” said Beilein. “We have a lot of hard working kids that want to learn. It makes the job fun every day.”

Basketball fans remember Beilein from his time as a Mountaineer—playing under the coaching of his father. From 2002-06, he scored over 1,000 points and helped the Mountaineers make it to the Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight.

When I asked Beilein how his experience on the court translated to the coaching side of the game, he said “I always felt that, as a player, I was somewhat of a coach on the court.”

“I’m not the most athletic player so I had to think through the game to outsmart the opponent,” Beilein expanded. “I’m going to help these guys think through the game."

Beilein also explained that basketball fundamentals are something he plans to teach his players. “I played the game fundamentally to be successful,” Beilein said. “The importance of fundamentals is something my dad really stressed.”

I asked Beilein to detail the similarities and differences between his coaching style and his father’s. “It’s probably about 99 percent similar whether it’s on the recruiting side or on the court,” Beilein said. “We recruit players that work with our system."

“On the court, we’re both teachers,” Beilein continued. “We don’t yell. We make the kids want to play for us.”

Beilein said that working as a graduate assistant under his father was similar to working under him as a player. “The only different part was seeing behind the scenes how much prep work he puts into the game,” said Beilein. “He’s a student of the game and wants to learn something about the game every day.”

Beilein also spoke of his time as an assistant coach at Dartmouth and as a director of operations at Bradley. He noted that one of the best benefits of those experiences was simply working for other people.

“The recruiting aspect is a broader area,” he said. “You’re targeting very smart students at Dartmouth. I did behind the scenes work at Bradley—things like booking hotels and planning meals.”

“The director of operations job helped me most for this job because I learned to plan for the team and learned from other coaches,” Beilein added. “I learned different styles that I can incorporate into my style.”

The West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats open the 2012-13 season at home against Shenandoah. 

Michael Prunka is a Bleacher Report Featured Columnist and Sports Writing Intern. Stay up to date with him by liking Facebook page and following him on Twitter.

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With all of the excitement surrounding the West Virginia football program and its transition to the Big 12 Conference, it's easy to forget that the WVU basketball team will be making that same move.

The last time we saw the Mountaineers, they were bounced from the NCAA tournament in the first round by Gonzaga. In one month, in its Nov. 13 season opener, WVU will have another crack at the Bulldogs.

However, this WVU squad will look much different from the one that clawed its way to a 10-seed in the tournament last season.

Gone are West Virginia's top two scorers, point guard Truck Bryant and All-American forward Kevin Jones. Because of these losses, WVU was tabbed at just No. 6 in the preseason Big 12 poll (via Big12Sports.com), a ranking that does not impress head coach Bob Huggins.

“Honestly, if we’re the sixth-best team in the league then it’s a hell of a league,” Huggins said (via WVUSports.com).

Training in their brand new practice facility, Huggins is pleased with the talent, development and conditioning of his squad so far.

“They are in great shape,” Huggins said. “Deniz (Kilicli) is in the best shape of his life. His body fat is way down. He’s running so much better. I think the only negative has been that we’ve had some guys kind of nicked up."

That last stipulation, injury, is one of the few concerns on the mind of Huggins heading into the season. His other concern is the rigorous schedule, though he is still expecting a successful campaign from this group.

"It’s going to be really hard with who we’re playing, but if we did what a lot of people do and play 18 home games and buy everybody in we can win 25 games with this group," Huggins said. “Most people would say that’s a pretty good team. Now we are probably not going to win 25 with who we play, but we’ve got a chance to be pretty good. I said that all along. I haven’t seen anything that would make me feel otherwise, other than guys getting hurt.”

West Virginia will be returning some key players including a lot of depth in the backcourt. Supplementing that existing depth will be a few big time transfers. 

Sophomore guards Jabarie Hinds, Aaron Brown and Gary Browne will all be back after combining to average more than 18 points per game while rotating through the lineup last year.

