Three Keys to West Virginia's upset win over Gonzaga
In opening round action of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, West Virginia faced the 3rd-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. To say the least, this was a stiff test for the new-look Mountaineers and first-year head coach Darian DeVries.
Gonzaga entered play on Wednesday bolstering the nation’s top offense in terms of offensive efficiency. West Virginia entered play with wins over Robert Morris, UMass, Iona, and a 24-point loss to Pitt. But despite being a heavy underdog entering the game, West Virginia picked up the 86-78 overtime win over Gonzaga to move on to the semifinals.
Three Keys to the Mountaineers upset win
1. Effort and Defensive Intensity
From the opening tip-off, it was evident that West Virginia was not going to be out-toughed or out-hustled. In the game, they held Gonzaga to 26-65 (40%) shooting from the floor and even had the rebounding advantage (42-36). Coming into the season, rebounding was a major area of concern for a bit of an undersized Mountaineer team. The story on Wednesday was one of “all in” team rebounding. Amani Hansberry collected 8 boards, Javon Small hauled in 7, while Tucker DeVries and Sencire Harris each had 6. Though it is just one game, the West Virginia coaching staff, players, and fans have to be encouraged by this performance on the glass against Gonzaga.
"I think we actually did a really good job rebounding than we have the whole season," Small told the press following the game. "Just not giving them second-chance opportunities, just rebounding, stopping them in transition, and keeping the ball in front of us and trying to be in those gaps, I feel like we did pretty good."
We’d be remiss to mention effort and defense without mentioning the performance put forth by Sencire Harris. Harris was the feature matchup with one of the nation's top point guards, Ryan Nembhard. On the day, Nembhard had 7 points and 12 assists but shot just 1-10 from the floor in 43 minutes of action. To go along with the aforementioned 6 rebounds, Harris has 2 steals and 2 blocks. DeVries was also terrific defensively as well with 2 steals and 4 blocked shots.
"I think Sencire did a great job on Nembhard, making everything difficult for them," Tucker DeVries added.
2. Steady play from Tucker DeVries
Tucker DeVries did an excellent job leading the offense alongside point guard Small. DeVries, the 2-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year is one of the best scorers in all of college basketball averaging 21.6 points per game last season at Drake. On Wednesday afternoon, he let the game come to him and he thrived. He facilitated, made the extra pass, and found the open man bringing stability to the flow within the offense. He shot the ball just 9 times, making 4 field goals. He got to the free throw line 7 times, knocking down 6. He dished out 4 assists to lead the team as well.
Perhaps DeVries made the two biggest game-changing plays as well. Trailing 71-66 with just 20 seconds remaining, DeVries knocked down a three to cut the lead to 2. With Gonzaga trying to beat the West Virginia press, DeVries swiped the basketball from Nolan Hickman at mid-court and drove to the basket where he was fouled by Hickman with 5 seconds remaining. DeVries made both free throws, West Virginia got a stop and the game went into overtime.
"I got a decent look and I was able to make it," DeVries said about the crucial plays he made to force overtime. "I thought the guys up front on the press did a great job of speeding them up and, you know, they were kind of in a rush to get across half-court, and a little loose. I happened to get a steal and make a play."
3. Javon Small’s shotmaking ability
A well-deserved mention goes out to Amani Hansberry for his 19 point, 8 rebound performance, but Javon Small was the guy who carried the load for the Mountaineers offensively.
Small finished the day with 31 points, shooting 9-of-18 from the field, 4-of-10 from behind-the-arc, and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. 23 of Small’s 31 points came in the second half and overtime. After trailing by 8 at halftime Small’s ability to fill it up from the field helped the Mountaineers to be able to quickly cut into the Gonzaga lead and make it a competitive, back-and-forth game for the entire second half.
The Oklahoma State transfer point guard shined bright in the first-round at The Battle 4 Atlantis and was the offensive star that engineered a West Virginia upset victory.
"The win is more important," Small said regarding his individual performance. "I know i played pretty well, i did what the team needed me to do. I mean all around, I think I had a pretty good game, but like I said, the win was just more important."
Next up?
West Virginia moves on to face old Big East foe Louisville in the semifinal round, set to tip-off at 12pm EST on ESPN on Thanksgiving Day. Louisville and first-year head coach Pat Kelsey are coming off of an impressive 89-61 win over 14th-ranked Indiana in quarterfinal action. Kelsey previously led the College of Charleston to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Louisville’s current leading scorer Reyne Smith is a transfer from Charleston.