MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Preparations are well underway for Mark Kellogg and the WVU women’s basketball team as they are just a few days away from playing Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Kellogg detailed his initial thoughts on the ninth-seeded Tigers, the opportunity that lies ahead for the Mountaineers, and broached the topic of the now-open transfer portal on Tuesday.

Here are the biggest takeaways from Kellogg’s time with the media.

Scouting the Tigers

Princeton is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament, nor is it unfamiliar with facing Power 5 teams. The Tigers faced four NCAA Tournament teams this year, splitting those contests. With one common opponent, Oklahoma, there is some direct tape for West Virginia to examine.

Even before diving too deep into the tape, Kellogg and his staff know the Ivy League champs who await the Mountaineers in Iowa City deserve their full attention.

“Quality, quality program [and] team, they’re having a fantastic year. It’s [five out of the last six] years in a row for them in the tournament,” said Kellogg. “They beat North Carolina State a year ago in the tournament, beat Kentucky the year before that in the tournament. So, they’re good. They’re really, really good; well-coached. They’re tough, they’re physical, they rebound it really well. Three guards lead them in scoring. [They] don’t shoot a ton of threes, but can get going from three. And then they kind of kill teams at the mid-range. They’re elite as any team, as good as any team from the mid-range.”

Is the eye-popping stat too eye-popping?

If there is one season-long Princeton stat that can jump off the page it’s how efficiently the Tigers’ opponents have shot from three-point land. Princeton ranks 349th out of 349 Division I teams in three-point defense, allowing opponents to make 38 percent of their tries from beyond the arc.

Asked if that stat can make West Virginia players’ eyes light up, especially given that WVU players attempted more than 670 trey balls this year, Kellogg noted that the initial stat can be somewhat deceiving.

“They don’t give up very many, though,” said Kellogg. “They only give up five or 5.8, something like that, a game. So, it’s not like you’re shooting at a high percentage and they’re giving up 10 or 12 threes a game. But they do keep you in front, defensively.”

Playing on the biggest first-round stage

It’s not an overstatement to say West Virginia is playing in arguably the most-anticipated first-round quadrant in NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament history. Caitlin Clark, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, and the Iowa Hawkeyes are playing host to WVU, Princeton and the winner of one of the 16-seed play-in games. Tickets sold out almost instantly, and record crowds are expected in Carver-Hawkeye Arena this weekend.

To Big 12 fans, a budding star like JJ Quinerly needs no introduction. But to a national audience, Quinerly — the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Ann Myers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award — and the rest of this Mountaineer squad are likely an unknown. The NCAA Tournament provides an opportunity for more people than ever before to learn the names on the backs of their jerseys.

“It can for JJ, any player on the team, our program that we’re trying to build here,” Kellogg said.

“Us being in Iowa City, obviously, that will take it to another level, as well, because [Clark] is the face of college basketball. So, yeah, JJ’s got an opportunity. All of our kids do.”

The portal is open

The transfer portal opened up for college basketball players on Monday. Kellogg shared his viewpoint that the portal opens too early in the basketball calendar, given that the sports’ postseason is just getting underway with NCAA and other national tournaments still to be played.

He argued that players from teams who didn’t make the NCAA Tournament jumping into the portal quickly has forced numerous teams to make the decision not to play in the postseason.

Meanwhile, Kellogg and the Mountaineers are prepping for the big dance. Even while scouting Princeton, and getting ready for everything the NCAA Tournament has to offer, select WVU staff members were tasked with delving into the portal to get an early grip on the talent that is out there.

“It was hot and heavy yesterday,” Kellogg said. He later added, “We have coaches and help that are looking at that, and perusing it and keeping tabs on it while the rest of us are keeping more of our attention on Princeton. But, no, there was some recruiting going on yesterday, too, mixed in there, and trying to stay focused just so you stay on top of it.”