Two true freshman guards, Eron Harris and Terry Henderson should also have a positive impact early on in Morgantown, however, the most significant additions have probably been through transfers.

The most notable may turn out to be Matt Humphrey—a graduate transfer from Boston College who will be eligible to play immediately. He averaged 10.3 points per game for the Eagles last year, while also tallying a team-high 34 steals. 

“He’s got a pretty good idea of how to play,” said Huggins. “I think the first time I watched him play that is what impressed me more than anything was his understanding of how to play and how things happen. Plus, he can make shots. It’s kind of refreshing watching it go in sometimes. I haven’t seen that much.”

The WVU front court will be anchored by two key returners. Deniz Kilicli is back for his senior year after netting 10.7 points per game last season—a high among all returning players. Joining him up front will be a pair of sophomores, Keaton Miles and Kevin Noreen. 

Noreen was solid off the bench last season until his year was cut short when he suffered a broken ankle. Miles, on the other hand, was a regular starter, though he averaged only 13.1 minutes per contest. It will be interesting to see how each of their roles expand this season along with that of senior Dominique Rutledge, a player who began to show improvement toward the end of last season.

The final two players who WVU fans are excited about are transfers Aaric Murray and Juwan Staten.

Murray, a LaSalle transfer who is the only true center on the roster for West Virginia, was a monster in his sophomore season for the Explorers, averaging 15.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.

Staten, an Oak Hill Academy product, was also impressive in his freshman season for Dayton. An excellent distributor, he averaged 8.5 points and 5.4 assists per game, while leading the Atlantic 10 Conference with 190 total assists.

The backcourt will certainly crowded in Morgantown, which will be a good problem for Huggins to have.

As the beginning of the season draws near, the WVU coach will also be going through some contract adjustments.

Under Huggins, the Mountaineers have earned five consecutive NCAA tournament berths, including the school's first Final Four appearance since 1959, an accomplishment athletic director Oliver Luck believes is deserving of a little bit of compensation.

According to Mike Casazza of the Charleston Daily Mail, Luck and Huggins are working on restructuring his deal to add both length and financial benefit.

At age 59, Huggins has had some health concerns over his career, but as long as he is still passionate for coaching, he will stay the head coach at West Virginia.

“I want to do this as long as I’m excited about doing it, as long as I feel like I can bring the kind of passion to it that I’ve always brought,” Huggins said. “When it comes to where I say, ‘I just don’t want to go in there and do this,’ I need to quit.”

Fortunately for the Mountaineers, Huggins isn't near his quitting point, as they begin working toward their Big 12 basketball debut.

Bob Huggins, the West Virginia men's basketball head coach, is still considered a bit underrated when you talk about legendary coaches in college basketball.  The former Cincinnati and Kansas State coach is one of the winningest active coaches in Division I basketball.  He is also in the top 10 in winning percentage and has over 700 wins.  Only three other coaches have more than 700 wins. 

Huggins has not solidified his legacy in the sense of winning a national championship, but he has been to two Final Fours with Cincinnati (1992) and West Virginia (2010).  Teams led by the West Virginia native are usually looking at a NCAA tournament berth and a possible deep run.  WVU has reached the Final Four and Sweet 16 since Huggins returned to his alma matter in 2007. 

When people think of Mountaineers basketball, Huggins is the face of the program.  He's loved by many around the state.  Huggins should be talked about more in comparison to the likes of Jim Calhoun, Rick Pitino, Mike Krzyzweski, Roy Williams, Tom Izzo and and Jim Boeheim.  Perhaps Huggins needs a national championship in Morgantown to be considered for this list. 

His best chance came in the 2009 with leader Da'Sean Butler.  The Mountaineers won the Big East championship and were able to upset top seed Kentucky in the Elite Eight.  They eventually fell to Duke in the Final Four, but the future looked bright for West Virginia basketball. 

