Mountaineer Morning Links: Tuesday (3/24/15) Edition

Sweet Sixteen breakdowns, WNIT continues tonight, baseball set for midweek games, varsity news, recruiting updates, Big 12 roundup & more.

By WVUIE97@WVUIE97 Mar 24, 2015, 9:04am EDT

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions. We're being brought to you today by Anchor Saison Spring Ale.

What You May Have Missed:

Baseball Stays in Texas for Midweek Games - WVU Athletics
The WVU baseball team plays two midweek games

WVU Welcomes Hampton Tuesday - WVU Athletics
WVU women's basketball hosts Hampton for second round of WNIT.

VIDEO INTERVIEWS: WVU Welcomes Hampton for WNIT Second Round - WVillustrated
The West Virginia University women's basketball team hosts Hampton University in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) on Tuesday, March 24, at the WVU Coliseum.

Field Set for NCAA Morgantown Regional - WVU Athletics
The 2015 National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships regional selections were announced today, and West Virginia University will compete as the No. 6 seed at the Morgantown Regional, inside the WVU Coliseum, on Saturday, April 4, at 4 p.m.

Moisey Named Athlete of the Week - WVU Athletics
Varsity Sports Report

News of Note:

WVU hopes ‘ugly’ game can translate to win against Kentucky - Charleston Daily Mail
“It’s going to be hard for us to lose because there’s no team in the country that plays like we do,” Miles said. “We play so hard that we test people’s manhood.”

Odds against Mountaineers, but coaches have history - Charleston Daily Mail
“John and I go back 30, 40 years,” Huggins said Sunday night

Mountaineers a different breed of underdog - Charleston Gazette
“I’m pretty sure nobody in the world thinks we’re going to get past Kentucky besides the 1.2 million people in West Virginia. So we’re going to keep doing what we do. And keep playing.’’

Williams believes WVU can compete with No. 1 Wildcats - Exponent Telegram
“They put their drawers on the same way we do.”

Mountaineers not satisfied or scared as they aim to interrupt Kentucky’s run - WV MetroNews
Following Sunday night’s victory over Maryland, Browne smiled wide over his team’s slot in the Sweet 16 only to follow up, “It’s not enough.”

WVU not intimidated - Beckley Register-Herald
But as the fifth-seeded West Virginia University basketball team celebrated its 69-59 NCAA Tournament win over fourth-seeded Maryland in the Round of 32 Sunday night and looked ahead to a showdown with No. 1 overall seed Kentucky, it was clear that the Mountaineers weren’t intimidated.

Seemingly Unstoppable Kentucky Next for West Virginia - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register
Good teams have tried various ways to beat Kentucky.

How West Virginia Can Beat Kentucky - FOX Sports Live Videos
It's a tall order to take on top-seeded Kentucky, but West Virginia will give them all they've got in the Sweet 16. Reid Forgrave and Donny Marshall tells how the Mountaineers can pull off the upset.

WVU, Kentucky will not hesitate to go deep into bench during Sweet 16 matchup - Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Look for the area in front of the scorer's table inside Quicken Loans Arena to grow quite crowded at times Thursday night

WVU wins battle Huggins' way - Times West Virginian
It’s been a long time since West Virginia basketball fans have been as pleased with a performance by the Mountaineers as they were on Sunday night in Columbus.

FURFARI: Mountaineers right where they hoped for upset shot at Kentucky - Times West Virginian
I believe that the West Virginia men’s basketball team is right on target where the Mountaineers wanted to be in the 2015 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Staten appreciative of LeBron, but looking forward - Exponent Telegram
“He grabbed me close. He told me that he lost a state final his junior year. He told me I was a special player and to keep my head up,” Staten related

Five Moments From Sunday - WVU Athletics
The five best moments from Sunday's win over Maryland.

Gold & Blue Now: Monday, March 23 - WV MetroNews
Bob Huggins and Juwan Staten talk about WVU’s style of play is the reason they’re moving on to the Sweet 16.

Bob Huggins is tweaking the NCAA, the ‘experts,’ and everyone else in his path - Washington Post
"I think that’s the word that’s been bantered around now," he said. "Isn’t it a shame in today’s world you can’t tell the truth? If you tell the truth, you’re abrasive; if you lie, you’re charming."

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 preview: No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 5 West Virginia - Sporting News (autoplay)
Top overall seed Kentucky takes on No. 5 West Virginia on Thursday in a Midwest Region semifinal game in Cleveland.

2015 NCAA tournament Midwest region Sweet 16 preview - SI.com
We’ll tell you how each team got to the Sweet 16 and why they will or won’t make the Final Four.

Reseeding the Sweet 16 of the men's NCAA tournament field - ESPN
9. West Virginia Mountaineers (Reseed: No. 3; previous seed: No. 5)

Bob Huggins says his team would have a better chance if he and Calipari played one-on-one - Kentucky Sports Radio
"I mean, it’s not another game," Huggins told reporters last night. "It’s because it’s in the Sweet 16. It’s in the NCAA Tournament and it’s one-and-done. So you can’t just say it’s another game."

Ranking the Sweet 16: Can Arizona's Wildcats top Kentucky's? - Sporting News (autoplay)
13. West Virginia

Big 12's tourney performance a disappointment - FOX Sports
Through the first weekend, the Big 12 is 5-5 and will be the underdog in both matchups this weekend when Oklahoma (despite being four seed lines higher) takes on Michigan State and West Virginia tries to end Kentucky's perfect season.

Vegas Lines, Odds Released -EerSports
West Virginia opened as a 13.5-point underdog to Kentucky, per VegasInsider.

Football

2015 NFL Mock Draft 12.0 - West Virginia - Scout
13 New Orleans Saints WR Kevin White

Recruiting:

Big 12 college football recruiting scorecard - ESPN
Spring ball rolls on and a few new commitments rolled in, too. The latest from the Big 12 on the recruiting trail.

Wheeling Central's Harler Named West Virginia Class A Captain - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register
Anybody that even remotely follows West Virginia high school boys' basketball knows the name Chase Harler.