Here’s a familiar headline for a Bob Huggins team: “West Virginia wears down …”.
In this case, it was Clemson in the first round of the NCAA tournament that took the brunt of playing a big, physical team that hits the boards and is aggressive on the perimeter.
It probably helped that Clemson was still tired from its First Four game against UAB on Tuesday night – Clemson arrived in Tampa around 5 a.m. Wednesday and coach Brad Brownell said he got about 3 hours of sleep – but that couldn’t have mattered as much as the West Virginia defense.
The Mountaineers’ gift as a result? A likely second-round matchup with No. 4 seed Kentucky. West Virginia beat Kentucky in the Elite Eight last season.
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