MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – To a man, the West Virginia University basketball team realizes it is going up against the hottest team in the NCAA tournament when it faces 32-4 Louisville Saturday afternoon at The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M.
"They're a terrific team," said West Virginia coach John Beilein.
The coach said he took a few minutes soaking in the Texas Tech victory before reality set in that his team is going up against one of the most talented teams in the country playing with a chip on its shoulder for not being seeded higher in the tournament.
"I was so pleased about our win over Texas Tech that you don't think about the next game at that point," he said. "You're just relieved to get through another day to keep these guys together. Now the reality has set in of how terrific Louisville is but at the same time the opportunity that we have in front of us is outstanding."
Louisville won its 12th game in a row in impressive fashion Thursday night by knocking off No. 1-seeded Washington 93-79. The Cardinals had little trouble against Washington and many of the West Virginia players were able to get a first-hand look at Louisville before its game against Texas Tech in the nightcap.
"They're a great team," said West Virginia forward Mike Gansey. "They're well coached and it's going to be a real tough battle tomorrow because they can not only shoot but they can drive to the hoop. They've got good big men, they can rebound; they do everything great."
West Virginia center Kevin Pittsnogle agrees.
"They're definitely a top-10 team in the nation and they're going to be tough to match up with," he said. "Looking at their team they're huge and it's interesting to see how they match up with us also."
Even though Coach Rick Pittino has been successful using a 2-3 zone defense instead of the full-court trapping style that he is most known for, Louisville is still averaging 81 points per game and has five players averaging double figures.
Six-foot-seven-inch junior forward Francisco Garcia averages 16.1 points per game and is one of five Louisville players handing out 50 or more assists this season.
Six-four senior guard Larry O'Bannon is averaging 15 points and shooting 49 percent from the field including 42.6 percent from three-point range.
Taquan Dean, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, is averaging 14.2 points per game and scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds against Washington despite suffering a sprained ankle. Dean says he will be ready to face West Virginia Saturday afternoon.
Ellis Myles, a powerful 6-foot-7-inch, 245-pound senior forward and Juan Palacios, a 6-foot-8-inch, 245-pound freshman forward, average 10.2 and 9.9 points per game respectively.
"They're like tight ends and they're skilled," said Beilein. "In the Big East we saw that a little bit. We see that from Boston College. Notre Dame has got some rugged guys inside. Syracuse is more of the skinnier guys that just jump over you. Villanova between (Curtis) Sumpter and (Jason) Fraser, those guys are strong inside as well."
Myles is U of L's top rebounder averaging 9.3 boards per game.
Louisville is shooting 46.7 percent overall and 40.1 percent from three. Louisville owns an impressive 6.1 rebounds per game advantage and has a positive 561 to 519 assist-to-turnover ratio.
"I'm really impressed with their assist numbers," said Beilein. "Their center (Myles) has 100 assists. That might be the only center type in the country with 100 assists."
Louisville is an outstanding 9-1 in road games and 17-2 overall in games away from its home facility.
The Cardinals four losses this year have come against Iowa 76-71 on Nov. 22, against Kentucky 60-58 on Dec. 18, at Houston 70-67 on Jan. 5, and at home against Memphis 85-68 on Feb. 9.
Louisville defeated DePaul, TCU, UAB and Memphis to win the Conference USA tournament and then added NCAA tournament wins over Louisiana-Lafayette, George Tech and Washington.
West Virginia (24-10) made it to the regional finals by defeating Creighton, Wake Forest and Texas Tech. It is the Mountaineers first regional final since making it to the NCAA tournament finals in 1959 when they lost to California, 71-70.
West Virginia's only victory over Louisville came in the 1959 tournament when the Mountaineers defeated the Cardinals 94-79 in Freedom Hall in the Final Four to reach the finals.
Game time for Saturday's game is set for 4:40 p.m. The winner of the West Virginia-Louisville game will meet the winner of Illinois-Arizona in the Final Four in St. Louis next Saturday.
