Hell has froze over!!!! Chuck Landon has written a positive article about WVU.
Was Bobby Hurley right about the Mountaineers?
Is West Virginia University one of the dirtiest teams in college basketball?
And, no, this query isn't about topsoil.
Instead, it's about an elbow a Mountaineer allegedly threw during WVU's 68-62 win over Hurley's Buffalo squad in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last week.
That resulted in Hurley commenting to one of the game officials, "They're one of the dirtiest teams."
So, is it true?
Is WVU one of the dirtiest teams?
Danny D'Antoni says no.
"I don't believe that," said Marshall's head basketball coach. "It certainly wasn't the case in our game with them."
WVU rallied to defeat Marshall, 69-66, on Dec. 14, 2014, in the Charleston Civic Center. Considering the Herd actually led for 16:44 of the 40-minute game, there was every opportunity for chippiness.
Yet, it didn't happen.
Does WVU play tough, physical, full-court, trapping defense?
Yes, indeed.
Does that lead to lots of fouls, steals, more fouls, turnovers and even more fouls?
Of course.
That's why WVU leads the nation in three compelling categories. The Mountaineers are No. 1 in causing turnovers (19.6 per game), No. 1 in steals (10.94) and No. 1 in committing personal fouls (792 and counting).
If that sounds like a lot of fouls, by comparison Marshall committed 618 in 31 games.
So, yes, it is a lot.
A school record, in fact.
But that doesn't mean WVU is "one of the dirtiest teams" by any stretch of Hurley's imagination. Besides, this is a prime consider-the-source situation. Hurley always has had a reputation for being a whiny crybaby.
And don't forget, Hurley and Christian Laettner's 1991 and 1992 national championship teams at Duke had reputations of their own.
Lost in all that rhetoric are the facts Buffalo committed 17 turnovers against the Mountaineers and WVU was whistled for 25 fouls.
That's nearly two more fouls than WVU's average of 23.3.
Suffice it to say, I highly doubt that Kentucky coach John Calipari will be belly-aching about dirty play when the top-seeded and undefeated Wildcats play WVU at 9:45 p.m. Thursday in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Will Kentucky commit some turnovers against "Press Virginia?" Of course. Will the Mountaineers be whistled for plenty of fouls? Naturally. Will it be a tough, physical game? Undoubtedly.
What's wrong with that?
If that weren't the case, WVU wouldn't have advanced to the Sweet 16.
So, give WVU coach Bob Huggins credit. When the NCAA changed the rules a few years ago and took away hand-checking on the perimeter, it threw a wrench into Huggins' style of coaching.
His success was built on tough, hard-nosed, in-your-grill defense. But, suddenly, it was against the rules. Huggins struggled to adjust and it showed in WVU's records.
What's a coach who always recruited defenders instead of shooters to do?
That's when the light bulb came on.
If Huggins extended his defense to full-court and trapped everything, even including missed shots, he could return to his physical, defensive-oriented style.
Thirty-four games later, WVU's in the Sweet 16.
That's because no matter how many fouls are called on WVU, the Mountaineers still are getting away with fouling about 50 percent of the time.
The premise is simple.
If a team fouls relentlessly enough, there's no way officials can catch or call every foul.
That's the diabolical genius of Huggins.
And there's nothing dirty about it.
Chuck Landon is a sports columnist for The Herald-Dispatch. Contact him at
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Was Bobby Hurley right about the Mountaineers?
Is West Virginia University one of the dirtiest teams in college basketball?
And, no, this query isn't about topsoil.
Instead, it's about an elbow a Mountaineer allegedly threw during WVU's 68-62 win over Hurley's Buffalo squad in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last week.
That resulted in Hurley commenting to one of the game officials, "They're one of the dirtiest teams."
So, is it true?
Is WVU one of the dirtiest teams?
Danny D'Antoni says no.
"I don't believe that," said Marshall's head basketball coach. "It certainly wasn't the case in our game with them."
WVU rallied to defeat Marshall, 69-66, on Dec. 14, 2014, in the Charleston Civic Center. Considering the Herd actually led for 16:44 of the 40-minute game, there was every opportunity for chippiness.
Yet, it didn't happen.
Does WVU play tough, physical, full-court, trapping defense?
Yes, indeed.
Does that lead to lots of fouls, steals, more fouls, turnovers and even more fouls?
Of course.
That's why WVU leads the nation in three compelling categories. The Mountaineers are No. 1 in causing turnovers (19.6 per game), No. 1 in steals (10.94) and No. 1 in committing personal fouls (792 and counting).
If that sounds like a lot of fouls, by comparison Marshall committed 618 in 31 games.
So, yes, it is a lot.
A school record, in fact.
But that doesn't mean WVU is "one of the dirtiest teams" by any stretch of Hurley's imagination. Besides, this is a prime consider-the-source situation. Hurley always has had a reputation for being a whiny crybaby.
And don't forget, Hurley and Christian Laettner's 1991 and 1992 national championship teams at Duke had reputations of their own.
Lost in all that rhetoric are the facts Buffalo committed 17 turnovers against the Mountaineers and WVU was whistled for 25 fouls.
That's nearly two more fouls than WVU's average of 23.3.
Suffice it to say, I highly doubt that Kentucky coach John Calipari will be belly-aching about dirty play when the top-seeded and undefeated Wildcats play WVU at 9:45 p.m. Thursday in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Will Kentucky commit some turnovers against "Press Virginia?" Of course. Will the Mountaineers be whistled for plenty of fouls? Naturally. Will it be a tough, physical game? Undoubtedly.
What's wrong with that?
If that weren't the case, WVU wouldn't have advanced to the Sweet 16.
So, give WVU coach Bob Huggins credit. When the NCAA changed the rules a few years ago and took away hand-checking on the perimeter, it threw a wrench into Huggins' style of coaching.
His success was built on tough, hard-nosed, in-your-grill defense. But, suddenly, it was against the rules. Huggins struggled to adjust and it showed in WVU's records.
What's a coach who always recruited defenders instead of shooters to do?
That's when the light bulb came on.
If Huggins extended his defense to full-court and trapped everything, even including missed shots, he could return to his physical, defensive-oriented style.
Thirty-four games later, WVU's in the Sweet 16.
That's because no matter how many fouls are called on WVU, the Mountaineers still are getting away with fouling about 50 percent of the time.
The premise is simple.
If a team fouls relentlessly enough, there's no way officials can catch or call every foul.
That's the diabolical genius of Huggins.
And there's nothing dirty about it.
Chuck Landon is a sports columnist for The Herald-Dispatch. Contact him at
Posted from Rivals Mobile
