West Virginia University Athletics

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Big 12 Championship runner-up West Virginia will be making its 29^th NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday in San Diego, California, when the Mountaineers face Ohio Valley Conference champion Murray State in a first-round game.
 
It is West Virginia's ninth appearance in the last 11 seasons under veteran coach Bob Huggins and its 11^th in the last 14 years.
 
Huggins is making his 24^th tournament trip (one at Akron, 14 at Cincinnati and nine at West Virginia) where he owns 31-23 overall record.
 
West Virginia's all-time record in NCAA Tournament games is 29-28, including an 11-7 record under Huggins.
 
The Mountaineers (24-10) are seeded fifth in this year's tournament while Murray State (26-5) received a No. 12 seed.

"We played in San Diego in 2001 or something, and I thought it was a great place to play," Huggins said. "It's a great venue. We're going to go and worry about playing and not the seed."
 
Last year, the Mountaineers were eliminated in the Sweet 16 in San Jose, California, by tournament runner-up Gonzaga, 61-58. It was West Virginia's seventh Sweet 16 appearance since 1998 and 10^th overall.
 
Murray State, which defeated Belmont, 68-51 in the OVC tournament championship game nine days ago, will be making its 16^th NCAA Tournament appearance but first trip to the Big Dance since 2012.
 
The Racers lost just twice in conference play this year against Jacksonville State and Belmont with their other three losses coming against Middle Tennessee State, St. Louis and Auburn.
 
St. Louis gave Murray State it's only double-figure loss this year, a 69-55 road decision to the Billikens back on Dec. 12.
 
Six-foot senior guard Jonathan Stark is one of the most explosive guards in the country, averaging 21.8 points per game while shooting 41 percent from 3. The OVC Player of the Year ranks 16^th nationally in scoring and sixth in 3-pointers with an average of 3.5 per game.
 
He's also 10^th in total 3-pointers made with 109 and 11^th in total points with 676.

"Beetle (James Bolden) played with their point guard when they went to Europe this summer," Huggins said. "Obviously, he's pretty good. He's getting 21.5 a game."
 
Terrell Miller Jr., a 6-foot-8, 245-pound senior forward from Jacksonville, Florida, is Murray State's top inside player with averages of 14.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
 
Ja Morant, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound freshman guard from Dalzell, South Carolina, leads the Racers with 199 assists while averaging 12.6 points per contest.
 
Murray State is averaging 78.9 points per game and shooting 48.5 percent from the floor, including 37.9 percent from 3. The Racers have also outrebounded their opponents by an average of 5.7 per game.

"That's a good league (OVC)," Huggins said. "I coached in that league at Akron."
 
West Virginia senior guard Daxter Miles Jr. scored a game-high 25 points in a losing effort against NCAA Tournament No. 1-seeded Kansas in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship game played last night at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
 
West Virginia was unable to preserve a seven-point lead with 10 minutes to go as the torrid-shooting Jayhawks made 15-of-27 from 3-point distance to pull away with an 81-70 victory.
 
Sophomore forward Sagaba Konate scored 18 points and senior guard Jevon Carter contributed 17 in a losing cause - West Virginia's third-straight Big 12 Tournament runner-up finish.
 
Carter leads the Mountaineers in scoring (17.0 ppg.) and continues to lead the country in total steals with 97.
 
His four-year totals include 1,697 points, 538 assists, 527 rebounds and 315 steals - the only player ever from a Power 5 conference with more than 1,500 points, 500 assists, 500 rebounds and 300 steals in his career.
 
Miles Jr. has boosted his season scoring average to 13 points per game, while Konate (10.8 ppg.) and junior forward Esa Ahmad (10.1 ppg.) also boast double-figure scoring averages.
 
West Virginia is averaging 79.6 points per game and is outscoring its opponents by an average of 10.6 points per game. The Mountaineers are shooting 43.4 percent overall.
 
The winner of the West Virginia-Murray State game will face the winner of fourth-seeded Wichita State and 13^th-seeded Marshall next Sunday.
 
Cincinnati knocked Wichita State out of the American Conference Tournament semifinals yesterday, while Marshall defeated Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Tournament finals last night to earn its first NCAA Tournament bid in 31 years.
 
Tickets and other NCAA Tournament information will be released later this evening.