INDIANAPOLIS — The careers of Joe Mazzulla and Korie Lucious have always been entwined by more than just their point guard position. When they made headlines, it wasn’t the kind they’d save for scrapbooks.
“Mazzulla, WVU Teammate Busted for Cop Scuffle, Drinking.”
“Lucious Breaks Ankle in NCAA Title Tilt.”
“Strike Two: Mazzulla Arrested for Domestic Violence.”
“Lucas Goes Down; Lucious Saves Day?”
“Brutal Shoulder Injury KOs Mazzulla Season.”
No, their college careers have not been “One Shining Moment.” Yet, here they are in Indianapolis, in the Final Four, on the biggest stage of their careers. And guess what? They’re playing the best basketball of their careers.
Mazzulla and Lucious are the reason West Virginia and Michigan State are playing in today’s semifinals and not sitting home cursing dumb luck for losing their starting point guards.
All Mazzulla did was score a career-high 17 points in leading West Virginia to a head-scratching upset of Kentucky in the East Regional final. Lucious, meanwhile, hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat Maryland in the Sweet 16.
Losing a point guard isn’t like a football team losing a quarterback. However, in the NCAA Tournament, it’s close. Playing before 30,000 people in football stadiums requires grizzled veterans.
Mazzulla and Lucious have been there, but as bit players. They’re lucky they’re here at all.
Take Mazzulla. West Virginia coach Bob Huggins suspended him indefinitely last April for the domestic altercation at a Morgantown, W.Va., nightclub. He had already lost his starting position to Darryl Bryant after fracturing his shoulder Dec. 9 and missing the rest of the season.
After pleading guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct and some Vatican-level pleas of forgiveness, Mazzulla had his suspension lifted. He didn’t miss a game and he has played like Huggins has been his savior since. When Bryant fractured his foot in practice March 23, Mazzulla took back the starting job against Kentucky as if he never left it.
“It meant a lot to kind of pay Hugs back for everything he’s done, and pay my teammates back as well as the university and the state,” Mazzulla said. “If there was one thing I could do to say thank you it was just play as hard as I can and get Hugs back here.”
Huggins wasn’t exactly promoting a freshman from some coal mining town. Two years ago, the two-time Rhode Island player of the year had a triple-double in knocking Duke from the NCAAs, a game he celebrated by slapping the court in defiance.
However, back then he was healthy. His shoulder injury forced the lefty to learn to shoot right-handed. He didn’t start shooting like normal until February.
“It’s hard for me to explain to you how hard it was on him,” said Huggins, whose Mountaineers (31-6) play Duke (33-5) tonight at 6:47 p.m. MDT. “I don’t think the medical staff could say that he would be able to come back.”
He has come back off the court too. The junior has already received his degree.
Bryant, meanwhile, shot with his teammates at practice on Friday, but is still listed as doubtful to play today.
Lucious’ issues have been more recent. After recovering from his broken foot, he was spotty coming off the bench all season. He had six turnovers in a 1-for-5 night — all 3-pointers — in a loss at Illinois.
When leading-scorer Kalin Lucas ruptured his Achilles in the first half against Maryland in the second round NCAA game, Spartans fans looked at Lucious and started tearing up their brackets. TV commentators couldn’t denounce him fast enough.
But before fans could grab blindfolds, Lucious nailed that 3-pointer from the top of the key to put away the Terrapins with a season-high 13 points. He followed that with 10 points against Northern Iowa and eight against Tennessee, with four assists in each game.
“A lot of people are going to have different thoughts on my abilities,” said Lucious, whose 28-8 Spartans meet 32-4 Butler at 4:07 p.m. “My teammates knew what I could do, what kind of confidence they had in me. They enabled me to have a lot more confidence in myself.”
He also learned another factoid that gave him more confidence. That heart-stopping bomb against Maryland? It’s now part of CBS’s “One Shining Moment.”
6:47 p.m. today, KCNC-4
(1) Duke: 33-5 overall, 13-3 Atlantic Coast (2) West Virginia: 31-6 overall, 13-5 Big East
Key matchup:
West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler vs. Duke’s Kyle Singler
Butler is the Mountaineers’ star, averaging 17.4 ppg and taking all the big shots. Singler, at 6-foot-8, may enjoy guarding the 6-7 Butler after chasing Baylor’s 6-4 LaceDarius Dunn all day Sunday. The Mountaineers used a 1-3-1 zone to fluster Kentucky and will use it to test the Blue Devils.
Up high:
Butler isn’t a great shooter but can post up and score from anywhere. Point guard Joe Mazzulla is a former starter who overcame injuries and suspensions to replace Darryl Bryant in the NCAA Tournament. He’s coming off a career- high 17 points in the Kentucky game. Jon Scheyer isn’t shooting well (.333) in the tournament but leads Duke at 18.2 points per game.
Down low:
West Virginia’s Devin Ebanks (8.2 rpg) and Kevin Jones (7.2 rpg) are demons on the boards, which is where this game will be won. Duke’s front line has been its weak spot but the improved play of 7-1 Brian Zoubek has been huge.
They said it:
“It’s a (zone) defense that fits well for their personnel. We’ve worked on it. We feel comfortable attacking it in practice, but we can’t simulate that length. So you won’t know that.” — Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski
Injury update: Point guard Darryl Bryant broke his foot in practice March 23. Coach Bob Huggins said he’d be shocked if he played. Joe Mazzulla, Bryant’s replacement, still gets daily treatment for his fractured shoulder.
4:07 p.m. today, KCNC-4
(5) Butler: 32-4 overall; 18-0 Horizon League (5) Michigan State: 28-8 overall, 14-4 Big Ten
Key matchup:
Butler’s Ronald Nored vs. Michigan State’s Korie Lucious
Lucious has performed well in place of leading scorer Kalin Lucas, who ruptured his Achilles. But Lucious is also capable of putting up a stinker and the Spartans will be in trouble if Nored takes him out of his game. Nored leads the team with 63 steals.
Up high:
Butler’s Shelvin Mack (14.2 ppg) and Willie Veasley (10.1) combine to average nearly 25 points a game and Nored typifies Butler’s carefulness with the ball. Nored can’t shoot but Veasley and Mack are deadly. Lucious’ drop-step turnaround jump shot against Northern Iowa has been a CBS mainstay in its promos, and Durrell Summers is a lockdown defensive player who has discovered his jump shot.
Down low:
Butler’s Gordon Hayward is 6-foot-9 but has guard-like skills. He can shoot from the outside, dribble and can post up. He’s also not only the team’s top scorer (15.5 ppg) but also its top rebounder (8.2). Raymar Morgan (11.5 ppg) has replaced Lucas as Michigan State’s leading scorer. Delvon Roe (6.5 ppg) is a bull underneath but isn’t much of a scorer.
They said it:
“We’ve maintained a pretty good normalcy to the week. It’s actually been nice to check into the hotel, to kind of just isolate ourselves that way a little bit.” — Butler coach Brad Stevens.
Injury update: Delvon Roe and backup guard Chris Allen are at about 60 percent, with a torn meniscus and an arch sprain, respectively. Guard Kalin Lucas is out.
