March Madness is here, West Virginia Mountaineers fans! And Bob Huggins will be leading the way for WVU once again into a hotly-contested 8-9 showdown early Thursday afternoon in Birmingham, AL.
West Virginia and the Maryland Terrapins will face off for the right to advance to play (tugs neckline of shirt) the top overall seed, the Alabama Crimson Tide on their home turf. Thanks. Really appreciate it.
The 19-14 WVU Mountaineers will be playing without pressure, though — and they’ll also be employing a good deal of pressure on defense.
The ride begins at 12:15 EST on CBS Thursday afternoon, when they’ll attempt to win the veritable coin flip of an 8-9 and complete the “upset”.
Maryland. Thursday. 12:15 ET. CBS.#HailWV pic.twitter.com/6hV5YYcj6A
— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) March 12, 2023
West Virginia Basketball: March Madness 2023 begins Thursday March 16
If they’re able to topple the Terps, they’ll face (with almost 100% likelihood) Alabama, and will hope not to get swept up in the controversy surrounding that team and its star player, Brandon Miller.
Awaiting the winner of the miniature tournament encompassing Rounds 2 and 3 in Birmingham, the South Region’s Sweet 16 and Elite 8 will take place in Louisville, KY at the KFC Yum! Center.
No need to overlook the drama of the Mountaineers’ first game just to skip ahead, though. The most recent March Madness battle between these two teams came in 2015, when WVU edged the Terrapins by 10 and moved onto the Sweet 16.
A typically boisterous Bob Huggins was again confident when reached for comment on Sunday, taking a dig at his team’s inability to drill their free throws while sprinkling on the praise.
"“I had no doubt about getting into the tournament,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said this evening via Zoom. “I thought we were capable of winning five or six more games if we could have made more free throws.”"
House money, right? Why not win all six of those games you should’ve won already in March Madness instead? See you in Houston.