Who? The Mountaineers of West Virginia.
What? They're in the mountains. Hence, they are Mountaineers, and they are serious business. And the gun is real. But the beard is optional.
Where? Morgantown, West Virginia, home of an experimental personal rapid transit system (which doesn't seem to be as cool as it sounded; YMMV).
When? March 17th, in Norfolk, Virginia.
How? They were an at-large selection.
Partner: Texas of the Big XII.
Surprise? Nope. West Virginia is a strong program that finished high in the Big East, they've got some good wins, and would you want to tell Asya Bussie she's in the WNIT?
RPI: 39
SOS: 52
Record: 23-9 (11-5 Big East)
Good wins: at Notre Dame
Bad losses: at Cal State-Northridge.
Who's running this show? Mike Carey, since 2001. I've long suspected that he was Dan Hughes's evil twin, just with a mustache instead of a goatee.
Extra, Extra! West Virginia has kindly put together a compilation of newspapers with direct links to the appropriate section. Well done, Mountaineer Sports Network. Well done.
They don't come much more physical than West Virginia- 13 foul-outs don't even start to describe it. Junior center Asya Bussie and her very odd free throw wind-up lead the Mountaineers with 12.2 points per game (but with free throw shooting of 58.9%, you have to wonder how much more dangerous she could be!), adding 6.7 rebounds. Sophomore guard Taylor Palmer is West Virginia's primary deep threat, and she can get hot in a hurry. Junior Ayana Dunning, the LSU transfer, can be a wild card.