West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries wanted his team to be defined by tough, gritty basketball. The three-game stretch in the Battle 4 Atlantis captured exactly that.
The Mountaineers played three consecutive overtime games beating No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 24 Arizona while falling to Louisville for a third-place finish in the loaded field.
It was a surprise to many as the basketball program was slotted at No. 13 in the Big 12 preseason poll but showed their fight and abilities in three very tightly contested ball games.
“Never been a part of three games like that, especially the quality of opponents we went up against these last three days. So just incredible resolve and grit and toughness from our group all three nights to come away with a win tonight and do it in overtime I couldn’t be any more proud of them,” he said.
West Virginia outrebounded the bigger Wildcats 40-39 in the 83-76 win and that included 15 offensive rebounds. The Mountaineers also turned 14 turnovers into 24 points despite relying on a limited rotation with each of the starters playing at least a total of 30-plus minutes.
It was exactly the brand of basketball that the Mountaineers wanted to be their calling card.
“I think our entire team had a ton of grit this week. Three overtime games in three days, guys playing a lot of minutes and I thought as a whole our group just stuck together,” forward Tucker DeVries said.
DeVries finished with 26 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds across 36 minutes and made some critical plays to put the Mountaineers in position to win. And despite blowing the lead late, it was West Virginia that appeared to be the team that was most prepared for that extra period.
And playing three games in a row certainly will do that.
“Personally I feel we were the team that was ready for the overtime. We played two overtime games and I feel that we went in there confident that they gave us an extra five minutes that we should win the game,” said forward Toby Okani.
The Mountaineers now sit at 5-2 on the season with four consecutive home games coming up before the Big 12 Conference schedule begins. That is a golden opportunity for the program to build even more heading into a very tough stretch once Big 12 play begins.
But for now, West Virginia is just focused on being the best version of themselves.
“Every night we line up and play we’re trying to win those 40 minutes and where that ends up at the end of the year is where it’s going to end up. But we’re not really concerned about any of that stuff right now,” DeVries said. “We’re just really into what we’re doing and what we’re trying to do to get better and continuing to progress and make strides as soon as the season goes along.”
Still, the program made quite the impression this past week.
“I think it says a lot about the work our guys have put in since they got on campus. They continue to believe in one another. I know this group feels that we have plenty to grow into and we’re excited about that. They’re eager to work,” DeVries said.
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