Times have changed for WVU-Pitt rivalry, but the importance has not

MORGANTOWN — In the years that have long ago passed, there was a peak to the WVU-Pitt rivalry. Bob Huggins was there as the Mountaineers point guard.

“At the peak, when I played, it was probably way more intense than any other rivalry I know. It was brutal,” Huggins said. “Everybody was fighting. Fans were fighting. I remember one game when Junior Sample and Tiger Paul got into it. It was like watching two fat guys rolling around. They ushered us off, because that’s when people started throwing things onto the floor.”

The two rivals meet at 8:30 p.m. Friday inside the WVU Coliseum.

It will be the 188th all-time meeting, with WVU (1-0) going for its 100th victory in the series, as well as its fifth consecutive win against the Panthers (0-1).

The last time the Mountaineers had recorded that many consecutive wins against Pitt, Huggins was still in high school.

Yet, this is such a different time for both schools and this rivalry.

The borders for both schools are no longer enclosed, which forced many regional recruiting battles that seemingly added to the bad blood.

WVU plays conference games in the Midwest now, and in a few years, the Big 12 will expand even further into the Mountain Time Zone.

In the ACC, Pitt has blue bloods in Duke and North Carolina to worry about. Those are the games circled on the Panthers’ calendar.

Yet this rivalry has somehow survived the changes and the growth, even if the times have changed to the point where brawls are no longer expected to break out in the stands or on the court.

“My first day here, I heard about this game,” said WVU forward Dimon Carrigan, who transferred in this season from Florida International. “The first day I got here, someone brought up the rivalry between Pitt and West Virginia. I don’t know the history or how long it goes back, but I do know its very important.”

It is simply a basketball game now. Surely not just some ho-hum game in the eyes of the 14,000-plus expected to pack the Coliseum on Friday, but by bigger-picture standards, still just a game.

“It’s been dead for a while,” Huggins said. “Even in the Big East days, it wasn’t nearly like it was back when I played. You didn’t have all the craziness. It was a basketball game.”

And it’s a game both teams need in order to feel better about themselves after a disappointing opening night.

WVU came away with a 60-53 victory against Oakland, but was beaten badly on the boards and in the paint.

Pitt, meanwhile fell to The Citadel, 78-63, in a game where the Panthers gave up 13 3-pointers.

“It’s one of those things where they played a team that just made shots,” Huggins said. “You go back and look at that game — I’ve watched it three or four times — and they made shots and they made hard shots. It wasn’t just standing out there and taking step-in threes, they drove it and pitched it and they really did a good job. I don’t think (Pitt) expected that, but they’ll expect what they get from us, much like we’re going to expect what they bring to us.”

Pitt forward John Hugley went for 27 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward from Cleveland was once a young man Huggins took a look at out of high school, but the Mountaineers were “Press” Virginia then and Huggins wasn’t sure if Hugley would be a good fit.

“They’re intriguing,” Huggins said. “They’ve got great size. Their guards are big. Hugley is a guy I know well. He’s an all-out kid. He’s done a great job of taking care of himself. He’s got great hands. I think Jeff (Capel) has done a great job putting that team together.”

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