Tenacious at the top

It’s crazy what’s been going on all over the NCAA tournament except here, in the East, where No. 1 Kentucky and No. 2 West Virginia have sidestepped all the obstacles.

No other regional was able to bring together the top two seeded teams in a final.

Kentucky dismissed Cornell, the cute story, and West Virginia answered Washington’s team speed with a physical beat-down.

So it’s come to this on Saturday: an elbow and knees, no-frills affair at the Carrier Dome between border-state schools with a common love for basketball -- but completely different histories.

The pairing here, No. 1 and No. 2, also describes the peach-basket pecking order.

Kentucky has won seven national titles and a record 2,023 games. Basketball is king in the state, whereas West Virginia still craves its first NCAA title and, to a degree, national respect.

“Basketball means a lot to both states,” said Kentucky junior forward Patrick Patterson, who grew up in West Virginia. “West Virginia has football too. But in Kentucky, it’s all about basketball

The snapshot of Kentucky basketball is Adolph Rupp and championship trophies. The snapshot of West Virginia basketball is home-state hero Jerry West, almost leading the Mountaineers to the 1959 championship.

Kentucky has actress Ashley Judd, maybe the team’s biggest fan.

West Virginia?

“We probably have the oldest stars you’ll ever see,” senior Da’Sean Butler said. “Jerry West, people like that. They [Kentucky] have a lot of hip, cool people, and we’ve got some veterans who are famous and watch our games.”

West Virginia has as much right to be here as Kentucky, yet you sense reaching the Elite Eight is a birthright for one school and, for the other, more of a magical ride.

Butler can’t wait to play against Kentucky freshman guard John Wall, the probable No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft.

“There’s a good chance I’ll be playing with a Hall of Famer someday,” Butler said.

One thing for certain about the East Regional final: It’s going to be tenacious. Coaches John Calipari and Bob Huggins are longtime friends but cutthroat competitors.

The artistry of the jump shot will not be on display. Kentucky defeated Cornell on Thursday by 17 points despite making only two of 16 three-point attempts. West Virginia handled Washington by 13 despite shooting only 40%.

Friday’s Kentucky practice at the Carrier Dome was closed to the media, but Calipari’s raised voice easily penetrated the drapes that partitioned the court from the media work area.

He told his Wildcats that a team coached by Huggins is going to scratch and claw.

“If we take the fight to them, they can’t beat us,” Calipari said.

Earlier, at a news conference, Calipari said of Huggins, “He’s as competitive and as good a coach as you’ll see out there.”

When Huggins suffered his massive heart attack in 2002 at the Pittsburgh airport, Calipari flew in from Memphis. In a strange twist, Calipari’s nephew was a member of the ambulance crew that administered to Huggins.

Calipari said his cousin said: “ ‘Coach Huggins, you’re going to be all right. I’m John Calipari’s nephew.’ And he went, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m not going to make it.’ ”

Huggins remembers the nephew saying: “Coach, don’t worry. I’m not going to let you die until Cal beats you at least once.”

Huggins is 7-1 against Calipari, but neither coach has made it to the mountaintop.

Huggins, with Cincinnati, made the Final Four in 1992. Calipari’s Memphis squad two years ago lost the national title, in overtime, to Kansas.

“Cal is going to win a national championship, there isn’t any question,” Huggins said. “... There’s no doubt in my mind. You have to be lucky. I just haven’t been very lucky.”

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com