BUFFALO, N.Y. -- This is all just a reincarnation.

Heck, even the name of the concept is a bit of a copycat.

There is not much originality; the tactic is short on innovation.

But it sure is long on annoyance -- specifically 94 feet and two-thirds of an hour long.

This whole "Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball" is emblazoned on T-shirts and media notes, is a rallying cry and motto associated with a calculated and frenetic method the Missouri men's basketball program has undertaken since coach Mike Anderson accepted the job in March 2006.

The approach, which West Virginia (28-6) will see in a second-round NCAA tournament matchup today against the Tigers (23-10), is straightforward -- full-court, end-to-end defensive pressure from the opening tip to the final horn.

A novel concept? Hardly.

An ode to a college basketball icon? Exactly.

The "Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball" is a direct descendant of the renowned "40 Minutes of Hell" employed by former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, who used the scheme brilliantly, frazzling Razorbacks opponents and winning the national title in 1994. His teams also reached the Final Four three times.

It makes a ton of sense that the Tigers are running a system predicated on a hectic pace. Anderson is a direct descendent -- in terms of his coaching tree -- of Richardson.

Anderson was an assistant to Richardson at Arkansas and Tulsa, and also played for Richardson at Tulsa.

Anderson knows who dispensed the cement for the groundwork that led to his Missouri team reaching the Elite Eight last season, and being within one win of the Sweet 16 this year.

"I always tell our guys, he's like the grandfather of what we do," Anderson said of Richardson. "He's the grandfather of '40 Minutes of Hell', the 'Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball', most of the stuff I learned from him."

What has been learned by West Virginia coach Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers is that they better be geared up to get pestered on the HSBC Arena floor today.

Missouri leads the nation in steals at 11.1 per game and turnovers forced (19.7) using this arrangement that can do as much to confound opponents physically as it does to perplex their wits.

It is a structure that has allowed Missouri to win 54 games the past two seasons, the 11th most in Division I basketball. It was on display Friday in a first-round victory against Clemson, when Missouri forced 20 turnovers using its approach where nine players average at least 12 minutes of playing time.

"I guess the whole thing about their press is to kind of wear you down throughout the game," West Virginia sophomore forward Kevin Jones said. "And just get you to make mental mistakes."

There is the impact the pressure has on the game, but it becomes more burdensome as the contest approaches its final minutes.

"We've seen it where guys are grasping for their shorts," Anderson said. "Especially within that last 10 minute mark."

That's when the Missouri players know that the 40 minutes they play are, indeed, the fastest.

"I think the wear and tear of the press physically, mentally and even emotionally, I mean in every possible way, I feel like it will wear teams down," Missouri senior guard Zaire Taylor said. "Teams start to get on each other, start to yell at each other. ... It never stops. It seems like the number of bodies never end. So I mean that's how we try to wear a team down. I think it plays a toll physically, mentally and emotionally."

A toll West Virginia will have to withstand if the Mountaineers want their season to prolong past the next 40 minutes.

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