After being picked by many so called college basketball experts to lose their opening NCAA Tournament game to Buffalo, West Virginia University is now headed to the Sweet 16.
The game tonight will pit the Mountaineers against the Wildcats in a rematch of the 2010 elite 8 game. That win by WVU put the Mountaineers in the final four for the first time in 51 years. A win Thursday evening, would put WVU one win away from a second final four in just five years.
An upset victory by the 5-seed Mountaineers won’t be easy though against the Number 1 seed Wildcats. This Kentucky team however is looking to make history as they enter the contest with 36 wins and 0 losses.
It’s not another game because it’s in the Sweet 16 and in the NCAA Tournament and it’s one and done, so you can’t say it’s just another game. I just want our guys to know that Cal’s going to have them ready to go. John and I go back 30 or 40 years and we know each other really really well and we’ve played against each other a bunch of times. – WVU Head Coach Bob Huggins
That’s 10 times to be exact. That’s the number of times Huggins has coached against University of Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari. In those 10 all-time meetings between the two coaches at their various coaching stops, Huggins has won 8.
The 11th meeting between the two coaches could shape up to be the toughest for Huggins. Kentucky is undefeated and has been ranked number one most of the year. UK could be the first team to finish undefeated in college basketball since Indiana did it in 1976. Kentucky features a team that is only rivaled in height by NBA teams.
The Mountaineers and Wildcats tip off at 9:45 Thursday evening.