WVU pays back Pitt, pads tourney resume

West Virginia played its best two halves of basketball in a game that mattered this season tonight while routing Pitt. It was encouraging to see the Mountaineers out-tough Pitt, cleanly and aggressively, and it's something to see Joe Alexander turn into a dominant player right before our eyes. And it was nice to pay back Pitt for that heartbreaking loss earlier in basketball season. Can't wait to do the same during next football season. Absent a meltdown against St. John's and a first-round exit from the Big East tournament, it looks like WVU has a good chance to get into the NCAA tourney. Of course, it starts from an advantage: There is a little-known codicil in the NCAA bylaws that states: If Bob Huggins is coaching a I-A basketball team, that team gets an NCAA berth. Or at least it seems that way, given his many appearances. But it was the team, not Huggins, that may have played its way into the tourney tonight. I noticed a couple of things while watching the game: - In contrast to ... (link)