Rapid Reactions from West Virginia's Win Over Georgetown

A few takeaways from West Virginia's win over Georgetown.

WVU Athletic

The West Virginia Mountaineers put together a strong second half to defeat the Georgetown Hoyas, 73-60, in this year's Big 12-Big East Battle.

Here are a few of my thoughts/takeaways from tonight's game.

Darian DeVries bringing the energy

Every coach has their style, but seeing Darian DeVries pump his fists and ask the crowd to get up and get loud during West Virginia's big run in the second half is a pretty cool thing to see. Bob Huggins and John Beilein were more relaxed and just let the game itself fuel the crowd. There's nothing wrong with that.

However, when you see your coach get into it like that, it gives you an added jolt of energy as a player. Even throughout the game, his pacing back and forth along the bench and sometimes almost playing defense himself is a much different vibe than Mountaineers are accustomed to seeing.

Sencire Harris' offensive decision-making

Harris is arguably the most valuable player on the defensive end of the floor for West Virginia, but he gets so sped up on the offensive end and turns the ball over or dribbles into trouble at an alarming rate.

Coming into the night, he was 0-for-13 from three-point land. Teams are going to keep giving him open looks from deep and although he passes up the majority of them, he may need to pass them up entirely for the time being.

Blocks! Blocks! And more blocks!

Believe it or not, West Virginia has been one of the top teams in the country in blocks per game. Despite having only one true center on the roster, who comes off the bench by the way, they still manage to get their hands on shots.

Tonight was no different, as the Mountaineers finished the game with six rejections, and nearly had a couple more. I'll credit the coaching staff for educating their guys to attack the ball without fouling and learning when to go after it. If this continues, WVU might be just alright when facing teams with deeper, more talented frontcourts.

A solid non-conference record

West Virginia has NC Central, Bethune-Cookman, and Mercyhurst coming up to round out the non-conference portion of their schedule. It should result in three easy wins for the Mountaineers, meaning they'll ride into Big 12 play with a 9-2 record and a pair of victories over top 25 opponents. Darian DeVries couldn't have scripted a better start to his first year on the job. If they can carry over this early season success to conference play, they'll be dancing come March.

West Virginia will be back in action on Tuesday night when they take on North Carolina Central. The game is set for a 7 p.m. EST tip on ESPN+.

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