USA TODAY International Edition
Huggins won’t talk about end of Marshall series
SAN DIEGO – West Virginia coach Bob Huggins didn’t really want to talk about it.
His team faces in-state rival Marshall on Sunday in the NCAA tournament, reviving a series that had been played every year since 1978 until it stopped in 2015.
But that’s a touchy subject for Huggins, who was asked Friday why the series ended.
“I don’t want to get into the reasons,” Huggins said after his team beat Murray State 85-68 in the first round. “They can come to Morgantown anytime they want to play. We would love for them to.”
That seems to be the reason Huggins isn’t open to playing Marshall in an annual series during the regular season: He’s only willing to play Marshall at his home court, and that’s not agreeable to Marshall. He declined to elaborate Friday when asked by a reporter.
“I don’t want to get into all that,” he said. “You’re trying to do that. I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to bite on what you’re trying to do.”
This will arguably be the biggest game in state college basketball history. It’ll come on the other side of the country on a national stage. And it drips with all sorts of hoopla and sensitive politics.
Marshall (25-10) hasn’t been to the tournament since 1987 and hadn’t won an NCAA tournament game ever until Friday, when it upset Wichita State, a No. 4 seed, to advance to the secondround game against West Virginia (2510).
This matchup now renews the relevancy of comments Huggins made on his radio show in 2014.
He said it wouldn’t bother him if the series went away.
“Not at all,” he said on the show then. He elaborated then, when Marshall wasn’t nearly as good and it didn’t benefit West Virginia’s NCAA tournament credentials to play the Thundering Herd.
“It’s not in our best interest to play a team who — this is the fifth time in 10 years that they’ve been 160 in the RPI or worse,” he said on the show then. “How’s that in our best interest? It’s not in our best interest. It’s not in the best interest of West Virginia basketball.”
Those remarks were triggered by comments made by Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni, who had suggested the teams play twice a year, not just at Morgantown but also at Marshall and neutralsite Charleston. The series had been played in Charleston since 1992 and was called the Capital Classic.
“Here’s my suggestion — Morgantown, Charleston. Next year Charleston, Huntington and just keep it that way,” D’Antoni was quoted as saying in 2014. “It’s good for the state. If they back out now, they’re afraid of us.”
Huggins scoffed on his radio show afterward.
“I probably coached a thousand games, and now I’m scared,” Huggins said. “Scared to play Marshall. Scared to death. It’s terrible. Must have been when I turned 61 that the fear set in because I’ve never felt that way before. Now I’m just scared to death of Marshall.”
The death of the annual series even led to a bill in the state legislature, which apparently didn’t go anywhere.
“During every school year, the men’s basketball teams of West Virginia University and Marshall University shall play at least one regular season basketball game against each other,” the bill said. “The venue, date and all other pertinent details of the basketball game shall be determined jointly by the universities.” Like it or not, Huggins can thank the NCAA tournament selection committee for setting this all up. The two teams might not ever play again in their home state, but they will Sunday in Southern California, of all places. West Virginia leads the all-time series 33-11.
Huggins said Friday “it’s not a Hatfields and McCoys thing” between West Virginia and Marshall. He says he has “great respect” for D’Antoni.
Before his news conference ended Friday, he also interjected, without being asked, that distance was a factor in the series, too.
“It’s not like we’re next door,” he said. “We’re four hours away.”