West Virginia head coach John Beilein's offensive system has blossomed under the athletic versatility of Mike Gansey and the match-up problems that 6-foot-11 Kevin Pittsnogle creates with his shooting touch. The host Mountaineers spaced the floor to great effect Saturday against a Marquette team that underestimated the extent to which its opponent relies on three-pointers.

West Virginia hit 20 three-pointers — a Big East record — behind Gansey and Pittsnogle who buried shot after shot in the Mountaineers' 104-85 victory. They hit them off picks, off inside-out passes — sometimes they just shot right over the top of Marquette's outstretched arms.

"It was phenomenal shooting," said head coach Tom Crean in his postgame radio show. "A lot of times we had a hand in their face."

And a lot of times they did not.

Marquette sophomore Dan Fitzgerald, who certainly was not the only culpable Marquette defender, gave Gansey too much space on the perimeter in the opening minutes. The Mountaineer senior, whose 62.6 field-goal percentage is remarkable for a perimeter player, buried his first five three-point attempts. He scored 17 points in the first 8:11 of the game, and his team jumped out to a 27-15 lead.

On the rare occasions that Marquette (12-5, 2-2 Big East) overplayed the perimeter threat, Gansey simply cut backdoor for easy finishes. He scored a career-high 33 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including 8-of-11 from behind the arc.

Pittsnogle, who added 30 points, asserted himself in a decisive 17-5 run in the second half. He scored eight points during the stretch that saw West Virginia (12-3, 4-0) increase its lead to 73-56.

Despite Marquette's defensive woes, the individual brilliance of freshman guard Dominic James kept his team close for a while. James scored 19 of his 28 points in the first half, and Marquette cut the deficit to 45-43 with under a minute to play in the opening period. James added eight assists and six rebounds, and senior Joe Chapman chipped in with 18 points off the bench.

Senior Steve Novak, who had entered the game in the best form of his career (27.7 ppg in his previous three games), went 2-of-8 for six points in 34 minutes.

Crean, cognizant of the staggering efficiency (25 assists, five turnovers) the Mountaineers exhibited, emphasized the positives.

"Down the road it's going to be an unbelievable learning experience for this team," he said.

Right now, it is a 19-point road loss to a superior Big East foe.