NEW YORK — Bob Huggins forgot his pants when he came from Morgantown to Madison Square Garden and he almost lost his shirt until his Mountaineers put on a magnificent second-half comeback behind Da’Sean Butler’s shooting and guard Joe Mazzulla’s floor leadership in beating St. John’s, 79-60.
The victory sets the stage for the Game of the Year in Morgantown on ESPN’s Big Monday, WVU hosting a No. 2-ranked Villanova that was caught looking ahead on Saturday and was thumped by Georgetown, 100-87.
Butler had one of the most magnificent games of his already storied career, scoring a season-high 33 points while tying the record for 3-point shooting accuracy in Garden, the Mecca of college basketball, hitting all seven of his attempts in leading the Mountaineers back from a 16-point deficit.
“I forgot my pants,” Huggins admitted before the game. “I got kind of busy and was going to stop at the dry cleaner and pick them up, but guys were saying ‘C’mon, c’mon, we’ve got to go.’ I didn’t realize I forgot the pants until I started to get dressed today.”
For a while Huggins felt completely naked as nothing went right for the Mountaineers in the first half, shooting terribly and turning the ball over.
“We probably weren’t ready to play,” Huggins said after the game. “I didn’t kill them for two days, didn’t grind them for two days. Then I told them at halftime that it makes it awfully hard on me to have grind and grind to get them to play.”
They took the message, with some dramatic coaching changes by Huggins.
He went to his 1-3-1 zone that has become a staple of his team’s come-from-behind rallies against Louisville, Ohio State and now St. John’s. That means Joe Mazzulla handles the baseline and he did so even though it was quite a chore.
Mazzulla had an injured ankle and Huggins had hoped to rest him the entire game. He didn’t play the first half but had to come on in the second and spearhead a defense that held St. John’s to just 27 second-half points while turning a 16-point deficit into a 19-point victory,
“I wasn’t going to play him,” Huggins revealed after the game. “But what good does it do if I hold him out of this game for Villanova if we lose this game? We have to try to win this game and he did a great job.”
Unlike with Butler, the stats don’t show Mazzulla’s value for those 16 second-half minutes. He did not score, but had three assists and only one turnover and set it up so the offense operated with great efficiency.
In the second half WVU shot 65.5 percent from the field with Mazzulla running the show, Butler scoring 22 of his 33 points, Devin Ebanks 10 of his 12 as he recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds, Wellington Smith scoring all 10 of his points and Kevin Jones scoring 11 of his 13.
But it was Butler moving front and center again.
“Da’ has such a will to win,” said Huggins.
Butler hit 9 of 16 shots, 7 of 7 from 3-points, all eight of his free throws, had four assists, no turnovers and two steals.
He played 39 of the 40 minutes.
The Mountaineers had planned to return to Morgantown after the game, but because of the weather decided to spend the night in New York. They will return today, weather permitting, for Monday night’s showdown with the Wildcats.
