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West Virginia basketball: Have we already seen the best of Bob Huggins?

By Scott Rogust

Mar 6, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins walks off the floor after being defeated by the Oklahoma State Cowboys at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins walks off the floor after being defeated by the Oklahoma State Cowboys at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /
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After West Virginia’s loss to Syracuse in the Round of 32, is Bob Huggins the man to lead the Mountaineers to the NCAA Championship Game?

On Selection Sunday, West Virginia was given the 3-seed in the Midwest region following their 19-10 season. This past Friday, head coach Bob Huggins secured his 900th career win in the Mountaineers’ 84-67 victory over No. 14Morehead State. Unfortunately for Huggins, the celebration ended two days later.

In the Round of 32, West Virginia lost to No. 11 Syracuse 75-72 on Sunday. Another early exit for Huggins and the Mountaineers has some asking whether he is the coach to lead them to the National Championship Game.

West Virginia basketball has another early exit in the NCAA Tournament

Let’s preface by saying that Huggins is a no-doubt Hall of Fame head coach. That is undisputed. However, the Mountaineers have not had much recent success in March Madness.

Huggins’ most successful year at West Virginia occurred in the 2009-10 season. The Mountaineers held a 31-7 record, won the Big 12 Tournament and reached the Final Four in, ironically, Indianapolis. Since that 78-57 loss to the Duke Blue Devils, West Virginia could not replicate that success afterward and have yet to make it past the Sweet 16.

Here is how the Mountaineers fared since their Final Four appearance in 2010.

  • 2011: 71-63 loss to Kentucky in Second Round
  • 2012: 77-54 loss to Gonzaga in First Round
  • 2015: 78-39 loss to Kentucky in Sweet 16
  • 2016: 70-56 loss to Stephen F. Austin in First Round
  • 2017: 61-58 loss to Gonzaga in Sweet 16
  • 2018: 90-78 loss to Villanova in Sweet 16

Huggins is a good coach, but he just so happened to have lost to a Hall of Fame coach in Jim Boeheim. Additionally, the Mountaineers only managed to convert on 37.1-percent of their field goals, as opposed to Syracuse’s 51.9-percent. That is not going to win you a game, let alone an NCAA Tournament game.

After this latest early exit, one has to wonder if Huggins can buck the recent trend and get West Virginia over the hump. Maybe, just maybe, the Mountaineers can make that magical 2010 run in 2022.

Next. 12 biggest Cinderella stories in March Madness history. dark

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