When they met in the Big East Tournament on Wednesday both teams sat pretty squarely on the bubble. UConn ended up walking away with the win, but it was a close enough game that the loss shouldn't hurt the Mountaineers too much. After the game Bob Huggins and Jim Calhoun both lobbied the selection committee for at large spots in the NCAA tournament. Here is what Huggins had to say, via Ryan Fagan of the Sporting News.
"We've played more games against top 100 people than anybody in the country," Huggins said. "(The NCAA Selection Committee says) play a tough schedule, we have. We've played more games against top 50 teams. We've done everything they've asked us to do other than maybe win a couple (more) games. You all know that there were some — and several of those games there were some other factors that were involved. It wasn't just us. You know, you hope that the committee looks at that."
The loss to the Huskies certainly hurts the team and the fan base, but if the Mountaineers were in the tournament before their game yesterday, they shouldn't be left out because of it.
For more on the two teams, head over to West Virginia blog Smoking Musket and Pittsburgh Panthers blog Cardiac Hill. For all your Big East news during championship week, check out Big East Coast Bias. Click here for more on the 2012 Big East Tournament.