I'm sure that somewhere in the game plan, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins had a photo of Kevin Pangos face with as many emphatic circles drawn around it -- don't leave this guy open.
In the midst of starting to pull off the upset against a ranked team at home, some of the Mountaineers forgot about that, and Pangos, who had been quiet all game, absolutely burned them. It all started with 4:12 left in the second half and the Zags trailing by one, 65-66. It ended with 2:25 minutes left in the second half, and the Zags holding a 74-66 lead, one that was just big enough for them to escape out of Morgantown with the win. In between, it was business as usual for Pangos as he drilled three consecutive three-pointers.
Zach already did a fantastic job of detailing what went right in the game, but I'd like everyone to pick up whatever glass or mug they have in their hand this morning and have a nice e-cheer for Przemek Karnowski. Karnowski had the best game of his Gonzaga career, finishing with 19 points and 13 rebounds. It was the rest of the stat sheet that was most impressive -- namely, just one foul in 32 minutes. Karnowski held his own while Dower sat on the bench, and he challenged West Virginia to come at him. It was a mature effort from the youngster and maybe all the bemoaning about his youth might have been a bit premature.
Also, I noticed that Kevin Pangos was roundly booed, more so than the other Bulldogs, every time he touched the ball. I went back, noticed that Pangos had neither burned the Mountaineers in previous games nor said anything really inflammatory. So I went to the source, and I have to say kudos to the Mountaineers' student section on this one.
@wernies they just pick one and go with it, seriously
— Smoking Musket (@SmokingMusket) December 11, 2013
Here is the game flow for the contest, which pretty much shows that no lead was safe.
And here is the box score.
