MORGANTOWN - After four seasons and 137 games, Da'Sean Butler has learned a lot about West Virginia - both the state and the school - and the basketball program for which he has become a star. And Monday night, after he played his final home game, it was hard for him to contain his emotions.

"I just love playing here,'' Butler said as he choked up while trying to pin down exactly what makes it so special. "I love the Coliseum, I love the fans, I love the coaches. It's been four years and I've been here almost every day. I don't even go home summers. You build ties throughout those four years.''

West Virginia Illustrated recaps the Georgetown win with several videos, including one with reflections from Da'Sean Butler and others with comments from Coach Bob Huggins and a few of Butler's teammates.

MORGANTOWN - West Viginia University sophomores Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant talk about Monday's win over Georgeown and the Mountaineers earning a double bye in this year's Big East tournament.

Editor's Note: While we respect Mitch Vingle, we disagree with him on this issue. Our stance is that while the Marshall series seems to be a must-have for Marshall, it offers little or nothing to WVU athletically or otherwise. We also think that West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin should not only keep himself off the WVU sidelines, but keep his nose out of WVU scheduling. Mitch, of course, is entitled to his own opinion.

Vingle's column:

WITH ALL that's swirling - including snow - around Gov. Joe Manchin, the last issue with which he needs to deal is football scheduling.

The governor has been knee-deep in snow and the problems of the Mountain State.

Still, Manchin won't make a molehill out of the mountain that is getting WVU and Marshall to negotiate a future football series.

MORGANTOWN. – Eighth-ranked West Virginia got big second half performances from Devin Ebanks, Kevin Jones and Wellington Smith to hold off Cincinnati 74-68 Saturday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.

We sure make it hard on ourselves,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. “I don’t know what it is, but everybody that sees a West Virginia uniform gets hot. They’ve got guys shooting 19 percent from 3 and they come in and make them like they’re supposed to. This is a team that has been getting killed because they haven’t made free throws, and they shoot 87 percent today.”

PARKERSBURG - If Justin Johnson thought growing up in Parkersburg was a good reason to pay attention to WVU football, he was given one more in the past few years when his older brother, Josh Jenkins, joined the team as an offensive guard.

Now the Parkersburg High senior has yet another. Last week, he received an official scholarship offer from the Mountaineers to go along with previous offers he has from Marshall and Ohio University.

MORGANTOWN – Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin says his team has a lot to play for Saturday afternoon when his Bearcats face the Mountaineers in a 2 p.m. Big East Conference game at the WVU Coliseum.

Cincinnati is now 16-11, 7-8 and is fighting to get the NCAA tournament selection committee’s attention. According to RealTimeRPI.com, Cincinnati is 59th with a strength of schedule ranking of 23rd. A win Saturday over seventh-rated West Virginia in Morgantown would give Cincinnati’s NCAA tournament hopes a big boost.

IF THE NCAA decides to go to a 96-team men's basketball tournament, I'd miss the madness associated with March.

A team would have to be in a figurative coma in order to miss the field, and end-of-the-regular-season games would be reduced to little more than exhibitions. What drama, for instance, would there be to see if West Virginia gets a No. 2 or 5 seed? Would it matter an iota whether the Mountaineers play the No. 23 or No. 20 seed?

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The NCAA accused the University of Michigan of failing to comply with practice time rules under Coach Rich Rodriguez, who admitted making "mistakes'' but will be back for a third try at bringing college football's winningest program back into the national title hunt.

Incoming UM Athletic Director David Brandon disclosed the NCAA conclusions today, but said there were no surprises in the report. He expressed full support for his coach, who is 8-16 in two disappointing seasons.