West Virginia Deja Vu? Mountaineers Look to Channel Magic of 2005 Elite Eight Team

Where have we seen this before? West Virginia starts hot, stumbles down the stretch, is on the bubble to start the Big East tournament, beats Providence in the first round, and winds up a No. 7 seed in the West. The last time the Mountaineers faced such a scenario (2005), they promptly rattled off wins over Creighton, Wake Forest, and Texas Tech to reach the Elite Eight. This time?  Deja vu all over again. Could WVU lose? Sure. Arizona is solid, with future NBA players Jarryd Bayless and Chase Budinger leading the charge. But since Lute Olson went AWL (absent with leave), the Wildcats have struggled to find their identity. Bayless can't score and everyone else seems to have forgotten some of the finer aspects of the game, like defense. Since beating USC on Jan. 31, Arizona's only decent win came at Washington State.  That doesn't bode well in a matchup against a dangerous WVU team guided by first year coach Bob Huggins. Huggins has taken the best ... [link]