It’s Tigers and Mountaineers and three officials I don’t think I’ve ever heard of before. Oh my!

On the whistle for today’s game: Gerry Pollard, John Hampton and J.B. Caldwell.

11:53 am: The NCAA is really particular about logos and sponsorships and making sure anything visible on television is on its team. A moment ago there was a conference right in front of me to get a towel to replace the one the Mountaineers mascot has because Brock Burwell’s towel had a logo that wasn’t on the NCAA’s team.

12:03: Totally random seating at the NCAA Tournament. You’re never guaranteed to be near anyone you know. I did all right today, though. To my right is John Antonik. To my left — and this is the truth — is the on-site I.T. guy. I feel like i deserved that break.

12:08: There’s virtually no one in here. The Clemson mascot just strutted onto the floor. He wears a jersey with the number 1/2. His name is “The Cub.” The Clemson players seem about as good-to-go as you could visibly expect, whatever that means.

12:10: Casey Mitchell is indeed the only player not wearing the new gold/blue Nikes. He doesn’t like high-tops and is wearing the white and lighter low-cuts. This matters to him and that should matter to you.

12:16: I’m open to descriptions and adjectives for Casey’s hair when you say it. I told my friend back in Morgantown the best I could do was “stenciled.”

12:17: First possession of the game and Clemson plods along and gets what would have been a dunk, if not for John Flowers fouling Jerai Grant on the first shot of the game.

12:20: Clemson bench is on fire. Doing everything to be keep the guys in the game. And the rims are really loose and soft here.

12:21: And Flowers gets his second foul at 16:52 with WVU trailing 7-2 after Tanner Smith makes a free throw. Both of his fouls were on help defense when a teammate got beat on a dribble drive.

12:26: I’d say the opening minutes went a whole lot like Clemson hoped for and a whole lot like what WVU wanted to avoid. The Mountaineers are 1-for-7 and have two rebounds … both team rebounds.

12:36: The Clemson offense is creating favorable matchups and the Mountaineers look really frustrated on both ends right now. They can’t get into the middle and Jonnie West is about to enter with the plan being to make shots and extend the defense to create space. He has to hang on the other end, though. It’s 18-8 with 11:52 to go in the half and WVU is 3-for-11.

12:38: Dan Jennings, I am told, is watching the game at Keglers.

12:42: WVU has four defensive stops so far and Clemson has turned it over once. The Tigers have scored on all their other possessions. KJ’s second 3, though, makes it 24-20 and tempts Clemson to take a timeout.  It’s a 10-4 run and the Mountaineers have made four straight shots.

12:53: Bob Huggins couldn’t be more disgusted with WVU’s on-the-ball defense and he makes this point in a timeout. I count 16 points in the paint for the Tigers and four straight-line layups.

12:55: Flowers is back to help with the defense.

1:01: Clemson’s next point will be the most scored against WVU in a first half this season. Marshall had 35 in January and that’s about the only other time I’ve seen the defense this shaky.

1:05: That wasn’t a good call, but WVU caught a break that the official standing right there and looking at Flowers called it on Deniz.

1:06: Big 81 seconds here for WVU and big that the officials just called that foul in the backcourt. Not really different than anything that’s transpired the whole half, but I think the Mountaineers were hoping one  might get called just to let the Tigers know.

1:09: That was a brutal ending for Clemson and it just looked like they were looking forward to the locker room — and I can’t say I blame them the way the first 39 minutes went. But it’s the Mountaineers sprinting to their locker room and the Tigers dragging themselves to theirs. Can’t overstate how big that was.

1:10: David Aldridge is the sideline reporter here. With 1:30 to go he headed over to the Clemson side of the floor to get Brad Brownell for the end-of-the-half interview. At the buzzer, Aldridge was running to the other end to get Huggins.

1:21: Struggling to think if this team looked as bad and as good in the same half before.

1:25: I don’t think there’s much in the line of halftime adjustments. WVU closed the half shooting 10-for-13 and Clemson was 2-for-11. Obviously, the Mountaineers need to stop the ball (better) and discourage the entry passes … but they tried that the entire first half. Clemson might just sit in halfcourt every possession and go high-low.

1:27: Clemson up 18-14 in points in the paint and 10-2 off turnovers. WVU turned it over seven times and had it stolen five times. A combined five second-chance points in the game (Clemson 3, WVU 2).

