MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Today is St. Patrick’s Day—a day when the Irish celebrate their luck with shamrocks, leprechauns and green-tinted beer.

It’s entirely fitting that this day dedicated to luck happens to fall during a time when the Mountaineers have found plenty—although Bob Huggins would undoubtedly argue that talent and hard work has a thing or two to do with their success. It’s been nearly four days since West Virginia locked down the BIG EAST tournament championship and returned to Morgantown with a beautiful trophy as the reward for three edge-of-your-seat wins that captured the pride of West Virginians--and the hearts of the nation that can’t get enough of this team that just won’t quit.

I’m certain you don’t leave Madison Square Garden accompanied by a trophy without a lot of hard work, raw talent and top-notch coaching. But if you’ve seen some of our wins this season, it’s hard to believe there’s not a little luck involved, too.

Rewind to the Marquette matchup on Dec. 29. The Mountaineers—undefeated at the time—turned the ball over 16 times, and relied on a last-second basket from Da’Sean Butler to lock in their eleventh win of the season with a final decision of 63-62.

That was the first game of the season that left me wondering if there was indeed a leprechaun sprinkling luck down on the Coliseum floor from somewhere among the rafters. But Coach Huggins was less concerned with analyzing the role of luck in their victory and more concerned with the overall youth of his team and what it might mean for the rest of the season.

“We are just not putting anybody away,” said Huggins. “We are younger than people realize, which has something to do with the close games. When we get ahead, our execution suffers.”

It may have been the first photo finish for West Virginia—but it was far from being the last. This team became known for first half deficits, second-half intensity, and last-second luck all season long.

When WVU faced No. 21 Ohio State back on Jan. 23, it was a familiar story. The Mountaineers were in a vulnerable position after tough losses to Purdue, Notre Dame and Syracuse. A win versus a Top 25 team was a must.

It was a win that almost wasn’t. They struggled to find the basket in the first half, and at one point, were down by almost half of Ohio State’s total with a score of 29-15 before the break.

In typical fashion, the packed Coliseum was left wondering what happened at halftime. The Mountaineers came out in the closing 20 minutes looking like a team ready for a trip to Indianapolis,
 

closing down the game with another photo finish.

"We challenged all of them at halftime to go out and do what we do," Huggins said. And that seems to be the theme of the season. The BIG EAST Tournament was three days of last-minute clinchers at the hands of Da’Sean Butler. While Coach Huggins would love to see his team bank more shots early on, he’s come to accept at this point in the season that it is what it is—and whatever it is, it’s obviously working in his team’s favor.

"I wish we would make some shots, you know," said Huggins. "I think it would be a little easier. But we talk about it all of the time - we are what we are. We're just going to keep competing. If the day comes and we're going to lose in the next few weeks, we're going to go down swinging."

So as West Virginia closes out the regular season with a BIG EAST championship, a No. 6 ranking, a No. 2 seed in the Big Dance, and a 27-6 record, it’s clear hard work and talent have absolutely gotten them to this point—but it’s also clear that luck has been on their side a time or two.

The NCAA tournament is underway, and it’s a good time to have a little luck on your side. Here’s to hoping this St. Patrick’s Day will bring Bob Huggins and his team plenty of four-leaf clovers—and some more of the magic that’s brought them to this point.

 

 

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