Kentucky started out strong, but once West Virginia started hitting its threes and settling into its 1-3-1 zone, the game shifted. WVU made 10 of 23 of its shots from deep. Conversely, the Wildcats hit just 4 of 32 from long range. They also killed themselves at the free throw line, making just 15 of 28 attempts (53%).
Joe Mazzulla played admirably, posting 17 points and playing scrappy defense on DeMarcus Cousins at the base of the Mountaineers’ 1-3-1 zone. He fouled out with two minutes to play, and WVU was pretty shaky handling the ball against Kentucky’s press, but the Mountaineers made enough free throws to seal the win.
On a side note, my bracket is starting to look pretty good. With WVU already in, and Duke still alive, I could get two Final Four teams in a year when very few brackets will have three or more. (Virtually no one picked Butler or the MSU/Tennessee winner.)
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