Kellogg, Harrison Discuss the WVU Women’s Home-Court Advantage in NCAA Tournament

The stage is set for WVU women’s basketball in the NCAA Tournament, as the Mountaineers will host Miami (OH) at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Third time is the charm for head coach Mark Kellogg’s team, as he has led the Mountaineers to the tournament in all three of his seasons in Morgantown, but this year marks his first home regional.

Despite being no stranger to the tournament, Kellogg said it never gets old to hear your name called on Selection Sunday.

“I think our kids, to their credit, have earned the right to play here. So super excited about that,” Kellogg said in a press conference after the selection show. “Tonight, still your name’s called, you’re playing in a tournament, you find opponents, dates, those types of things. That will never get old as long as we do it.”

This will mark the first time WVU hosts an NCAA Tournament game since 1992, and Kellogg hopes to pack Hope Coliseum.

“We would love to pack this place. If we can get 14,000 people in here, that would be just a huge reward, and we’ll feed off of it. We feed off of the energy. It”s passionate fan base. We play that way and I just think it’s great for women’s college basketball, for this area, for our state. Sure. But for all the little kids too that have just grown up, you know, kind of admiring this,” Kellogg said.

Senior guard Jordan Harrison also spoke to the media following the selection show, saying the Mountaineers are a “different team” on their home turf.

“We’ve shown that we can play in front of other people’s home crowds, but I think we’re just a different team. We get a lot more energy … but our defense, it’s just a lot more effective at home, so I think we’re a harder team to play at home,” Harrison said.

Find more coverage of the WVU women’s basketball program at WV Sports Now.