After a one-year hiatus, the West Virginia Mountaineers are back in the Big Dance. The Mountaineers will head south to Birmingham, Alabama to take on the eighth-seeded Maryland Terrapins.
Historically, West Virginia has found a large load of its NCAA Tournament success under head coach Bob Huggins. Under Coach Huggins, the Mountaineers made the NCAA Tournament in 11 of 16 seasons and have reached the Sweet 16 five times with a Final Four in the 2009-2010 season.
When looking at the big-picture, WVU has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 31 times, and the two best runs came when Jerry West and company came within a point of a National Championship in 1959 and the run to the final four in Huggins’ third season at the helm.
The Mountaineers have had some fond memories from the NCAA Tournament over the years, and most of these memories took place in the 21st century.
2005 (Elite Eight)
John Beilein, the predecessor of Huggins, established a winning culture in Morgantown by reaching the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons before heading to Michigan.
In the 2004-2005 season, Beilein and company entered the tournament as a seven seed, and narrowly defeated the tenth-seeded Creighton Blue Jays on a Tyrone Sally dunk with under five seconds remaining.
In the second round, the Mountaineers were tasked with taking down the two-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons, led by Chris Paul.
Backed by 29 points from Mike Gansey and 21 points from Sally, the Mountaineers pulled off the upset in double overtime to advance to the Sweet 16.
In the Sweet 16, WVU took on Bob Knight and the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and kept the momentum going against the six seed. Kevin Pittsnogle scored 22 points and a solid performance from Gansey helped WVU secure a third win in the tournament to advance to the Elite Eight.
Another dramatic game took place in the Elite Eight, but this time, the magic of the Mountaineers ran out against the fourth-seeded Louisville Cardinals.
West Virginia came out red-hot, taking a 13-point lead into halftime, but the Cardinals outscored the Mountaineers 50-37 in the second half to force overtime. Louisville took down West Virginia in overtime, but the run by Beilein’s Mountaineers planted a seed for years of success.
2010 (Final Four)
In 2010, the Mountaineers came into the NCAA Tournament as a two-seed after winning their first ever Big East Tournament, backed by the heroics of Da’Sean Butler.
WVU made quick work of Morgan State in the first round of the tournament, and a nine-point win over 10-seeded Missouri set the Mountaineers up for a Sweet 16 matchup with 11-seeded Washington.
Washington had taken down the three-seeded New Mexico Lobos in the round of 32, but the talent of WVU was too much for the Huskies, as the Mountaineers won by double digits.
The Sweet 16 win over Washington set the Mountaineers up for an Elite Eight matchup with the one-seeded Kentucky Wildcats, led by John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Patrick Patterson.
West Virginia got hot early from the three-point line, as Butler and Kevin Jones combined for seven made shots from beyond the arc. The Mountaineers took a 28-26 lead into the locker room, and a 45-point second half helped seal an upset win over the Wildcats, as Butler, Jones, Devin Ebanks, and Joe Mazzulla all reached double figures.
With the big win over Kentucky, WVU reached the Final Four for the first time since 1959. The Mountaineers faced one-seeded Duke in the Final Four in Indianapolis before the magic ran out. As many remember, Butler suffered a devastating knee injury in the second half against Duke, as the Blue Devils went on to win 78-57.
Despite the loss, the run in 2010 would go down as one of the best tournaments in program history.
Press Virginia (2015-2018)
The era of “Press Virginia” saw lots of success with the likes of Jevon Carter, Daxter Miles, and others, as the teams reached the Sweet 16 three times in four seasons.
In the first season of “Press Virginia,” the Mountaineers defeated Buffalo in the first round of the tournament to advance to the round of 32. The game against the Bulls was no easy contest, as guard Tarik Phillip had to knock down a crucial three-pointer with under a minute left to seal a win.
In the second round, WVU faced fifth-seeded Maryland with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. ‘Press Virginia” worked to perfection against Maryland, as the Mountaineers forced 23 Terrapin turnovers to get the 69-59 win.
The Sweet 16 game against one-seeded Kentucky did not fare well for the Mountaineers, as the Wildcats dominated the entire night. Despite the blowout loss, a new era was underway for Huggins.
After getting upset in the first round of the 2016 NCAAA Tournament, the 2017 Mountaineers came back with more in the tank.
As a four seed, the Mountaineers took down Bucknell by a score of 86-80 to advance to the round of 32. In the round of 32, West Virginia took on five-seeded Notre Dame, and Jevon Carter showed out.
Carter scored 24 points, and a combined 52 points from Daxter Miles, Tarik Phillip, Esa Ahmad, and Elijah Macon help give the Mountaineers an 83-71 win and another trip to the Sweet 16.
The Sweet 16 saw the Mountaineers get paired up with the one-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs, and West Virginia put up a great fight against the eventual National Runner-Ups.
Despite taking the lead late, the Mountaineers could not hold on, as Gonzaga went on to win 61-58.
In Carter and Miles’ senior season, another tournament run would be in the cards. In the first round, the five-seeded Mountaineers faced off against Ja Morant and the Murray State Racers.
Carter held Morant in check for most of the night, and with 21 points on offense, the senior guard dominated the game. West Virginia would win the game by a score of 85-68 and would take on in-state rival Marshall in the round of 32.
Marshall had just upset the fourth-seeded Wichita State Shockers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but the Herd did not have the same fortune against Carter and the Mountaineers.
Like Murray State, Marshall was dominated by Carter, as the senior led the way with 28 points and five steals while shooting 10-for-18 from the field.
WVU would go on to win 94-71 and reached the Sweet 16 for the third time in four seasons.
In the Sweet 16, WVU faced off against the eventual National Champion Villanova Wildcats. Villanova was led by Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Eric Pascall, and Omari Spellman, and that group would prove to be too much to handle for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia fought hard, but foul trouble on Carter’s end would help Villanova score at will. The Wildcats took down the Mountaineers by a score of 90-78, and the era of “Press Virginia” ended.
The 2022-2023 Mountaineers are only the second WVU team to appear in the NCAA Tournament since the “Press Virginia” era.
The 2023 Mountaineers will now have their chance to make a run full of memories, and it starts on Thursday against Maryland.
