Clearly by now you know it’s WVU v. Gonzaga in the second first round Thursday in Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers say they were never sweating it Sunday, or even in preceding days, despite an odd trifecta: Of the 37 at-large teams, WVU had the lowest RPI, fewest wins and was tied with Texas, UConn and South Florida for most losses.

WVU and Gonzaga have never met, but Huggins has been a part of two games against the Bulldogs, including an unforgettable one — seriously, one of the best stories.

Two interesting notes from that truTV Hardcore Brackets show tonight as they relate to the Mountaineers. Mike Bobinski, the Xavier A.D. who can appreciate scheduling matters, was asked about schedules and criteria.

“Road wins are a big thing for me. I like to see teams that are willing to challenge themselves away from home. Teams that would take a chance really make a difference.”

For the sake of this conversation, neutral sites are road games, OK? WVU certainly tried with the Mississippi State game, the “neutral” affair with Kansas State and the Las Vegas Classic.  Even the Capital Classic, which is kind of mandatory, mattered.

“There is a fine line between scheduling aggressively and scheduling over your head. You have to be smart and creative; finding your way into preseason events that you wouldn’t get on your campus. You will see a lot of schools have chosen that way to find quality games.”

We’ve been over this last year and again this year, but the Mountaineers pay careful attention to this in the offseason. And tonight you saw why. WVU, in the end, was never really in danger.

Ticket info follows …

The Mountaineer Ticket Office will have a very limited number of tickets available for the West Virginia-Gonzaga game on Thursday, March 15 in Pittsburgh, Pa., at the Consol Energy Center. The game time has not yet been determined.

Mountaineer Scholar and above members of the Mountaineer Athletic Club who are basketball season ticket holders may request two tickets beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, March 12 by calling 1-800-WVU GAME. Ticket requests must be placed by 5 p.m. on Monday.

Ticket requests are not guaranteed and will be filled based on availability and Mountaineer Athletic Club priority. Donors will be notified via email of the status of their ticket request no later than 6 p.m. on Monday, March 12.

A limited number of tickets will be made available to WVU students at 3 p.m. Monday, March 12. WVU students with a valid I.D. may purchase one ticket to Thursday’s game on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Mountaineer Ticket Office in the WVU Coliseum. Student tickets must be purchased in-person.

Tickets are available for the West Virginia sessions only. All tickets purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office will be distributed at the West Virginia will call window beginning two hours before the Mountaineers’ session at the Consol Energy Center.

Only Visa, MasterCard, America Express and Discover cards will be accepted for payment. Should West Virginia advance to play in the third round on Saturday, fans will automatically receive and be charged for the third round session.