MORGANTOWN - There were many pleasant sights for WVU basketball fans on Monday night at the Coliseum.
There was the sight of Mountaineer forward Lamont West spotting up and the ball splashing the net for treys. There was the strong play of West Virginia guard Jevon Carter. There was the final score displayed on the scoreboard at 11:14 Monday night: WVU 77, Texas 62.
Yet the most pleasant sight for all - WVU, Texas and college basketball fans alike - was Mountaineer coach Bob Huggins walking off the court and into the locker room at halftime. It was the sight of him returning to his beloved stool beside his team's bench after halftime. It was the sight of him giving hugs to buddies afterward.
That's because all in the Coliseum experienced quite a scare after Huggins received an even bigger scare, an apparent defibrillator shock to his heart after a timeout with 26.1 seconds left in the first half. He went to his knees. And the hearts of Mountaineers fans went into their throats in the anxious moments.
Thankfully, Huggins seemed OK. Hopefully, an electrocardiogram test at halftime showed all was good with his heart. It was tested late, briefly, when WVU, seemingly coasting, began to slip and a bad call went the way of Texas. Huggins was up and screaming as per usual.
"I had a defibrillator problem," he said afterward. "I've had [a defib] for a long time."
Again, let's hope all is good for the coach in regard to his health because much has gone right for WVU basketball this season.
Despite a bone-jarring loss to Kansas, the Mountaineers were still ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press poll and No. 13 in the coaches' poll unveiled Monday afternoon.
Even in the renovated Coliseum stands, success has been felt. Even before Monday's penultimate home game, West Virginia had set the home season attendance record with 179,754 fans - breaking the previous record of 173,281 of 2010. A final total of 200,000 is now in sight when the Mountaineers host Iowa State in the last regular season game.
On the court, of course, it never seems easy. Being in the Big 12 these days is like being in the NFL. Get a 1-point win and go home happy. It's not like in the ACC where Florida State has a Boston College to beat up on.
Anyway, the question before WVU's matchup with Texas was this: Again favored by a big spread - 16 points this time - would the Mountaineers join federal workers and take Presidents' Day off?
The answer was no. The defense was getting enough turnovers. The team was working - even with forward Esa Ahmad sitting with back issues.
Yes, there was still angst at the end, but WVU avoided a mortifying loss, a la No. 18 Virginia versus Miami on Monday. Texas wasn't good enough scoring the ball.
No, the hosts didn't reach their No. 1 goal: holding down UT's 6-foot-11 freshman big man Jarrett Allen, who finished with 17 points and 7 rebounds, but the Mountaineers got 23 from West to go with Carter's 24. They got a team victory, winning in points off the bench 36-5. They had but 12 turnovers.
Most important than the victory though was the Mountaineers got to walk off with their coach.
The beat goes on.