West Virginia Mountaineers
2009-10 Record: 31–6 (13–5 Big East)
Head Coach: Bob Huggins (2nd Final Four)
Projected Starters:
G – Casey Mitchell (3.8 ppg, 84.2 FT%)
F – Wellington Smith (6.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
F – Da’Sean Butler (17.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.2 apg)
F – Devin Ebanks (12.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg)
F – Kevin Jones (13.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 52.4 FG%)
Road to the Final Four:
Elite Eight – Kentucky (73–66)
Sweet 16 – Washington (69–56)
Second Round – Missouri (68–59)
First Round – Morgan State (77–50)
Will win the national title if… the Mountaineers continue to shoot the ball from the outside like they did during an upset win over Kentucky, when WVU connected on 10-of-23 from downtown while holding the Cats to just 4-of-32 shooting from 3-point range. Coach Bob Huggins’ club must also play the type of suffocating defense that it has all season.
Will lose to Duke on Saturday if… the Blue Devils’ guards, Scheyer and Smith, are able to control the tempo against the Mountaineers — who may or may not be without injured guard Darryl Bryant. Athletic forwards Da’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks will have to pick up the slack for WVU on the wing regardless of Truck’s availability in the backcourt.
East Region Recap
Best Team: West Virginia
Biggest Upset: Cornell over Wisconsin
Most Surprising Team: Washington
Most Disappointing Team: Kentucky
Best Player: Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia
The WVU senior wingman averaged 17.3 points, 6.8 boards, 2.3 steals and two assists per game to lead the Mountaineers to the pinnacle.
Honorable Mention: John Wall, Kentucky; Patrick Patterson, Kentucky; Louis Dale, Cornell; Jeff Foote, Cornell; Ryan Wittman, Cornell; Isaiah Thomas, Washington
Best Game: Wake Forest 81, Texas 80 (ot), First Round
Ishmael Smith’s 17-foot jumper with 1.3 seconds left in OT lifted the Deacons over the Horns, who went from being ranked No. 1 in the country to being one-and-done in the Tourney.
Most Disappointing Game: West Virginia 73, Kentucky 66, Elite Eight
Everything that could go wrong did for UK, as coach John Calipari lost control, DeMarcus Cousins melted down and no Wildcat could hit a free throw (16-of-29) all afternoon.
