By Nicole Reitz | @nicolereitz02
Sports Capital Journalism Program
INDIANAPOLIS — Hard-fought games aren’t anything West Virginia coach Bob Huggins hasn’t seen in his 39 years of coaching and his 25 years of NCAA tournaments. West Virginia’s 84-67 first-round victory over Morehead State became the 900th in Huggins’ career, making him the sixth Division I men’s basketball coach to do so.
After the win was secured, the No. 3-seeded Mountaineers mobbed Huggins in celebration after it took them three games to finally get their coach to this milestone.
“I love those guys and it is gratifying that they can be a part of it,” Huggins said. “They enjoy it a lot more than I do and I think that is pretty neat. When they have something to look back on, hopefully it is one of the positive things to happen in their athletic career.”
West Virginia came into this game having won 20 out of their last 32 NCAA Tournament games. The Mountaineers (19-9) will meet Syracuse in a second-round game. They have reached the Sweet Sixteen in eight of their last 12 NCAA Tournament appearances. As game time at Lucas Oil Stadium was abruptly delayed due to the neighboring Purdue vs. North Texas game going into overtime, anticipation was building for West Virginia. The Mountaineers knew the stakes were high.
“Being around March Madness games for the first time and being on the other side watching that game, you really feel the energy,” guard Miles McBride said. “Guys were getting a little jittery, but it is a great atmosphere to be in.”
The first half was not what West Virginia wanted for its first NCAA game of the tournament. Morehead State’s defense tightened up and went on a 11-0 run. West Virginia guard Derek Culver struggled as he was limited to two points.
The Mountaineers were able to grab the lead, 38-31, at halftime.
“I was a little concerned about trying to score all the points from the perimeter,” Huggins said.
Morehead State stayed hot in the second half on a 10-4 run. West Virginia finally gained momentum and stretched the lead out going on an 11-0 run, nine of those points coming within 30 seconds.
McBride scored a career-high 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting with six assists in 36 minutes. Culver relaxed after the first half and joined McBride scoring in double digits with 12 points, three blocks and seven rebounds.
“It is great to put numbers up on the board but at the end of the day I am about winning,” McBride said. “Next game it is about being 1-0 again. It’s great that I did great and I give my teammates a lot of credit for stepping up. Any time we can get in the ‘W’ column is a big night.”
In the second round, No. 11-seed Syracuse will require much preparation in a short amount of time.
“Everyone knows about [Syracuse’s] 2-3 zone, they have a good team,” McBride said. “We are going to have to think about this win tonight, get over it and tomorrow start prepping for them.”
