Mountaineers Now

Darian DeVries Delivers Inspiring Postgame Message After Upset of No. 7 Kansas

A peek behind the scenes of West Virginia's win in Lawrence.

Schuyler Callihan

WVU Athletics Communication
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With about six or seven minutes to go, most West Virginia fans were probably thinking, "Oh boy, here we go again." The Mountaineers have had a double-digit lead in several matchups with the Kansas Jayhawks in the Phog but came away empty-handed in each of their previous 11 trips to the historic venue.

Despite controlling much of the game and limiting Kansas' explosive offense, the Jayhawks erased yet another double-digit deficit and tied the game up in the final seconds. Javon Small grabbed a big defensive rebound, got fouled, and hit one of two shots at the free-throw line to give the Mountaineers the lead. The Jayhawks were unable to get a shot off at the buzzer, giving WVU their 10th win of the season and their first-ever at Kansas.

Shortly after the game, the WVU basketball X account tweeted out a video of head coach Darian DeVries speaking to the team in the locker room.

“That’s an incredible win because you believed in something nobody else did. They said (Jayden) Stone’s out. They said Tucker (DeVries) is out. They said Amani (Hansberry) is out. Like I told you before, I don’t care. I don’t care who we put out there because I believe in every single one of you Javon (Small) may be out next game. Toby (Okani) may be out, it doesn’t matter. We’re going to take our five, and we’re going to go compete. And if it’s not good enough that night, you’re going to have to earn it. You’re going to have to take it from us. But tonight, you took it from them. Because you stayed together, you stayed within yourselves, you stayed composed.”

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Publisher of Mountaineers Now on FanNation/Sports Illustrated. Lead recruiting expert and co-host of Between the Eers, Walk Thru GameDay Show, Mountaineers Now Postgame Show, and In the Gun Podcast.

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