West Virginia vs Marquette Basketball Recap

West Virginia 63, Marquette 62

The Big East season is only one week old, but college basketball's biggest conference has already created the kind of moment that could reverberate throughout the rest of the college basketball calendar. If the West Virginia Mountaineers find themselves in a difficult spot in March, they might very well look back on the night of December 29, 2009, and realize that they can overcome any adverse on-court situation.

The outlook was bleak for the home team on Tuesday night at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W. Va. With only 62 seconds remaining in regulation time, the unbeaten and sixth-rated Mountaineers trailed a feisty Marquette squad, 62-57. Just three days after beating Seton Hall in overtime despite blowing a nine-point lead in the last minute of regulation, the Mountaineers - perhaps unsure of themselves due to their late-game wobbles - were outplayed and outpaced for most of the game. After 39 minutes, coach Bob Huggins's club had to stare down the prospect of splitting its first two Big East games. Following the shaky outing at Seton Hall, a loss to Marquette could have created a legitimate crisis of confidence in Appalachia.

But as college basketball so often reminds fans, players and coaches alike, 39-minute leads are quite different from victories. The very comeback West Virginia allowed on Saturday in New Jersey was the comeback the Mountaineers pulled off against the hard-luck Warriors, coached by Buzz Williams.

After West Virginia's Kevin Jones rebounded his own miss and scored a layup with 41 seconds remaining, Marquette still owned a 62-59 advantage. The Warriors, moreover, did not turn over the ball, and earned a one-and-one opportunity with 24 seconds remaining. It appeared that the visitors from Wisconsin would still have their way.

But then, a North Carolina State-Houston flavor entered WVU Coliseum.

Darius Johnson-Odom missed the front end of his one-and-one, and when WVU's Devin Ebanks produced a dunk with 18 seconds left, the lead was down to 62-61. Again, Marquette didn't commit a turnover, and when Jimmy Butler - a 75-percent foul shooter - stepped to the line with 12 seconds left, Williams and the rest of his coaching staff still had to like their chances.

But Butler missed the front end of his own one-and-one, and when Mountaineer star De'Sean Butler hit a difficult, twisting, 18-foot turnaround jumper from the right wing with three seconds remaining, West Virginia had stolen a highly improbable win.

This is the kind of Houdini act which could propel the Mountaineers for a good long while, and bolster their confidence in March. As for Marquette, the only good news about this stomach punch is that the rest of the Big East season awaits.

Buckle up, everyone: If the rest of the Big East season is like this white-knuckler in West Virginia, the journey to Madison Square Garden for the conference tournament is going to be very special indeed.

by Matt Zemek
BigEast-fans.com Correspondent