1:32: Opening 60 seconds of the half: WVU draws two fouls on its possession, Clemson Coach Brad Brownell is screaming “PRESSURE THE BALL” for the first time all game, Cam thunders Tanner Smith on a screen, Truck misses a layup and a putback and KJ scored on the third shot to give WVU its first lead, 42-40. Clemson turns the ball over on an offensive foul (three already this half now) and has to call a timeout as Mazzulla fires himself up at the top of the key. Ominous?

1:40: Key stretch here. KJ to the bench with three fouls and 16:15 to go and WVU up 46-41. Asking a lot from Deniz right now.

1:41: Stitt drives for a layup, but Kilicli throws in a hook. Bad got worse, though. Flowers just got his third foul and he’s coming out and Pepper is going in. WVU’s five will be Mazzulla, Truck, Pepper, Cam and Deniz as they work with a 48-43 lead with 15:27 remaining.

1:45: We almost had our first shining moment. I have no doubt a 20 foot dribble drive and a dish to Cam for a layup would have made it.

1:46: Truck Bryant came to play today. Goes without saying, but I think it hasn’t been said every game this season. Four-point play makes it 52-43.

1:48: Stitt and Young are tired of running into Cam … or not getting a warning.

1:50: Bob Huggins’ reaction to the charge call on Mazzulla was not what you’d think. He yelled, “Pep! If you help, you’d draw a charge too.”

1:51: Six of WVU’s 16 second-half points are second-chance points and you can see the Mountaineers starting to swagger. Just a little. Jennings’ reaction to that unintentional tango with Mazzulla was a smirk and a head shake, as if to refuse to be drawn into WVU’s game.

1:54: This weird lineup in the key stretch has, thus far, added five points to the lead. It’s 57-47.

2:00: Three bad possessions by Deniz: turnover and two missed shots kind of early in the clock. It’s an eight-point game now with 9:03 left.

2:01: It’s going to be a root canal the rest of the way. Clemson’s not going away. There another tournament-length TV timeout plus three for both teams and we’re shooting free throws the rest of the way. Each team has eight fouls.

2:03: Not sure that it means anything, but Kevin Noreen is in uniform today. This was lost amid Kyrie Irving news.

2:05: Here’s the 1-3-1.

2:08: And there goes the 1-3-1. Back-to-back possessions and Cam and Mazzulla get their fourth fouls. Yikes. It’s 67-59 with 6:57 to go.

2:10: Sometimes it’s what gets him in trouble, but the Deniz has played with no fear today. That was a dicey pass to Pepper, but it worked. And can we have this discussion? Is this the best Truck has played?

2:12: Also, Antonik said before the tip, “First one to 60 wins?”

2:14: You know Clemson is going to make a 3 here soon, right? Just a warning.

2:17: Odd time for the Tigers to go to a zone. WVU didn’t score on the first two, but took time off the clock and then did the same on the third trip and will go to the foul line up 72-66. Big shots here for KJ after the timeout at the 2:51 mark.

2:19: KJ hasn’t missed a free throw since the Rutgers game.

2:22: And there’s you 3.

2:23: Huggins came about as close to a T as you can get arguing the no-call against Mazzulla after Flowers fouled Smith.

2:23: And not Brownell is not happy … and he may have a gripe there.

2:25: Well, of all the wild endings I’d prepared myself for, that was not i n the top 100. He’s the cooler. Commence with all other Dalton and Pepper jokes … right now.

2:28: Pepper had six steals all year. Six. Six!

2:30: Clemson had six turnovers all game before Pepper … well, he took over and that’s all there is to that.

2:31: We’re being treated to vintage Mazzulla, too. It’s not Duke ’08 or Kentucky ’10, but the histrionics are from the top shelf.

2:34: WVU is about to inbound the ball and Cam approaches the scorer’s table and says to SID Bryan Messerly, “Mess, that’s a nice tie you’ve got on.” Flowers then breaks away for the home pass and is pretty clearly the victim of an intentional foul, though that’s not the call. Had he made the layup, it’s the longest continuation I’ve ever seen.

2:35: Plenty to write about out of this one — an 84-76 win for the Mountaineers. Princeton and Kentucky are next.