West Virginia fans chanted “Final Four! Final Four!” as the players took their spots at halfcourt after the final buzzer. Butler, who scored 18 points, led the Mountaineers in a little Final Four dance and they cupped their ears to the crowd.

“I talked about it being special,” Huggins told the crowd. “Two more and it will be really special.”

It’s been a turbulent time for Huggins since his previous Final Four appearance. He was forced out at Cincinnati, had a heart attack in 2002 and spent a year coaching Kansas State before he found the country roads back to Morgantown in 2007.

“I told all guys I recruited, we want to win a national championship,” he said. “We need you to be a piece of what we want to do.”

He couldn’t have imagined at the start of the tournament relying on Mazzulla to be the key piece that led his team to Indianapolis.

But the Mountaineers had the stage Saturday after Kentucky grabbed the spotlight all season.

Butler, who played with a sore right hand, was a big part of Kentucky’s problem. He made four of West Virginia’s 10 3-pointers

The Mountaineers led 28-26 at halftime in one of the quirkiest 20 minutes of shooting in tournament history. They made eight of 15 3-pointers — and went 0 for 16 on 2s. Not inside, not mid-range, not from anywhere except beyond the arc.

Butler hit four of them, shouting toward the crowd and pounding his chest after each one.

More oddities: Kentucky missed all eight 3s in the first half and outrebounded WVU 29-13. But the Mountaineers had only three turnovers after averaging 11.9 per game this season.

Mazzulla made five of 11 shots before fouling out late in the game, but all of them were clutch.

Kentucky had the lottery picks. West Virginia had Mazzulla.

Now, Mountaineers fans will be singing “Take me home, country roads,” from Syracuse to Morgantown and all the way to Indianapolis.

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Mark J. Terrill / AP

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