After a couple of down years in Morgantown, Bob Huggins has recreated the West Virginia Mountaineers into possibly the most unique program in any of the major conferences. Finesse be damned. West Virginia wins strictly on collecting its own missed shots and forcing the other team into mistakes. For a second straight year, it worked brilliantly to the tune of nine BPI top-50 wins and a second-place finish in the rugged Big 12. In 2015, West Virginia's attack mode was good enough to reach the Sweet 16. Is this year's version good enough to do even better?
ESPN Insider has your answers, as Joe Lunardi has enlisted a team of Bracketologists to compile advanced metrics, key scouting intel and best- and worst-case tournament scenarios for all 68 teams to help you make smart picks in your bracket.
TOURNEY PROFILE
Best wins: Kansas, at Iowa State, Baylor, at Iowa State, at Baylor
Worst losses: at Florida, Texas
Regular season conference finish: 2nd, Big 12
Polls and metrics: After beginning the season unranked, the Mountaineers worked their way to the Top 10 in the AP poll by season's end. That's exactly where West Virginia ended the regular season in BPI and KenPom, too.
All-time tourney record: 27-26, two Final Fours
Coach's tourney record: Bob Huggins (29-21, two Final Fours)
Bracketology chart | BPI information
PERSONNEL
(Note: Player statistics are through games of March 6.)
STARTING LINEUP
F Devin Williams (17.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG)
F Esa Ahmad, Jr. (4.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG)
F Nathan Adrian (4.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG)
G Daxter Miles Jr. (9.9 PPG, 2.3 RPG)
G Jevon Carter (9.2 PPG, 3.4 APG)
Key Bench Players
G Jaysean Paige (14.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG)
G Tarik Phillip (9.5 PPG, 2.9 APG)
F Jonathan Holton (9.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG)
Biggest strength: With Williams and Holton paving the way, West Virginia leads the country in offensive rebound rate. The ball goes up and the Mountaineers go get it. Going hand in hand with the full-court pressure, the offensive rebounding is part of Huggins' philosophy of creating opportunity through effort.
Biggest weakness: The Mountaineers need to offensive rebound and force turnovers to give themselves plenty of chances at shots from close range because they just don't shoot it well. While this area has improved over last season, West Virginia still ranks 269th in 3-point accuracy and 167th in effective field goal percentage. Worse, WVU is 288th in free throw percentage.
Best player: Paige was a second-team all-Big 12 selection and the Mountaineers' leading scorer despite starting just one game all year. Chalk it up as another example of how distinctive Huggins' program has become. Paige is a respectable 3-point shooter, one of the few at 34.4 percent, and leads a deep backcourt. On a team full of aggressive guards, he might be the most aggressive.
X factor: Holton. The senior is the team's best offensive rebounder, most accurate shooter, and is often the point man at the front of the press. Trying to throw over or around his 6-foot-7 frame is the first area of concern against the treacherous West Virginia defense.
SCOUTING REPORT
Offensive approach: Whether it's with full-court pressure, going to the offensive glass, or with the ball in the half court, the Mountaineers are always in attack mode. The guard rotation of Page, Carter, Phillip, and Miles Jr., are always pushing forward and do it with fresh legs because none plays more than 25 minutes per game. The preferred method of scoring is turning a steal into a basket with the guards leading the charge.
Defensive approach: West Virginia doesn't really have a most valuable player, but it does have a most valuable commodity -- the press. The design is to create chaos, turn that into mistakes, and turn those into layups. The Mountaineers' pressure is suffocating and relentless and it keeps coming because West Virginia goes nine or 10 deep. At its best it produces turnovers that lead to easy baskets. At worst, it wears the opposition down.
How they beat you: It's a different approach, but it isn't complicated. West Virginia is going to win the game by winning the turnover battle. The Mountaineers lead the nation in steals and force the second-most turnovers. They are going to press all game and when that doesn't work, they'll trap you in the front court. Higgins would rather opponents not get a shot off rather than hoping they miss. When opponents do shoot, however, West Virginia's field percentage defense is just average.
How you beat them: Stay poised, value the ball, and make sure to get good shots after beating the pressure. It helps to have five players on the floor that can handle the ball. Giving some of the fight right back at the Mountaineers helps, too. And the more long jump shots they are forced to take the easier they are to beat.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
(Note: All statistics in this section are courtesy of kenpom.com and are accurate through games of March 6.)
NATIONAL RANKS
Offensive efficiency, 23rd (114.5)
Defensive efficiency, 5th (91.9)
3-point percentage, 273rd (32.3)
3-point percentage D, 50th (32.0)
Free throw rate, 5th (46.8)
Free throw rate D, 351st (55.0)
TO percentage, 250th (19.2)
TO percentage D, 2nd (25.4)
Good stat: 25.4 turnover percentage D
This goes right to West Virginia's ability to force turnovers. Some teams press full-court to speed up the game. Not West Virginia. It's meant to get the ball back and score.
Bad stat: 55.0 free throw rate D
Needless to say there are a lot of fouls in a West Virginia game. The aggressiveness produces contact and as a consequence, the Mountaineers are dead last in the country in free throws per field goal attempt. Cashing in on these opportunities is one way to negate the turnovers the Mountaineers force.
HOW FAR WILL THEY GO?
Best-case scenario: Elite Eight
Last year's team made it to the Sweet 16 and this one is better, at least offensively. West Virginia's shooting is slightly improved over a season ago. Getting to bring their brand of pressure to teams that haven't dealt with it makes winning a few games all the more plausible.
Worst-case scenario: Sweet 16 Exit
The Mountaineers are impossible to prepare for, so winning that second game of the first weekend and at least getting to the Sweet 16 seems like a good bet. After that, West Virginia just might not be offensively gifted enough to break through any further.