So it’s pretty simple now. If WVU wins or if Oklahoma loses, WVU finishes alone in second place, gets the first-day bye in the Big 12 tournament Wednesday and plays a day later against the Texas Tech-TCU winner. If the Mountaineers lose and the Sooners win, WVU finishes tied for second place with Oklahoma, which is still a good line on a postseason resume, and gets the first-day bye, but the Mountaineers also finish as the No. 3 seed and play the No. 6, which would be Iowa State.

(What a weird day for the Cyclones. First, they finish at Kansas. That’s fun. But if they win and if WVU and TCU win, they’re the No. 3. If they win and WVU and Oklahoma win, they’re the No. 4. But if they win and if Baylor wins, they’re the No. 6.)

So we know all of that. What we ought to focus on is Devin Williams, and not just because this is his last dance with friendly foe Rico Gathers. We covered their rapport the last time these two met, and Gathers was a non-factor, up to the point that his coach pulled him to help offense and defense.

But Williams is in an odd place right now, and Gathers is in the right place at the right time or the wrong place at the wrong time. Williams’ shooting slipped from November to December and from December to January, but it did go up about 10 points in February. Yet probably no one is tickled with his numbers, never mind the Big 12-best 13 double-doubles, because he has a hard time finishing.

Why, though, is an interesting topic, and it could be related to the fact he’s not shooting free throws as well or as often as he was before.

“He absorbs more contact,” Bob Huggins said. “People bounce off him. Honestly, I don’t think he gets the calls other people get because people bounce off of him. They foul him and bounce off and it doesn’t look like he got fouled, I guess. It looks like he gets fouled to me. I would be an exceptional official.”

Rico ain’t bouncing off Devin, and vice versa.

But we also have the matter of Devin’s absence from the starting lineup, and possibly also study hall, during the week. That’s not a longterm issue, I don’t think, and though Williams was in at the end of a 22-point win Saturday, Huggins saw a purpose and then a payoff when Richard Romeo scored.

“Dev and Rich are real close,” Huggins said. “I saw Dev running around and trying to get him open, which is kind of neat. Dev’s got no points for himself, and he’s running around and trying to get Rich some baskets.”

Williams didn’t speak with the media after the game, and that’s likely part of his punishment, but Huggins said there were no side effects.

“I think other guys were scoring and he was fine with it,” he said. “He was happy after the game. We needed that win. He wasn’t pouting or sulking. He was happy for the other guys.”

Williams missed two free throws late in the game after starting 0-for-5 but did make a baskets. He’s never been scoreless in his 97 games, and though he’ll probably start and score today, he has to play big, if only so that the Mountaineers can continue to come together around their centrepiece.

“I think it’s real important,” said Huggins. “He was great (in Thursday’s practice), so I think he’ll have a good game.”

I think we will, too. Let’s finish on top.