West Virginia once again found a way to overcome yet another first half nightmare after scoring a season low 16 points in the half. Da’Sean Butler was once again the hero as he was able to dribble through the Wildcats defense and scoring a a 2-point runner with 5.8 seconds left to play, leading West Virginia to a 68-66 overtime win. The Mountaineers first half shooting woes consisted of 2 of 12 from the behind the arc, 2 for 10 from the free throw line and 6 for 25 from the field, accumulating a dreadful 24% from the field. Was it the Mountaineers second half defensive change that triggered West Virginia’s second half burst? Or perhaps was it Bob Huggins unusual halftime speech?

It was a combination of the two, but more so the 1-3-1 defensive switch which has been most effective. The second half adjustment seemed to do its job as Villanova (24-6, 13-5 Big East) could not get through the passing lanes. Bob Huggins, on the other hand, did not take his normal halftime routine of yelling but yet was calmer than anyone can recall. The combination of the two seemed to have worked and got the job done.

Leading West Virginia (24-6, 13-5 Big East) was led by Da’Sean Butler who finished his last regular season game with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

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The game ended as emotionally as expected. Wellington Smith fouled out late in the second half and received a standing ovation, and Da’Sean Butler left the court in tears realizing he had just stepped off of the Coliseum court for the last time. Cam Payne, an invited walk-on from George Washington High, entered the game with :48 left following cheers of “Put Cam in!”. Though he was unable to score, he stated that just hearing the crowd cheer his name will be a memory to last a lifetime.

West Virginia concludes the regular season this weekend with a trip to The Pavilion to face Villanova on Saturday. The game will be televised nationally on CBS.

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WVU started off strong taking several double digit leads, but went into halftime up by only 6. This Panthers comeback was mostly due to their ever-changing defense. After starting unsuccessfully with man-to-man defense, Pitt decided to change into a 2-3 zone, and kept the Mountaineers quiet for the last few minutes of the first half. This defense appeared to have thrown the Mountaineers off for a few minutes, but, as usual, they adjusted very well during halftime and came out firing in the second half. Though Pittsburgh had a few runs of their own in the second half, they were unable to stay in the game with an impressive looking West Virginia. West Virginia’s ability to score in the paint as well as around the perimeter left Pitt without an answer. The Mountaineers rarely ended an offensive possession without points as they had a second or third chance opportunity after every missed shot.

The great win was slightly over-shadowed by the ridiculous behavior of a few fans. Fans began throwing things on the court at two different occassions during the game, and one of Pitt’s assistant coaches was eventually struck in the face by a coin. After the first occurrence of these actions, Bob Huggins took charge of the P.A. microphone and rebuked fans for their behavior. This obviously did not effect a few fans who decided to throw things a second time. A technical foul was eventually called on the crowd and Pitt shot two free foul shots on the behalf of the crowd. This behavior is indeed untolerable, but the entire student section and Mountaineer fan base is not at fault for the bad decisions of a few individuals as many make it seem. An even larger problem has become the constant use of profane chants. These actions have sparked Coach Huggins to tell refs to begin giving more technical fouls to the crowd when they do something inappropriate and the university to threaten ejections if this behavior continues.

Regardless, it was a good win for the Mountaineers as they won their 5th straight game and improved to 18-3 overall and 17-2 in the conference. This win put them at third in the conference with 9 regular season conference games left. Upcoming games include: 2/6-@ St. Johns, 2/8-Villanova, and 2/12 @ Pittsburgh.

After national signing day, the Mountaineers are ranked 26th with 22 commitments (Scout.com). With the addition of ESPNU Top 150 Receiver, Ivan McCartney, WVU has one of the best recruiting classes in school history. WVU signed two quarterbacks, one running back, four wide receivers, two offensive linemen, two defensive ends, three linebackers, two defensive backs, one free safety, and two strong safeties. The class broke down evenly with 11 offensive additions and 11 defensive. WVU fulfilled their needs of 3 linebackers, wide receivers, and a safety, and, in fact, signed far more players than they needed to get by.

The two quarterbacks signed by the Mountaineers, Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson, will be great assets to the team. Brunetti is a dual-threat QB with a great arm who will fit into the spread offense very well. His size (6′0″) puts him at a disadvantage, but his talent more than makes up for it. Jeremy Johnson is yet another great dual-threat QB that would do very well in a spread offense and has even received interest as a receiver or corner back. He has a great arm and is very quick.

The Mountaineers will greatly benefit from the four great receivers they signed this year. Ivan McCartney, another Miramar HS standout, is an ESPNU Top 150 Prospect with a variety of other accolades. He has the ability to make the tough catches and could make an early impact in the West Virginia passing game. Quantavious Leslie is another receiver that could make an impact with his 6′3″ frame. Avery Williams and Dante Chambers will most likely see some early playing time at either the receiver position or special teams also.

The West Virginia Defense gained talent this year with the addition of defensive end, Bruce Irvin, and middle linebacker, Troy Gloster. The addition of 4 new safeties and 2 corners will also greatly contribute to the team. The defense would look even better if Latwan Anderson would sign on, but even without this highly-tauted prospect, the defense is looking good.

West Virginia managed to come out the gates firing and scorching on Louisville’s defense scoring the first 13 points, which was the largest lead of the game. The Cardinals (13-8, 4-4 Big East) was able to maintain the Mountaineer’s first half rally by knocking down seven three-pointers. Peyton Siva accounted for three of the seven made.

The Mountaineers seemed they were out of the game with 6:37 left as they were down 72-59 but they did not give up. West Virginia went on a 12-0 run in just 3:36 of work which was led by Kevin Jones, scoring the last nine points of the run. West Virginia’s defense allowed only 3 field goals in the final 9:57 in what triggered the Mountaineers’ second half run.

Da’sean Butler paced the Mountaineers (17-3, 6-2 Big East) with a season-high 27 points, but none bigger than his go-ahead basket with 16 seconds left to play. With Butler’s basket, West Virginia led 75-74. Reginald Delk attempted a three with just 9 seconds left but was unsuccessful. After the miss the ball carried out-of-bounds after what appeared to be an ordinary rebound by Devin Ebanks, but Butler accidentally knocked it out of his hands to, what then made it, a fight for the ball between the two and Louisville’s Rakeem Buckles. The call was not delayed as the baseline referee appeared to have ducked out of the way to avoid contact. It was eventually ruled West Virginia’s ball in a controversial call.

The starters for West Virginia accounted for all but five points. Kevin Jones was able to put in 16 points and Wellington Smith with 12. Darryl Bryant continues to prove himself at the PG position, having just one turnover in the heat of Louisville’s pressure, both five steals and assists, and contributing 8 points.

West Virginia will be back in action at the Coliseum against the #17 Pittsburgh Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Deniz Kilicli, a 6″9 freshmen from Turkey, will finally be able to get his season debut after being suspended for the previous 20 games for playing for his country where a player on his team was getting paid.