Albuquerque Regional Final
Elite 8
No. 7 West Virginia Mountaineers of the Big East (24-10)
_______________vs_____________________
No.4 (#4 nationally) Louisville Cardinals of Conf. USA (32-4)

Saturday, March 26
4:40 p.m. EST
Albuquerque, New Mexico
The PIT
Bob King Court


West Virginia advances to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history. The other time came during the 1958-59 season when
the Mountaineers advanced to the NCAA finals before losing to California, 71-70.
West Virginia becomes only the sixth No. 7 seed to reach the Elite Eight since the field expanded in 1985. None of the previous six
have reached the Final Four.


West Virginia has defeated four ranked teams in the last 15 days.

By Andy Katz, ESPN.com
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Can West Virginia fans handle any more of this?
The Mountaineers have gone from a bubble team a few weeks ago to a full-blown bracket buster by getting to the Elite Eight -- but it hasn't been easy ... or easy on the heart.
After winning thrice on consecutive days to make the Big East tournament finals, the No. 7 seed in the Albuquerque region beat No. 10 Creighton on a final fast-break dunk in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last week.
Then they took out No. 2 Wake Forest in double-overtime in round two.
Then, Thursday night, they outlasted No. 6 Texas Tech 65-60 in the Sweet 16 at The Pit in the Albuquerque Regional.

All of these wins were capped in the final few possessions, making the Mountaineers the official Cardiac Kids of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. "I think it's good," West Virginia coach John Beilein said. "It's actually good. I don't know how many more games we can win but our kids are used to playing like this and they have fun and react so well."
They do because it's ingrained in them from day one.

Top Cinderellas of the past 5 years
No. 7 West Virginia (2005)
No. 7 Xavier (2004)
No. 12 Missouri (2002)
No. 10 Kent State (2002)
No. 11 Temple (2001)

West Virginia becomes only the sixth No. 7 seed to reach the Elite Eight since the field expanded in 1985. None of them has ever advanced to the Final Four.
That's just yet another mountain to climb for the Mountaineers.

The Pittsnogle boggle
How do you stop a 6-11 center who honed his smooth jumper on a gravel road? Louisville will try to solve the riddle of WVU's Kevin Pittsnogle on Saturday

The stroke is pure, like something you'd expect to see from a man much shorter. Even in an era where shooting is becoming a lost art, Kevin Pittsnogle stands out for more than just his smooth, reliable jump shot.

West Virginia junior Kevin Pittsnogle has a considerable edge when a shorter defender tries to stop his jumper. Those players who stand 6-11 and can shoot don't come around much, especially if they're not European-born. And there is nothing close to European in Pittsnogle's West Virginia ways.

ALBURQUERQUE, N.M. -- Two weeks ago, West Virginia was the eighth seed in the Big East Tournament. Now the Mountaineers are in the Elite Eight, one victory from their first Final Four since a guy name Jerry West brought them there in 1959.

'We're a team that's on a roll,' Patrick Beilein says.
There isn't anybody in that West class on this team -- not even close in fact. But what this group has is something special in an era of me-first players.
These guys actually play as a team.
Seventh-seeded West Virginia beat Texas Tech 65-60 Thursday night in a tough, physical game that helped the Mountaineers earn the right to officially be called a tournament Cinderella.
How in the heck are they doing it?
Simple: Good shooting, good passing and good defense.
Sure as heck sounds like something that would make West proud.


Todays Plays
NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME OF THE YEAR
Illinois -5 vs Arizona
NIT Total of the Year
Maryland/TCU Over 140



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