Where West Virginia is concerned, however, the difference between a two-round bye, a one-rounder or no bye at all might not be as significant as it is for other teams.

Why? Because coach Bob Huggins practices his team so hard that it probably matters less if his team is playing its third game in three days or its first. Practices the previous two days were generally no picnic.

"I think he coaches the end of the year the same way he coaches at the beginning of the year,'' forward Cam Thoroughman said. "We go hard. There's not much difference.''

Not all coaches follow that formula. Many taper practices as the year goes on, especially at tournament time when games can come at a breakneck pace and conserving energy is considered vital.

Now, Huggins is not a masochist. He's not overworking his team in game-day shoot-arounds or skimping on the days off that allow players to get their legs back.

But neither is he backing off on the same sort of preparation for games that he was doing in November and December.

"You can't change what you're doing,'' Huggins said. "You still have to be ready.''

Case in point is this week. The Mountaineers practiced hard on Monday, then had another full workout Tuesday before traveling to New York. They opened play and lost to Marquette 67-61 Wednesday night in the second round at Madison Square Garden.

Marquette, meanwhile, played the late game Tuesday and then had to do it all over again roughly 22 hours later.

Granted, the results were not what WVU had hoped for, but save for the few hours of time difference between when WVU practiced and traveled and when Marquette played, there probably wasn't much difference in energy expended, especially considering the Golden Eagles had a relatively easy night of it in a 21-point win over Providence.

True, things will get a little testier as the week goes on for the teams that have survived. Connecticut and Marquette both played Tuesday, won two games and now face fresh teams in today's quarterfinals. If either team is to win the tournament, it would have to win five games in as many days.

The two teams that got first-round byes and won (St. John's and Cincinnati) are looking at four in four. The top four seeds don't begin play until today's quarterfinals and face three games in three days.

But here's the thing. That grind has never seriously affected WVU. After practicing hard on Monday, practicing and traveling on Tuesday and then beginning play Wednesday, West Virginia was essentially looking at a potential six hard days in a row. Huggins tries to get his players rest when he can, but he doesn't skimp on workouts in order to do it.

His only real concession this time of year is to cut back those workouts from three hours to about 21/2.

"What if you lose? What are you saving them for?'' Huggins said. "What did that do? You've got to get ready to win.''

Last year, WVU got one of those double byes and won three hard, tough, close games in three days to win the Big East tournament. Huggins then gave the team both Sunday and Monday off from on-court workouts before beginning practice for the NCAA tournament.

Something worked right because the Mountaineers won seven straight tournament games, Big East and NCAA combined, to reach the Final Four.

Consider this, too: Even including Wednesday's loss to Marquette, Huggins is 7-3 in Big East tournament games. His teams are 3-0 with a double bye, 2-2 with a single-round bye and 2-1 with no bye at all. Granted, it's only been three years, but his .700 winning percentage is third best in Big East tournament history.

This is also his 24th Division I conference tournament. In his first 23, spread out over six different leagues, Huggins was a remarkable 38-12 (.760) and won 10 tourney titles in four different conferences.

Apparently, not backing off at this time of the year is not a bad thing.

Thoroughman was asked if he'd figured out any other keys to Huggins' postseason success.

"If I knew the answer to that I'd start coaching right now,'' Thoroughman said. "And do it the same way.''

Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.