The question had to be asked and it was … because I honestly don’t believe anyone who watched last night’s game expected something to happen that was dramatically different than what happened.

So, Bob Huggins, up 10 late, didn’t you expect it to get tight?

“I’m starting to have a lot of confidence in our guys screwing up enough to let them back in the game,” WVU Coach Bob Huggins said.

I don’t know, but it seems to me that sort of attitude — sarcastic, serious, devil-may-care — is working. Maybe there’s a resignation the problems won’t go away, but the team can just be better despite them. Everyone knows it’s an issue so it’s important not to make it an issue.

It’s possible they believe their talent and their experience in these games are enough to overcome any and everything else. Truthfully, just hours from playing for the Big East title, what’s wrong with that perspective? If you can’t avoid it, conquer it.

“We had opportunities,” Huggins said. “You think about the transition opportunities we had and we blew and we have not shot free throws very well. Devin’s struggled in this tournament (2-for-5 Friday) and he’s an 80-percent free-throw shooter. We didn’t take care of the ball the way we needed to take care of the ball. But, you know, I tell them all the time, I’m not very happy about it and we’re going to keep trying to fix it, but at the end of the day we’re 26-6 and we’re playing for a Big East championship.”

The Mountaineers will have their hands full tonight. I don’t think it’s a reach to say it’ll be back and forth and both teams might exchange small to medium leads before getting close near to the end.

Georgetown is playing at an extremely high level. Greg Monroe, Chris Wright and Jason Clarke are having great — not good — weeks. Look at WVU’s performance thus far and it’s gotten by with Butler being Butler and Jones playing steady, but Truck and WELLS are off and Ebanks is unable to consistently assert himself. Perhaps that’s a trend, but maybe one, two or all three are due.

 I’d think the Mountaineers would opt for the latter, but I don’t think they care. They’re confident and competitively cocky. Despite everything that’s supposed to be wrong with them and keep them from getting on a stage like this, here they are, a win away from the school’s first conference tournament title in 26 years.

They feel really good about things. They feel good about what’s happening and not how it’s happening. They don’t worry about what occurred. They worry about what’s next. For proof of this oats-sewing, examine Huggins’ response to a question about what it meant to him to pass Wizard Wooden on the Division I all-time wins list.

“I’ve told this story, but it’s an absolutely true story. A year ago we were kind of young, we were playing three freshman and we go to Georgetown and they’re 13th or 14th in the country and we have a huge win on the road. I go out and sit on the bus. I get my Jimmy John’s sandwich. I want to eat my Jimmy John’s sandwich and watch a replay of the game. And my assistants walk over and drop about seven tapes on my seat on the bus and I said, ‘What’s this?’ They said, ‘Huggs, come on, we have Pitt on Monday.’ They were No. 2 in the country at that time.

You don’t have time to think about those things. And I really never had.

I’ve told you this: I grew up in Midvale (Ohio), 500 people, two stoplights, nine bars. I got in the truck with this guy one time and I looked and he didn’t have a rear view mirror. I said, ‘You don’t have a rear view mirror.’ He said, ‘I don’t back up.’ He said, ‘We’re going forward, son.’ And that’s kind of how I’ve lived my life.”