The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

Even more reasons to believe (or not)

March 25, 2015 by Mike Casazza

Reason to believe

by Brad McElhinny

WVU breaks practice with halfcourt heaves

by Mike Casazza

Chase Connor, for the win!

Did you know Huggins and Calipari are friends?

by Mike Casazza

The coaches are about to jump on stage for their press conferences soon, and I’m certain we’ll discover they’re pals and that they don’t agree on the ambulance story, but I’m just as sure they’ll entertain.

As a crash course, get to know a little more about the coaches and their competitive relationship.

“John and I go back 30, 40 years,” Huggins said Sunday night inside Nationwide Arena, where WVU had just ousted fourth-seeded Maryland, 69-59, to advance to the second week of the NCAA tournament. “We know each other really, really well and we’ve played against each other a bunch of times.”

Huggins, who clinched his seventh Sweet Sixteen appearance with two wins in three days in Columbus, Ohio over the weekend, caught himself. He felt he misused “played” and needed to say “coached,” but it was an opportunity to let his dry humor emerge for a moment.

“Coached,” he said, correcting his previous statement. “Coached against each other a bunch of times. I wish I could play against Cal — we’d have a better chance.”

Well, Cleveland did invent rock and roll

by Mike Casazza

Devin Williams will have to play big tomorrow, and probably more so far from the basket than at the basket as a way to move the trees from the heart of the forest, but at least he knows what he has to do to topple Kentucky.

“We want the game to be as ugly as we can make it so at the end of the game, whatever way it goes, both teams are going to have their tongues hanging out. That’s the only way it can be,” Williams said. The only way it can be is if both teams have their tongues hanging out of their mouth. We’re going to go out there and compete. They’re a great team and they’re making history already, but we’re going to go home and get rested, and we’ll be prepared.”

Help is literally and physically around the corner

by Mike Casazza

Certainly West Virginia could stand to be a little taller and a little more talented tomorrow night, but there’s nothing the Mountaineers can do about that right now. The Mountaineers know, though, that the best player in the state that’s treated WVU the best of late is on the way.

Want a better look at Ahmad? See what Bob Huggins saw when he dropped in for a game in January.

Odds for the second weekend of the tourney

by Mike Casazza

As was the case last week, Kentucky and its roster are the prohibitive favorites.

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At long last, meet Phil of rear view mirror fame

by Mike Casazza
Hugs online

There’s a good background story to this, and the truth is I’ve been sort of obsessed with reporting this story for a long, long time, but that’ll have to wait for another day. My story pales in comparison to The Quintessential Bob Huggins story, and the latter has new life. Last week, I talked to Gene Ford, who helped me find Phil.

“Phil Westhafer,” Ford said. “He went on to become a teacher for many years.”

Of course he did. The story is real, and it’s fantastic.

‘Why start now?’

March 23, 2015 by Mike Casazza

That’s a team that did what it said it was going to do because West Virginia, as the shirt says, never stops.

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WVU v. Maryland: C.R.E.A.M.

March 22, 2015 by Mike Casazza
bleh

You are looking live at a little Paint work I did here today, and it gives you an idea what else is on the line today for Bob Huggins, who’s already banked $50,000 this week and can add another 40 grr tonight.

The ‘C’ might as well also stand for “conference affiliation,” because the Big 12 wasn’t looking too good about an hour ago. Oklahoma looked in danger, and a subsewuent WVU loss would be the second time in four days the RPI’s top-rated conference went 0-3, and it would leave the 10-team league without a school in the Sweet Sixteen after it and the ACC saw a field-best seven teams named on selection Sunday.

Oklahoma prevailed, though, and it’s just the Sooners and the Mountaineers still standing here in ‘C’olumbus.

Another? ‘C’areer. If WVU loses and Juwan Staten and Gary Browne (and I suppose also Kevin Noreen) are done at WVU, Browne earns a whale of a distinction: The last player to sign, play four seasons and not reach the Sweet Sixteen was 1999 signee Josh Yeager.

‘C’ is also for “chair.” Remember this?

That’d be Ed ‘C’ooley and the most “Hey, look at me!” technical foul ever. The whistle-blower? Terry Oglesby. The scene? Columbus. What am I dancing around? You already know. Oglesby is one of your officials tonight, along with Tom Eades and Terry Wymer.

But there is some ‘c’ontinuity here that I think you’d like. Wymer is a Big Ten/MAC official who hasn’t seen WU, but has seen Maryland seven times (the Terps are 4-3). Eades is a Big 12/Big Ten official. He’s seen Maryland twice (Terps are 2-2) and worked once of those games with Wymer (a Maryland win). He’s seen WVU four times (WVU is 3-1). Oglesby is also a Big 12/Big Ten official. He’s seen Maryland six times (Terps are 5-1) and WVU three times (2-1). He and Eades both worked the chippy WVU over Texas at the Coliseum.

I think you can find a certain ‘c’almness about getting officials who have seen the teams, who know the conferences and have even worked together in games involving these teams.

Speaking of calm, lots of “head down, writing” tonight, so do pick up the saber for me, if you will. Let’s.

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