NOTEBOOK: WVU faces another coin-toss matchup against surprising Utah

MORGANTOWN — It’s as if the WVU men’s basketball team has suddenly become a flip of the coin within the Big 12.

If it lands heads, the Mountaineers have the ability to beat the likes of Iowa State and Kansas, as well as Arizona in a nonconference matchup.

Those three schools make up 60% of the top five in the current league standings.

If it lands tails, WVU also has a frustrating loss against Arizona State on its resumé.

WVU STATS

The Mountaineers (14-8, 5-6 Big 12) enter Saturday’s 5 p.m. game against Utah (13-9, 5-6) inside the Coliseum having lost four of their last five with three of those defeats coming against teams who have a losing record in Big 12 play.

“Losses like that can be humbling,” WVU forward Amani Hansberry said. “It brings you back to reality. I feel like it’s a wake-up call to know that if we’re not disciplined for 40 minutes, then things like that can happen.”

Humbling is one way to put it. Unique may be another, in that very few in the league would be shocked if Colorado — currently 0-11 in Big 12 play — upset a few top-ranked teams by the end of the season.

“It makes the league fun to play in, because you have to bring it every night,” Hansberry continued. “Anybody can beat you in this league. Colorado is tricky and they’re 0-11. It takes a lot mentally, because you have to bring it every night, but that’s what we signed up for.”

It would seem this game against the Utes is another toss-up kind of affair.

In its first season in the conference, Utah was picked to finish last in the preseason, yet the Utes have made it to the middle of the pack by taking care of business against the teams at the bottom of the standings.

“For us, we have to keep a narrow focus,” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said. “We have to play well for the 40 minutes that are right in front of us. When we’ve done that, we’ve been pretty successful. When we’ve come up short of that, we’ve come up on the wrong end. It’s a huge game against Utah and we need to play well. If we don’t, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to get beat.”

Harris’ status in question

WVU may be without the services of starting guard Sencire Harris for today’s game.

“We’re not sure what his availability will be for the game,” DeVries said.

Harris, the Mountaineers’ top on-ball defender, collided with teammate Toby Okani going after a loose ball in the second half of Wednesday’s loss against TCU and fell to the ground.

He limped off the floor and missed the final 7:52 of the game.

“It certainly would have been great to have him available to finish out that game,” DeVries said. “He’s our best on-ball defender, everybody knows that. Having him on the floor in those situations would have been valuable, no question.”

Josh Eilert returns

The Utah game marks the return of Josh Eilert, who spent last season as the interim head coach of WVU following the forced resignation of Bob Huggins.

Eilert signed on as an assistant with the Utes following DeVries’ hire last March.

“Josh was terrific and he was really helpful,” DeVries said. “We sat down and met for a long time and he was incredibly helpful in the transition. Anything I needed, he was certainly willing to help. I was happy for him to get another opportunity at Utah.”

Eilert spent 17 years in Morgantown, beginning as a video coordinator under Huggins and working his way up to assistant coach.

He was announced as the interim head coach in June 2023, after the school had attempted to find a full-time replacement for Huggins, but was unable to do so.

“I think the thing about it is you have a lot of people to see and only a short period of time,” DeVries said. “You’re only here for a couple of days. From that standpoint, it makes it a unique road trip.”

Redshirting

DeVries announced earlier this week that his son, Tucker, would have surgery on his injured shoulder and would miss the rest of the season.

“For him, he wanted to be a part of this group,” Darian DeVries said. “Ultimately, with the doctors, we couldn’t get to that point and we had the surgery.

“Everything went well, and that’s great. From his standpoint, he’s looking forward to getting back and being healthy again in two or three months from now.”

The school will apply for a medical redshirt for Tucker with the Big 12 following the season.

Darian DeVries also confirmed that guard Jayden Stone, who has yet to play this season, will take a regular redshirt and could return next season.