Huggins is underrated, however.  He usually gets three-star recruits, unlike some of the coaches mentioned above.  With this most recent season full of freshmen, Huggins was still able to take the young squad to the NCAA tournament. 

He was without a doubt one of the best coaches in the Big East Conference, always remaining competitive in one of the top conferences in college basketball.  Huggins is WVU basketball and he brings a great deal of pride to the state of West Virginia.

WVU is known as a football school all around the country, but the basketball program has been on the rise in the past decade.  Back in the days of Jerry West, West Virginia was close to its first national title in a championship loss to California. 

With Huggins, the future looks to be bright for West Virginia hoops, especially in the Big 12.  It's a conference Huggins knows fairly well, and can see his legacy skyrocket to the next level with a national championship. 

West Virginia forward Kevin Jones had a remarkable senior season as a Mountaineer in the most competitive conference in college basketball.  Jones was on many watch lists for National Player of the Year.  After all, he is one of two players to score over 1,800 points and 1,000 rebounds in WVU history. 

Jones could have declared for the NBA draft after his junior year.  It's a good thing he did not.  His senior year was strong as he averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds.  He was not awarded the Big East Player of the Year award, but was the likely favorite throughout the season.

On June 28, Jones could have a chance of being drafted in the first round.  He has some experience with NBA teams in the past and has done some workouts. 

One thing Mountaineer fans have learned about Jones is his work ethic.  He still frequently lifts in the weight room If Jones doesn't get a first-round selection, chances are he will go high second round. 

Jones averaged 13 points and seven rebounds in his junior year at WVU.  Jones improved on his aggressive play in his senior year, especially on the glass.  He was a major factor in helping the Mountaineers earn a selection in the NCAA tournament after a very inconsistent season.  Jones had to lead a team full of freshmen as well.

Jones has the work ethic and scoring ability to make it in the NBA.  He is a very good offensive rebounder, and can hit the long-range jump shot.  Many teams can benefit from a guy like Jones and his willingness to be coached. 

When June 28 arrives, don't be surprised to see Kevin Jones be a late first-round draft pick.  Perhaps a Bruce Irvin-type of story. 

March Madness is finally here, and with it comes the agony and frustration of filling out brackets and watching your teams go down early.

The seven and 10 seed matchups are always unpredictable, and here's a preview of (7) Gonzaga against (10) West Virginia.

Gonzaga (25-10, 11-3 WCC) and 12th-year head coach, Mark Few, are making their 14th straight appearance in the big dance, and 15th in school history.

Coming off a tough overtime loss to St. Mary's in the WCC Championship Game, Gonzaga will look to rebound against a well-coached West Virginia squad.

West Virginia (19-13, 9-9 Big East) will head into the NCAA Tournament backed by fifth-year head coach Bob Huggins. The Mountaineers are making their fifth straight trip to the tourney, and will look to head back to the Final Four as they did in 2010.

Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA.

When: Thursday, March 14 at 7:20 pm, EST.

Watch: TNT.

Spread: Gonzaga by 1 according to Vegasinsider.com

Key Injuries: WVU freshman post Kevin Noreen suffered a broken ankle against Pitt January 30th and was ruled out for the season.

WVU freshman center Pat Forsythe has been out since December 3rd and will likely receive a medical redshirt.

No injuries listed for Gonzaga.

All injury information courtesy of USA TODAY

Key matchups: West Virginia seniors Kevin Jones and Darryl Bryant will need to come up huge if the Mountaineers have a shot in this one.

The duo contribute most of the team's offense every game and, if they are stopped, so is West Virginia.

Gonzaga has a balanced scoring attack and features three players who shot the three ball at 40 percent or better this season.

Prediction: Gonzaga 72, West Virginia 65.

The Bulldogs have won nine of their last 12 games, and always seem to play well in March. They simply have too many scoring options and can be deadly from distance. 

While West Virginia also has fared well in NCAA Tournament play, they lack the depth and versatility needed to make a run this year.