Give Darian Devis time, and West Virginia will be a perennial contender for large 12 – Sports Illustrated

Tuesday night loss by byu is not a one -off to prevent Western Virginia Since providing the largest offer in the NCAA tournament, but it may very well be the game to which they refer to as the one that could change things if they eventually remain out of the field.

The climbers led in 31 minutes and 42 seconds at night, mostly hanging about six points. As chief coach Darian Devris said in his radio interview with Tony Karidi, “we were led by six times and the feeling that when we had the ball, we just couldn’t get it to two -digit. Hold around;

For some reason, WVU simply couldn’t tilt the game completely in their favor or deliver a knockout. And once again the crime has dried in the last minutes, with the West Virginia making a goal in the field in the last two minutes and thirteen seconds.

The loss puts the Devris squad in a difficult position. Now they head to Baylor, who just like BYU did last night, will enter the game with Western Virginia with the same record 15-9. Then they will return home for a chance at the Cincinnati season, who played much better since she last met and also stands 15-9 today.

Thus, two games against bubble teams and then a trip to Lubbok to stand against one of the hottest teams in the big 12, Texas Tech. This is the upcoming section of three matches that this team must survive. The loss of the three, you believe it or not, it will not eliminate WVU from the big dance, but it will simply make a razor margin for a mistake.

Although disappointing to Mountaineer fans to lose a game like Tuesday night or blow up the game in TCU or even return so as not to care for the business against Arizon Much of everything and that was the expectation that Tucker Devries would be healthy and available.

The fact that we are so deep in the season and there is still a conversation at the NCAA tournament for WVU, you need to be all you need to know about the work that Darian Devis has done during his first year of work. His colleagues Tommy Lloyd (Arizona), Kelvin Sampson (Houston) and others have recognized what he has achieved and praised him for it publicly.

“If I was an agent of this man, I would have had two more years on this contract right now. They started to become amazing. “

“The work that Darian has done here … I don’t know if his son would be their best player, but these two guys would be a problem together. I don’t lose this. But Western Virginia has very good days ahead of them. Now they have a really good ball coach. Here you will get good players with this crowd and the tradition of this basketball program. It’s really good. “

After the unfortunate end of the Bob Huggins era and the nightmare of a season, which last year was that the whole Western Virginia wanted to see any of their new chief coach, was a racing bunch that showed signs of returning basketball to West Virginia again The right track.

Replacing the Hall of Famousness is not easy and sometimes when the school sees a departure, it takes them several years and maybe a few coaches to recover. There were no signs here in Morgantown that this was the case.

Again, some of the last losses were a small blow, but it didn’t take all the special things that group, while shortened, has achieved. I would usually not play a 2-5 section, but I think it’s justified here.

You don’t just beat Kansas in the fog, as you are lucky. You need to train from the back and your players should not blink at the big moment. People, they removed Kansas without Tucker Devis. Yes, this is the same rotation that is fighting late, but fatigue is a real thing and begins to come.

Winning Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Iowa are not something you can reject. You are not lucky four times against four quality teams. This proves that Devries can do more by less. Some of these losses, which probably should not happen, probably do not happen with a deeper bench or other reliable goal scorer.

The climbers simply scratch the surface of their potential under the virgin. The best is yet to come. I said it a hundred times and I’ll say it one hundred more: if that’s what he can do with a team he threw together for a few months in the summer, what can you do with a few straps tutorial?

No matter how things go on the last section, Devries showed that he was the right person for the job. He will return this program to be a large 12 contender and a perennial team at the NCAA tournament. It’s just a matter of time.

More stories from the West Virginia of SI

Watch: Darian Devris, Jonathan Powell and Toby Odi BYU after the press conference after the game

Mountaineer Postgame Show: Byu 73, WVU 69

What Darian Devis said after the loss of byu

West Virginia held without result in the last two minutes and falls in byu