West Virginia knocks off top-seeded Kentucky to reach Final Four!
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on March 29, 2010
In a game where West Virginia went an entire half without making a 2-point field goal, the Mountaineers used good defense & an inspired performance from Joe Mazzulla to knock off Kentucky 73-66 & reach the Final Four for the first time since 1959.
Mazzulla was the hero on Saturday, as his career-high 17 points helped starve off any type of Kentucky comeback, as the Wildcats were unable to generate any type of outside shooting as they missed their first 20 three-point tries & finished a woeful 4-for-32 (12.5%).
John Wall had an excellent all-around performance in what figures to be his final collegiate game at Kentucky before turning pro this June, as the NBA-bound guard scored 19 points, grabbed 9 rebounds & dished 5 assists before fouling out.
Da’Sean Butler led West Virginia with 18 points despite his 4-of-15 shooting.
The Mountaineers are closely montoring the health of starting point guard Darryl Bryant (broken foot), who might be ready to play in Saturday’s Final Four matchup against Duke.
If Bryant can’t go, then Mazzulla will receive another start. It was just 2 years ago that he had his best tournament game ever, as he recorded a near triple-double (13 points, 11 rebounds & 8 assists) which speared a 73-67 win over Duke to help West Virginia reach the Sweet 16.
