Murray St. First For WVU
Mountaineers begin tourney play Friday
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MORGANTOWN -- Players, in any sport, goes through highs and lows during the season.
For that reason, they must have short memories if they want to be successful at their chosen sport.
"This will hurt (Saturday), but we'll wake up on Selection Sunday and find out who we play next," sophomore Logan Routt said following West Virginia's 81-70 loss to Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament championship game. "At that point, all our focus will be on them. We won't think anything about the past once we find out who we're going to play in the NCAAs."
The Cameron native grew up watching the Mountaineers play and dreamed of one day playing on college basketball's biggest stage. Now he's getting that chance.
"It's surreal to play in the NCAAs," Routt said. "But in the end, it's still just another game. Once we get there, we have to treat it that way.
"It's on to the next one. Now it's do-or-die for real."
And, on to the next one it is as No. 18 West Virginia (24-10, 11-7 Big 12), the No. 5 seed in the East Region, heads to San Diego, Calif., to take on No. 12 seed Murray State in a second-round game Friday.
WVU will be making its 29th appearance in 'March Madness' and ninth during the 11 seasons under veteran coach Bob Huggins. The Mountaineers are 29-28 in tournament games -- 11-7 under Huggins.
The Racers of head coach Matt McMahon have won 14 of their last 15 contests dating back to Jan. 11. Jonathan Stark, a former unrated recruit, is the Ohio Valley Conference's player of the year after recording 21.8 points per game and shooting 41 percent from the 3-point line.
Murray State (26-5, 16-2 OVC) knocked off Horizon League champ Wright State by 19 points and lost to Auburn by four points this season.
Standing in the way is a West Virginia team led by two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Jevon Carter -- the only player ever from a Power 5 conference with more than 1,500 points, 500 assists, 500 rebounds and 300 steals in his career.
The Mountaineers are one of seven Big 12 schools in the tournament. Regular season and tournament champion Kansas received the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region while Kansas State (No. 9 South), Texas Tech (No. 3 East), Texas (No. 10 South), TCU (No. 6 Midwest), and Oklahoma (No. 10 Midwest) also received bids.
A win in the second round and the Mountaineers will take on the winner of No. 4 Wichita State and No. 13 Marshall for a spot in the Sweet 16. The Shockers of head coach Gregg Marshall have six players who average eight points or more per game.
Should the Mountaineers come out successful in both of those games they may earn a date with No. 1 seed Villanova.
The Thundering Herd is making its first appearance in the 'Big Dance' in 30 years after capturing the Conference USA Tournament title.
"If you're a player, you're going to be upset that you didn't walk out with a win," senior guard Daxter Miles Jr. explained following the loss to Kansas. "But also, if you're a player, you're also going to put this behind you fast because we have a big task ahead of us.
"It's the Big Dance. You see a lot of different teams. Guys come ready to play. You have to come ready."