I don’t know what it means. I don’t know if it means anything, but John Flowers is wearing a black headband in warmups today. Perhaps he’s over the quasi-superstition. Perhaps he’s accessorizing. WVU is wearing black uniforms, as was the case last year against Kentucky in the Elite Eight. The Mountaineers are 2-0 in black this season.

Also, be prepared for CBS to push upon you a side-by-side comparison of Bob Huggins and Alec Baldwin and also Brock Burwell and Zach Galifianakis

This is your open post. Let the game begin.

12:13 pm: Joe Mazzulla was booed lustily by the Kentucky fans.

12:16: WVU might need a timeout after its elaborate pregame rituals, hugs and fits-bumps.

12:23: Phew. Feverish 4:19 to open up there. Lots of pace and application. Didn’t look like there was too much of a feeling out the other side going on out there, just intent by one team to do what it does against the other. And it’s 8-8.

12:32: Both of Kentucky’s guards are really fast. And both teams believe they can drive it inside whenever they want. UK’s Knight has 12 points, but Lamb and Jones have been quiet up until Lamb’s layup, with a foul shot coming up after the timeout. Wildcats lead, 18-14, and have made 7 of 11 shots. WVU is a far less convenient 5-for-14.

12:35: Casey is going to have to make shots because he just got pulled and I wonder if his defense is that much of a concern for WVU.

12:39: Unlucky second foul for Flowers, but it’s a foul.

12:41: Casey is really getting after an official and I’ve never seen that from him.

12:43: Pepper has missed his last seven and 10 of 11 attempts from 3-point range. Hard to ask for better openings than the ones he just had, too. Remember that line form Huggins about teams that advance making shots? Even one of those makes a difference.

12:45: Here’s an interesting defensive lineup. Mazzulla, Mitchell, Pepper, KJ and Cam.

12:47: Mazzulla is 54-for-75 form the foul line the past 14+ games. That’s remarkable for him. The familiar head-down drive and layup pushed Kentucky into a timeout with a 26-23 lead at the 6:02 mark.

12:49: Next 3-pointer for the Wildcats will give then as many as they had in the Elite Eight game next year. I’ll assume it comes somewhere in the next 26:02 of play.

12:52: Pepper is guarding Knights … and not doing a bad job.

12:54: Nothing quite like a three-point play in the tournament. The gasp/silence between the whistle and the shot going in, immediately followed by the crowd and a player’s celebration, are beautiful to witness.

12:55: Mazzulla, who apart from the coaches is the only real constant with regard to last year’s games, already has 15 points. He had 17 last year.

12:57: The Wildcats are No. 12 nationally with 10.6 turnovers per game. I have them for six already.

12:59: Kentucky is in a zone and I’m assuming it’s because of defense and to protect Terrence Jones. He has two fouls. Lamb has three and is on the bench. UK needs scorers … and Jones just scored.

1:02: Josh Harrelson, who didn’t play in last year’s game, has been a difference today. Where is UK without him?

1:03: Cam’s career does a 180, no, 540 in a matter of seconds. He misses a free throw, but thinks his way inside, grabs the rebound and makes a layup.

1:05: That’s a ridiculous call. Credit WVU for fighting for the ball — and UK, too — but I have no clue why the whistle blew. Nevertheless, Mitchell doesn’t even hit the rim on his two free-throw makes and the Mountaineers close in a 25-10 run and take a 41-33 halftime lead. The Wildcats missed 10 of their final 12 shots. WVU was 8-for-10 (8-for-12 if you want 12-shot symmetry).

1:21: Huggins’ 8-1 record against Calipart includes four games decided by four points or less and one that went to overtime. Even in winning eight times, the Huggins teams are outscoring the Calipari teams by just 19 points. So you probably know where this is going … especially when you consider UK is shooting 56.5 percent and losing by eight.

1:22: Mazzulla’s dad just scurried down to the front row, spotted his son stretching and favoring his hip and said, “Suck it up. It only hurts for a little while.” Cam Thoroughman, meanwhile, said to us, “Jonnie said he’s going try to play his half.”

1:26: Oh, and no headband for Flowers.

1:29: Knight’s next basket gives him more points than John Wall last year.

1:33: That didn’t take long.

1:44: Mazzulla is laboring and WVU needs big minutes from Deniz right here.

1:46: Pace has settled and WVU looks to have relaxed and perhaps realized that while losing that lead wasn’t good, it wasn’t likely to blow out UK. And it’s just a one-point game. Have to remember that, too.

1:54: Mitchell is really into this game. And he’s made his past two shots.

1:55: We were wondering when, not if, Kilicli would get called for the screen.

1:57: Have to hedge my statement on Casey. He came out of the timeout lining up to play offense.

1:59: Mazzulla and Cam coming back in and I’m left wondering when Flowers goes back in here. It’s getting late. We’re tied 55-55- with 6:18 to go.

2:00: Oh, and this game is being played at a really high level. It’s not a second third-round game.

2:06: Timely make by Darius Miller, his first bucket of the game. It’s a 9-0 run after an 11-0 run to start the half. You knew scoring droughts would be an issues, just not where. And UK took Mitchell out of the game. He got hot and Calipari put Liggins on Mitchell and Mitchell cooled off, though he had some looks. Mazzulla has to knock down both these free throws after the timeout. Wildcats lead 60-55 with 3:57 to go.

2:13: Harrelson’s free-throw misses got me thinking: I  really hope someone does something to win this game and not something to lose it. It’s been too good.

2:15: Mitchell’s been struggling and Jonnie West is about to enter on the next whistle … which Huggins invites with a timeout. No pressure, kid.

2:17: WVU has one timeout left down five with 2:17 to go and in the midst of a lot of offense/defense switches. And you know Jonnie will be a part of them.

2:18: And there goes the last TO. West had a shot blocked, Cam got the rebound and the ball went to KJ in the post, who finally scored in the second half. WVU needs a stop badly. The offense is too hard to come by right now to keep coming out of five- or six-point holes. It’s 61-58 with 2:02 to go.

2:20: … no clue how that didn’t stay down.

2:24: Huggins not happy with Jonnie, but I believe Jones got a finger on the shot. At the least, he made it a lot harder than it looked to be when the pass was in the air.

2:28: The end is the end. Mitchell makes a negligible 3 and that’s a whopping 22 points in the second half. Final score: 71-63