MORGANTOWN - As odd as it may seem, Bob Huggins actually has a frame of reference for what he's going to go through tonight at the Coliseum when Cincinnati comes to town to face his West Virginia basketball team.
MORGANTOWN - As odd as it may seem, Bob Huggins actually has a frame of reference for what he's going to go through tonight at the Coliseum when Cincinnati comes to town to face his West Virginia basketball team.
In fact, the emotions were probably even more confused back then than they will be tonight when he faces the team he coached to 399 wins and 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances in 16 seasons with the Bearcats.
It was in March of 1998 in Boise, Idaho, of course. That's when, for the first and only time in his 26 years as a head coach, Huggins faced his alma mater, West Virginia. His Bearcats lost 75-74 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Jarrod West's now legendary last-second shot.
But just as it was almost exactly a decade ago, this just doesn't seem to be that big a deal to Huggins.
"Honestly, I knew we were playing West Virginia [in that 1998 game], but you try to win,'' Huggins said. "I mean, I'm going to feel miserable if we don't win, but I've felt miserable no matter who we were playing if we don't win.''
It's not that there won't be any emotions at play when Huggins' Mountaineers (15-5, 4-3 Big East) play host to Cincinnati (9-11, 4-4) in a nationally televised (ESPN2) 7 p.m. game. He doesn't deny that.
But it's not as if Huggins is walking back into a place thick with memories and friendships, not to mention the mixed feelings of doing so at a school that essentially fired him after those 16 years of service.
That should come next season.
"A year from now, walking back into the Shoemaker Center and looking at the banners, I'd be lying if I said that's probably not going to be an emotional deal,'' Huggins said. "You look at those banners up there and the majority of them my guys are responsible for. I'm sure I'll feel a little bit of that then. But I can honestly tell you that this is just a game that we need to win and it really wouldn't matter who's coming in here.''
MORGANTOWN - As odd as it may seem, Bob Huggins actually has a frame of reference for what he's going to go through tonight at the Coliseum when Cincinnati comes to town to face his West Virginia basketball team.
In fact, the emotions were probably even more confused back then than they will be tonight when he faces the team he coached to 399 wins and 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances in 16 seasons with the Bearcats.
It was in March of 1998 in Boise, Idaho, of course. That's when, for the first and only time in his 26 years as a head coach, Huggins faced his alma mater, West Virginia. His Bearcats lost 75-74 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Jarrod West's now legendary last-second shot.
But just as it was almost exactly a decade ago, this just doesn't seem to be that big a deal to Huggins.
"Honestly, I knew we were playing West Virginia [in that 1998 game], but you try to win,'' Huggins said. "I mean, I'm going to feel miserable if we don't win, but I've felt miserable no matter who we were playing if we don't win.''
It's not that there won't be any emotions at play when Huggins' Mountaineers (15-5, 4-3 Big East) play host to Cincinnati (9-11, 4-4) in a nationally televised (ESPN2) 7 p.m. game. He doesn't deny that.
But it's not as if Huggins is walking back into a place thick with memories and friendships, not to mention the mixed feelings of doing so at a school that essentially fired him after those 16 years of service.
That should come next season.
"A year from now, walking back into the Shoemaker Center and looking at the banners, I'd be lying if I said that's probably not going to be an emotional deal,'' Huggins said. "You look at those banners up there and the majority of them my guys are responsible for. I'm sure I'll feel a little bit of that then. But I can honestly tell you that this is just a game that we need to win and it really wouldn't matter who's coming in here.''
Indeed, emotion and nostalgia aside, this is exactly the kind of game West Virginia can't afford to lose this season. The Mountaineers have 11 regular-season games remaining and only five are at home, along with future Coliseum dates with Rutgers, Seton Hall, Providence and Pitt. None appear to be games the Mountaineers either shouldn't or couldn't win.
The six remaining games, though, are tough ones if for no other reason than they are on the road. Big East teams are just 17-40 on the road in conference play this season and only two teams, Georgetown and Louisville, have a winning road record. Twelve of the league's 16 teams, including WVU, have won on the road just once or not at all.
"We need to win the game. It's a game we need to win,'' Huggins said. "These guys have things that they want to accomplish this year and you've got to win games to be able to do those. If you're going to play in March you've got to win now. The way this league has been, it's hard to get road wins. You need to make sure you win them all at home and then go win some on the road.''
Actually, Cincinnati plays right into that formula. The Bearcats are under .500 for the season but have come up with some interesting wins against Louisville, Syracuse, Villanova and Pitt. But Cincinnati is just 1-7 in road games this season, the win coming against short-handed Louisville in the league opener on New Year's Day.
Given those upset wins - all four teams Cincinnati has beaten in the league were ranked at one time or another this season - the Bearcats obviously have some talent. It begins with 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore guard Deonta Vaughn, who is sixth in the league in scoring (17.5 points per game) and poured in 34 last week (including eight 3-pointers) in an 84-83 loss to Connecticut.
West Virginia, though, has been pretty good at shutting down scorers this season. Since Big East play began only two opposing players have scored more than 15 points against the Mountaineers - Notre Dame's Luke Harangody and South Florida's Kentrell Gransberry.
But West Virginia is also coming off a heartbreaking 58-57 loss to now-No. 6 Georgetown Saturday night, a game in which the Mountaineers lost a 10-point lead and were beaten by a late 3-point shot and a potential game-winning shot that was blocked.
Tonight's game is the last for more than two weeks at the Coliseum, where WVU is 9-1 this season and 39-4 in the past three. The Mountaineers play at Providence Saturday night and at Pitt next Thursday before taking a week off before Rutgers comes to the Coliseum on Valentine's Day.
To contact staff writer Dave Hickman use e-mail or call 348-1734.
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