The biggest game on the schedule is the next one and for the West Virginia basketball team that’s the home match-up against Utah.
The Utes sit at 13-9 overall and 5-6 in the Big 12 Conference and have a lot of variety on the defensive end of the floor. And from a preparation standpoint that can present challenges.
“Keeping you off balance the run triangle, they run box, they run 2-3 zone, they run man. They’ll guard some guys, not guard some other guys. It’s a lot to prepare for,” head coach Darian DeVries said.
The goal is to play and remain aggressive and not spend too much time trying to figure out what they’re trying to do to avoid bad possessions on the offensive end.
Utah also presents a big lineup that is going to challenge the Mountaineers in the front court as well as being equipped with good back cuts and offensive sets to score in a variety of ways. Like most contests, rebounding will be key and getting a body on the opposition.
West Virginia is coming off a loss to TCU and the lesson throughout the course of the Big 12 Conference slate is that the league is challenging and presents plenty of pitfalls regardless of the opponent. That makes the focus on the here and now.
The Mountaineers have done a good job putting themselves in position in the league but the team has to finish the job. That makes this game against Utah critical and then comes another chance at home against BYU before West Virginia hits the road once again.
“For us it’s been a pretty narrow focus. We have to play good for the 40 minutes in front of us,” DeVries said.
“Saturday is a big home game, like they all are, but the most important one is the next one,” he said.
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