WASHINGTON - As West Virginia coach Bob Huggins lumbered through the halls of the Verizon Center before his team's NCAA first-round game with Arizona, someone wished him good luck.

"Let's just hope we hit some shots,'' said the man in black.

They did.

Three-point shots.

They made them left. They made them center. And they made them right.

Right when it counted.

That's why the seventh-seeded Mountaineers, now 25-10, are on their way to the second round to play those love-'em-or-hate-'em Duke Blue Devils at 2:10 p.m. Saturday.

West Virginia scorched the nets for 11-of-19 treys against Arizona.

Eleven-of-nineteen.

That's 57.9 percent. Of the 35 games West Virginia has played this season, only once did the Mountaineers shoot better behind the arc: 60 percent on 12-of-20 shooting against Maryland-Eastern Shore.

But this shore didn't come against UMES. It came against a program that's an NCAA regular. One that's been in the tournament 24 straight times.

There were good signs for the Mountaineers early. Standout Joe Alexander hit the game's first shot.

But Alexander cooled.

This time, WVU did not.

"Joe's been on fire lately,'' said Mountaineer guard Alex Ruoff. "Teams have been going after him. This time, we got good looks and knocked them down.''

Physically, West Virginia was the superior team, with the exception of Arizona center Jordan Hill. The Mountaineers seemed to enter the game relaxed and played confidently.

But for the most part they didn't outmuscle the Wildcats. They outshot them.

"[John] Beilein is watching at home,'' yelled one fan.

Indeed, Beilein, the current Michigan coach, had to have smiled. It rained treys on the dry Arizona Wildcats. And, in a bonus, the Mountaineers hit 8-of-9 free throws.

Huggins maintained his domination of Arizona coach Kevin O'Neill. In case you're keeping score, it's now Huggins eight, O'Neill one.

This, however, is bigger than Huggs. The Mountaineers have had impressive post-season runs in each of the last three years. NCAA Elite Eight. Sweet Sixteen. NIT champs.

If this early result is any indication, that could continue.

Da'Sean Butler looked terrific with 19 points. Alexander and Darris Nichols both finished with 14. Jamie Smalligan - Jamie freaking Smalligan - did some nice things.

Afterward, Mountaineer assistant coach Billy Hahn pointed to the fast-break points.

"We talked for three days about how we couldn't allow Arizona to score in transition,'' he said. "I think they had two or four points in transition.''

They had two.

In the paint, Arizona outscored WVU 22-14. That's always going to be a hassle for the Mountaineers.

Unless, that is, it's raining treys like it was in Washington on Thursday night. Unless Ruoff goes for 21 points on 5-of-7 3-point shooting, as he did against the Wildcats.

Now, it's on to Duke. A Duke team that has a mystique, but one that was almost broadsided the game before that of West Virginia.

On that Huggins walk into his team locker room before the game, the Mountaineer coach was told the Dukies struggled.

"Well,'' he said, "that can't hurt.''

Just like hitting those shots.

To contact sports editor Mitch Vingle, send e-mail to mitchvin...@wvgazette.com or call 348-4827.