(Bob Huggins pregame Zoom conference)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — 257 days have passed since college basketball shut down right in the middle of conference tournament week. For the first time since defeating No. 4 Baylor on Senior Day in Morgantown on March 7, Bob Huggins will lead his Mountaineers onto the court tomorrow evening. No. 15 West Virginia will face South Dakota State in the quarterfinals of the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, S.D.
“Our guys, I think have been as good as you can possibly be. They’re excited and we are looking forward to playing. It has been a long time. We were sitting in Kansas City getting ready to go play in the conference tournament when we got the message nobody was playing. It has been a long time,” said WVU head coach Bob Huggins.
“You couldn’t ask a group of guys to do a better job than what they have done in terms of following the guidelines.”
The tournament, which has gone through a number of changes in the lineup, required teams to undergo COVID testing upon arrival.
“It is exactly what we were told it is going to be. We are in a bubble. Our guys were tested and as expected, they have done a great job of taking care of themselves. The facilities here are unbelievable. The people here are great. It has been to this point a really good experience. I think the only thing that would screw it up is if we didn’t win games like we are supposed to.”
Originally scheduled to open against No. 25 Texas A&M, the Mountaineers will face the SDSU, after it was originally announced that they would open with Northern Iowa late last week. Huggins believes preparing to face multiple styles of play will pay off down the line.
“I think we can guard anybody now. We’ve gone through four teams now that we have looked at on film and broken down on film with our guys and actually guarded them in practice. I think in some ways, it was good for our guys.
“It was, OK we are going to play Texas A&M. And their attitude never really changed. Whatever we threw out there, they readily accepted and really worked hard at it.”
The Jackrabbits (22-10 last season) are the favorites to win the Summit League this winter with 6-foot-7 senior forward Douglas Wilson leading the way as the conference preseason player of the year.
“They do a great job of spacing and running their offense. They’ve got multiple guys who can make shots. They are really a difficult team to guard in that they space the floor so well and they have so many guys who if you leave open, will make shots.”
The Mountaineers will face either VCU or Utah State on Thanksgiving. Should the Mountaineers defeat SDSU, the semifinal will be played at 2:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
“It is not any different than a conference tournament situation. Most of our guys did this a year ago in Cancun where things changed. We’ll be fine no matter who it is.”