NCAA BK

West Virginia team capsule

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Updated Mar 16, 2010 6:18 PM ET
     
 
West Virginia (27-6)

COACH: Bob Huggins, three years at West Virginia, three years in NCAA Tournament

2010 NCAA Tourney


National championship:
Final Four results:
Brackets and more:

HOW THEY GOT IN: Automatic bid (Big East)

MATCHUP BREAKDOWN: Morgan State is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament, making its second consecutive trip after a physical loss to Oklahoma and Blake Griffin a year ago. The Bears dominated the MEAC behind conference Player of the Year Reggie Holmes, and also have the league's Defensive Player of the Year (Kevin Thompson) and Rookie of the Year (DeWayne Jackson). The Bears do a lot of damage at the line, leading the MEAC in made free throws, and likes a fast-paced game. Watch out for Jackson on the perimeter -- he shot 45.8 percent from 3-point range in his first season with the program, while Kevin Thompson had 25 rebounds against Towson, which was the most of any Division I player in a game this season.

GO-TO GUYS: Da'Sean Butler led the Mountaineers with 17 points per game on his way to being a first-team All-Big East selection, and has six game-winning shots this season, including his bank at the buzzer that knocked out Cincinnati in the Big East tournament quarterfinal and the off-balance shotput that beat Georgetown in the title game. Between he and Devin Ebanks, WVU has a couple of NBA-caliber players to rely on for scoring. Kevin Jones and Wellington Smith each shoot around 38 percent from 3-point range.

THEY'LL KEEP WINNING IF: They keep playing smothering defense. West Virginia is undefeated when it holds its opponents under 70, and when it can hit that number itself it almost always wins. It also needs big games from its big-time players, Butler and Ebanks.

STRENGTHS: Huggins-coached teams always play great defense, but this team is particularly hard for opponents to match up against because it has size everywhere. Not many guards find it easy to deal with scoring against the 6-7 Da'Sean Butler, or wing forwards the 6-9 Devin Ebanks. Not many teams find it easy to stop them either.

WEAKNESSES: Top 10 teams don't tend to have many weaknesses, and the Mountaineers are no exception. But WVU doesn't always get great play from the point, with Darryl "Truck" Bryant sometimes struggling with turnovers and distribution decisions. It doesn't want the game to become a total track meet, but force opponents into the half-court sets on offense so it can use its size to full effect.
Tagged: Morgan State, Butler, West Virginia, Oklahoma

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