West Virginia Has Pulled Off the Upset Again!
Just two days removed from beating number three Gonzaga in Overtime, the Mountaineers pulled off the surprising win again, this time beating number 24 Arizona in OT 83-76. West Virginia has shown up in a big way these past few days and put everyone on notice. On Wednesday it was Javon Small starring for the Mountaineers but today it was Drake transfer Tucker Devries, who shot 50 percent from three making 8/16, and scored 26 points. Devries didn't play well against Louisville in their last game, only scoring eight, but bounced back nicely today.
Amani Hansberry, who propelled West Virginia to the upset versus Gonzaga, had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Another player that stepped up today was Senior guard, Toby Okani, scoring a season-high 20 points. It was nice to see the depth of West Virginia shine when Small isn't producing. Once again West Virginia outrebounded their opponent. This time, they pulled down 41 rebounds to Arizona's 39. West Virginia didn't let Arizona’s defense settle with great off ball movement which lead to 21 assists. They also pressured Arizona a ton, leading to 14 turnovers and 11 steals. It was just a masterclass in defensive pressure by the Mountaineers. The 14 turnovers by Arizona led to 24 points by West Virginia, something Arizona just couldn’t afford.
West Virginia did exactly what an upset-minded team has to do, make threes. Although they didn't shoot astonishingly well, they shot 35 percent from three and made 12/34 while Arizona shot 33 percent and made 7/21. West Virginia has flexed its muscles in this tournament by beating two top 25 teams in Gonzaga and Arizona. They also took Louisville, who is in the championship game, to overtime before ultimately losing 79-70. All eyes will now be looking how the new AP poll shakes out. West Virginia certainly deserves a spot in the top 25. The world is definitely watching them now and with these big upsets, it will be hard to overlook this WV team.
