By SAM LANCE
In the first year under head coach Darian DeVries, West Virginia has done something they’ve never done in the history of the program: win against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Mountaineers played stout defense and made several big shots down the stretch to knock off the Jayhawks, 62-61, on New Year’s Eve.
West Virginia now owns wins over Kansas, Gonzaga and Arizona in the first year of the DeVries era in Morgantown.
West Virginia was up 33-20 at the break and led 48-33 with 11 minutes to play. However, Kansas went on a key 15-2 run to make it 50-48. From there the two teams traded baskets until the final moments.
Kansas senior guard Zeke Mayo hit a clutch and-one with 15 seconds left to tie the game, but on the ensuing possession for West Virginia, senior guard Javon Small was fouled by freshman big man Flory Bidunga. Small hit one of two shots from the stripe and Kansas couldn’t get a clean final look with just 1.8 seconds left.
West Virginia was 0-11 at Allen Fieldhouse before this game and had lost six of seven against the Jayhawks.
This was a wild win for the Mountaineers for a number of reasons. They were without leading scorer Tucker DeVries (shoulder) and Amani Hansberry (leg), but still got the job done. West Virginia also had some travel issues coming into Lawrence.
West Virginia’s plane yesterday was supposed to leave at 4, but blew out its tires landing and didn’t leave until midnight after they had to fly another plane in from Miami.
The team didn’t get to hotel in Lawrence until after 2 am.
The Mountaineers play at Kansas today at 1…
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) December 31, 2024
“There are no excuses in this program,” DeVries said of being short handed. “We are going to line up and go compete. This is a great atmosphere but like I told our guys, they (the fans) don’t play for them. It’s our five versus their five. Nothing else matters.”
Senior big man Eduardo Andre led the way for West Virginia with 15 points and six rebounds. He averaged just 4.4 points per game coming into the contest. Small finished the game with 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
“I thought, what a gritty effort by him, DeVries said of Small. “I probably subbed him for 45 seconds total tonight, and he was exhausted, and he should’ve been. Like I told him before the game, we need you to have the ball in your hands, and we’re going to put all of this on you because you’ve been here before, you’ve done this, you’ve been in these environments, and we trust you to make these decisions. And he did an unbelievable job of that and facilitating.”
Photo: via ESPN
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