If you’re Mack or if you didn’t see the game — or if you wouldn’t/couldn’t take it after a short while — consider the above photo a sufficient synopsis of West Virginia’s 65-59 win.

We’ve said this before, and we’re going to say it again, I’m sure, but after the 40 or 45 or however many minutes you need to get by or to get beat by WVU, you’re going to know you’ve played the Mountaineers. I’m not sure I’ve seen a quality opponent this season — that is to say, not VMI or College of Charleston or even Wofford — look or sound as spent and as shaken as Kansas State did after last night’s game.

Opinions will vary on that, much like opinions will vary among the participants. Bruce Weber is not a fan of WVU’s pressing style. I mean that: He called it “awful” and “bad basketball,” and he’s the one who coached his team to prepare for a barroom brawl — again, his words. The Wildcats walked away well aware of what they’d been through after a six-game home winning streak against ranked opponents met its end.

The Mountaineers made things difficult on the Wildcats from start to finish by defending every inch of the floor. They forced 25 turnovers and committed 28 fouls, taking finesse completely out of the game. K-State struggled against the pressure, constantly getting whistled with 10-second violations and losing possession on in-bounds passes, as well as throwing the ball away.

“We were not used to it, so were sped up a little bit,” K-State forward Wesley Iwundu said. “They just get after it before half court. That is probably the toughest thing.”

The Wildcats managed to beat it enough times to give themselves a shot. Problem is, they exerted so much energy doing so that when players did get open they rarely shot the ball with precision.

“I have never played in a game like that before,” K-State sophomore guard Marcus Foster said after scoring 15 points. “It was like a fight.”

WVU, of course, felt differently, and Weber’s counterpart, Bob Huggins, thought it was an aesthetically pleasing game. He even complimented the officiating for letting both teams play, knowing his team had grabbed the whistles, so to speak, and kept Kansas State from functioning by playing as close to the boundaries provided by the officials, and sometimes beyond them. All in all, with that foul trouble, that crowd in that venue, that performance from Jon Holton and a few other thats, that is a very good win for the Mountaineers.