GETTING INSIDE

West Virginia was hoping to land a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and when the bids came out, the Mountaineers were disappointed not only to be a No. 2 seed but to be the third No. 2 seed. West Virginia is playing in the Eastern Regional at Buffalo, drawing Morgan State in the opening round.

"I thought statistically we were a No. 1," Coach Bob Huggins said immediately after the draw was announced. "They say they look at the body of work. I fell that if you looked at our full body of work we were a No. 1, but I thought we would be put in as a No. 2. Being the third No. 2 pick, I don't understand that."

Huggins has a strong argument. His team is the Big East tournament champion and if it didn't blow teams out, it beat them.

The RPI ranks fourth in the nation, ahead of Syracuse, a No. 1 seed, and ahead of Villanova, whom they defeated in the final regular season game yet drew the top No. 2 seed.

The strength of schedule ranked eighth and there were victories over Villanova, Ohio State and Georgetown, among others.

But that didn't impress the committee enough and should they get past Morgan State the Mountaineers have a tough draw, facing either Missouri or Clemson, two teams from major conferences who like to press.

The Mountaineers plan to use the perceived snub as incentive, the same kind of incentive they have drawn on all season when people said they didn't have the right experience to go all the way.

NOTES, QUOTES

--No one has played more basketball at WVU than F Da'Sean Butler. Butler has gone past 4,000 minutes, more than any player in the school's history.

--WVU has reached the NCAAs in four of the last five seasons under Bob Huggins and John Beilein and in the season it failed to reach the NCAA it won the NIT.

COACH: Bob Huggins, three years at West Virginia, third year in NCAA Tournament.

KEYS TO VICTORY: Somewhere along the way West Virginia is going to beat itself if it doesn't find a way to be more consistent. They have played some of the ugliest ball imaginable but bailed themselves out constantly. When it comes crunch time, WVU turns to Da'Sean Butler, who has hit five game-winning shots this year, including an off-balance 3-pointer to beat Cincinnati in the Big East tournament.

Butler, however, is unselfish and WVU does spread the wealth so you really can't key on him. To beat WVU you are going to have to rebound and be physical, or you have no chance.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Winning the Big East gives us a lot of confidence. We finally can start believing
 

we are one of the best teams in the country and that should help us go on a run." -- WVU G Joe Mazzulla after the draw.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

SCOUTING REPORT: If you want to beat West Virginia, try to beat their guards. The team is big and strong on the inside but PG Truck Bryant has been inconsistent and his backup, Joe Mazzulla, is coming off shoulder surgery and is still not 100 percent, although he starred in the Big East final. Morgan State will apply pressure but pressure doesn't always work, however, as this is a versatile group and both Da'Sean Butler, who is a combo swingman and 6-9 Devin Ebanks, can bring the ball up court. WVU hits the offensive boards hard with Kevin Jones, Wellington Smith and Ebanks, which helps make up for a lack of outside shooting. F Wellington Smith is the main 3-point threat. WVU plays in your face, switching man-to-man defense as a staple but has a very effective 1-3-1 zone that they use to change tempo late in games.

GAME REVIEW:

West Virginia 54, Cincinnati 51
West Virginia 53, Notre Dame 51
West Virginia 60, Georgetown 58

GAME PREVIEW:

vs. Morgan State, Friday, March 19, NCAA Tournament, East Regional in Buffalo, N.Y.

ROSTER REPORT: --F Da'Sean Butler was all-Big East first team and is third all-time in scoring at WVU, behind only Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley. They are the only three players in WVU history to score 2,000 points.

--Butler was the Big East Tournament's MVP after winning two games with last-second shots.