WVU uses 3-point shooting, 1-3-1 zone to defeat Wildcats

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Somewhere, John Beilein is smiling.

After all, it was former WVU head coach's trademarked style of play of 3-point shooting and the 1-3-1 defense that led West Virginia to the program's second Final Four appearance Saturday with a win over Kentucky.

The Mountaineers hit 10 3-pointers in the game, including eight in the first half, while their 1-3-1 defense stymied a young and inexperienced Wildcat squad, which entered as a No. 1 seed.

"We had to it," said senior Wellington Smith. "We definitely didn't play Huggins' basketball, but we made it work."

All of the Mountaineers field goals in the first half came on eight 3-pointers including four from Da'Sean Butler, who ended with a team-high 18 points along with six rebounds.

West Virginia ended the first half 0-for-16 from inside the arc and couldn't get past a lengthy Kentucky squad which included forward DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson. The Wildcats' first 12 points came inside the paint while UK outrebounded WVU 29-13 in the opening half.

"They did a really good job every time we drove to the basket," Butler said. "We weren't playing strong inside the 3-point line."

The rebounding advantage was an aspect the Mountaineers were willing to sacrifice, however, due to the team's success in the 1-3-1 – a defense traditionally known for its difficulty to rebound out of.

In an untypical move by West Virginia, the team elected to use the 1-3-1 as the go-to defense throughout the game, especially late in the second half.

The move to use the 1-3-1 wasn't decided until WVU began its warm-ups during pregame, according to point guard Joe Mazzulla.

"We were going to change defenses to make them think," Huggins said. "We covered them better in (the 1-3-1) than we did our man-to-man. We were outmanned."

In the defense, the 6-foot-2 Mazzulla was given the difficult task of guarding the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Cousins as the back man. While Cousins still finished with 15 points, the freshman failed to get into a rhythm to make him a dominant force for the Wildcats.

"Him being down low bothered us," said Kentucky forward Patrick Patterson. "He was physical, he was tough. He did whatever he could as a defensive player to stop us from scoring down low."

The tough chore didn't affect the junior's offense, either. Mazzulla scored a career-high 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the win, including hitting his first 3-pointer since Nov. 28, 2008 in the first half.

It was Mazzulla's first start of the season, and earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honors.

"Joe stepped up," Smith said. "He's basically been a starter. He's gone through so much to get to where he needs to go. I'm so proud of him."

In the second half, the Mountaineers began to play their type of basketball. After being held without a two-point field goal in the first half, it took Mazzulla just 1:53 to score on a lay up.

"I told them at halftime that we have to keep grinding it," Huggins said. "We have to keep screening, cutting and curling and doing all the things we do. I knew it'd open up because people get tired of chasing it. It did in the second half."

The win marks the first Final Four for West Virginia since 1959 – the year when the Mountaineers lost in the national championship. It's the team first win over Kentucky since the 1959-60 season.

Huggins is now 8-1 all-time against UK head coach John Calipari.
brian.gawthrop@mail.wvu.edu