Darian DeVries searches for defensive improvement when WVU travels to Baylor

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Feb. 14—MORGANTOWN — On the surface, it’s almost as if Darian DeVries’ concerns about West Virginia’s defense is focusing on the wrong end of the equation.

The stats scream out about a lack of offense from the Mountaineers (15-9, 6-7 Big 12), who travel to Baylor’s Foster Pavilion at 2 p.m. Saturday.

WVU star point guard Javon Small has attempted just nine shots over the last two games, while the Mountaineers have only reached 70 points two times in the span of a month.

WVU STATS Yet DeVries can circle back to each pivotal loss WVU has suffered—each one of them have chipped away at the Mountaineers’ strong NCAA tournament resum é—and point out where the defense let them down.

In Tuesday’s 73-69 loss against BYU, the Cougars shot nearly 56 % in the second half.

TCU shot exactly 50 % in the second half in a five-point win. Kansas State shot 53 % in the first half and jumped out to a 19-2 lead.

The most disappointing was Arizona State walking into the Coliseum and knocking down 61.5 % of its attempts in the second half for a win in what will be a major blemish against WVU’s record this season.

“In the games we’ve lost, it’s been our defense that’s let us down, ” DeVries said by Zoom on Friday. “That’s how we are going to win, when our defense is really solid and disciplined.”

And that’s the thing, the numbers tell you WVU’s defense has been both.

Only Houston has given up fewer points among Big 12 teams than the Mountaineers. Kansas is the only Big 12 team to have a better percentage in guarding 3-pointers than WVU.

Is DeVries maybe being a bit nit-picky ?

“Every game is going to kind of dictate itself, ” he replies. “I’d love to say, ‘Hey, let’s get to 75 points every game, ‘ but we don’t control that as much as we would like.

“For us, the control has to come from the defensive end. Ultimately, we can’t make the ball go into the basket. Sometimes we hit them, sometimes we don’t. I know what we can control on the other end of the floor.”

And so, the Mountaineers will travel to…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/darian-devries-searches-defensive-improvement-033700588.html

Author : The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Publish date : 2025-02-15 03:37:00

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