Assistant coach Billy Hahn, he of the perpetual black-on-black turtle neck and slacks, is wearing black slacks below a black short-sleeved mock turtle neck. The officials convened and decided to play the game after all.

Preceding WVU-Kentucky was an exciting finish in Iowa-Kansas State. The teams traded three quick scores in the final 30 seconds and the Hawkeyes won with a buzzer-beater. And not just a buzzer-beater, but a clearly intended pass into the post for a layup by Cyrus Tate.

Kentucky fans outnumber WVU fans maybe 3-to-1 in the Orleans Arena … and I say maybe because it may be greater than that. The Wildcats may need it, too. They figure to play seven people for most of the game whereas WVU will probably go nine deep in the first half and perhaps 10 if Coach Bob Huggins has faith in Dee Proby. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound junior college transfer hasn’t practiced all too well lately and didn’t play last night. Cam Payne did. If you’ve never heard of Cam Payne, well, that’s the point. The Mountaineers may need Proby tonight, if even only for a few minutes, against easily the biggest team they’ve played all season.

Tip is five minutes away. Enjoy.

***

John Flowers repeated last night’s bob-and-weave huddle routine, but instead of stomping the dice after two rolls, he picked them up and choke-slammed them. I can’t say enough about this routine and what it means. To me.

***

The national anthem was performed by a group called MJ2. There were four people in the group. More? How about this from the PA announcer in his pregame intro: “Tonight’s championship game in the Las Vegas Invitational features two teams.” Phew.

***

WVU leads 11-4 at the first media timeout, but Wellington Smith, who is supposed to guard Patrick Patterson, has two fouls at the 15:26 mark. That may very well bring Proby into play. The Mountaineers are using defense for offense again and Joe Mazzulla has three runouts off loose balls and he’s turned them into six points.

***

Kevin Jones entered to defend Patterson and has done pretty well. Patterson scored off a deflected pass, but Jones announced his presence with a long jumper. Patterson picked up his second foul at the 11:52 mark fighting Jones for a rebound and is now on the bench. Alex Ruoff and Mazzulla are doing a pretty good job guarding Jodie Meeks, who has just one basket and two shots. WVU’s up, 16-10.

***

With Patterson on the bench, Kentucky is outplaying WVU on the boards and on defense and the Mountaineers have made just 1 of their last 8 shots. Coach Bob Huggins is trying all sorts of combinations — three guards, Proby, and now Cam Thoroughman, to name a few — to get something to click. It’s a pretty frenetic pace at the present with WVU ahead 18-14.

***

The Mountaineers are just scraping together points and stops however they can now and are up 23-16 with 3:57 left in the half. Truck Bryant fed Jones for an easy layup on an inbound play and later hit a 3 off a rare offensive set Kentucky allowed to develop. They were 2-for-10 from the floor in one stretch, but actually outscored the Wildcats 5-4. Kentucky has a problem with turnovers and WVU isn’t really playing too physical because of foul trouble. Kentucky has been in the bonus since the 8:03 mark, but has missed the front end of its last two one-and-ones.

***

I may be mistaken, but we’ve likely just witnessed history. The 16 points (!) Kentucky scored in the first half was apparently a school record. Somewhere along the line, WVU understood offense was going to be a struggle and committed itself to playing defense. It’s not pretty, but that was pretty effective. Proby did just enough and Flowers saved about 10 points with blocks and tips. In summary, WVU with Smith and Mazzulla on the bench with two fouls, Devin Ebanks benched because of his play, Da’Sean Butler wondering if Criss Angel made his offense disappear — that’s four starters, by the way — Jones and Flowers playing big minutes and Thoroughman and Proby spotting up, WVU held a team to 16 points and leads by 10. That’s kind of impressive.

***

Ruoff scored on a drive to start the second half, but Smith and Mazzulla both picked up their third fouls on the ensuing possession and went to the bench. A third foul by Ruoff led to two free throws. Butler did get his first basket off an offensive rebound, but missed an open 3 the next possession. It’s 30-20 with 15:57 to go.

***

WVU is in trouble for the first time this season. A 12-point lead was cut to six and the Mountaineers called and needed a timout. Flowers, who had just ad-libbed and missed badly a possession before, scored on a similar play. Kentucky turned  it over on another lob into the post, but Bryant made a tough pass to Proby, who couldn’t get low enough to get the ball before it skipped out of bounds. Mazzulla and Smith are set to return to the game. They should be fresh …