The West Virginia men's basketball team was crying out for anyone who would listen.
The Mountaineers' chants of "MVP" from inside their locker room immediately following their come-from-behind win over Villanova Saturday summed up their support for who they believe should be the Big East Conference Player of the Year.
They weren't talking about Scottie Reynolds or Wes Johnson.
Instead it was Da'Sean Butler who, to no one's surprise, was one of the first out of that overjoyed locker room.
He had plenty to talk about.
The senior had just hit yet another game-winning shot, this time to lift WVU past No. 9 Villanova on the road in both team's regular-season finale.
With the win, the Mountaineers kept hope alive for a No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament and got the win over a top 10 team they've been searching for all season.
It's no wonder his teammates considered Butler the hero once again.
The Mountaineers struggled greatly in the first half, scoring just 16 points. But it was Butler who stepped up, ending with a game-high 21 points.
WVU hit just 2-of-10 free throws in the first half, but Butler hit 13-of-14 including hitting all four following a Jay Wright technical foul that gave West Virginia its first lead of the game with 9:30 remaining in regulation.
Once again, Butler bailed his team out even when it didn't deserve it.
It shouldn't have been a surprise, though – he's been doing it all year.
A game-winning 3-pointer against Marquette, a last-second layup on the road against Cleveland State and a smooth jumper off an inbounds pass against Louisville has all been ways Butler sends WVU home happy.
He's running out of ways to hit game-winning shots.
He's forcing others to run out of excuses on why he's not the best player in the Big East.
Butler proved his value over Villanova guard Reynolds Saturday against the Wildcats. It was the WVU forward, not Reynolds, who stepped up to lead his team to its most important win of the season.
Butler was the one who hit the game-winning shot. Reynolds missed his chance off the front of the rim.
Big East Players of the Year make those types of shots in those types of situations, especially when they're as wide open as Reynolds was.
Johnson may be ahead of Butler in most of the major statistics besides points-per-game, but Johnson isn't as important to his team as Butler is to the Mountaineers.
At Syracuse, that role belongs to Andy Rautins. But it's not just Rautins, as Johnson's entire supporting cast is more complete and more experienced with Kris Joseph and Arinze Onuaku.
On a team that consists of Rautins and Onuaku, both standout seniors, Johnson doesn't have to worry about leading the Orange – he's just along for the ride.
The most talented Mountaineers behind Butler, however, are all sophomores.
Still, his performance day-in and day-out has led to a more consistent season for WVU and, more importantly, no embarrassing upsets, which could be the team's most impressive trait of the year.
It hasn't taken much for West Virginia players to witness first-hand how Butler's presence has affected the success of this year's team.
If the coaches who voted on the award followed as closely, they'd make those postgame chants ring true.
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