WVU Basketball Accomplishes Rare Historical Achievement

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — On Saturday, WVU basketball accomplished something that has only been done two other times in program history.

By beating No. 2 Iowa State 64-57, the Mountaineers picked up their third top-10 win of the season. West Virginia has beaten three top-10 teams in just two other seasons in program history, 2016-17 and 2005-06.

The biggest difference between those seasons and this one is that both of those seasons were the continuation of very successful runs under legendary coaches. The 16-17 season was during a stretch of three Sweet Sixteen appearances in four years under Bob Huggins and the 05-06 season was after a run to the Elite Eight under John Beilein. This year, the Mountaineers are coming off of arguably the worst season in program history with first-year head coach Darian DeVries.

“We’ve talked with our team from day one, don’t limit yourself on anything,” DeVries said after Saturday’s win. “I’ve never been a guy that says we need to win this many games to be successful. It’s more about how can we maximize this group? If you can do that, then your goal is that wins follow.”

This season, the Mountaineers defeated No. 3 Gonzaga on a neutral court in The Bahamas, won for the first time ever in Allen Fieldhouse over No. 7 Kansas and beat No. 2 Iowa State inside the Coliseum on Saturday.

“I think our guys are giving us everything they’ve got,” DeVries said. “They don’t play perfect every night, but I don’t ask them to do that.”

In the 16-17 season, WVU basketball defeated No. 6 Virginia, No. 1 Baylor and No. 2 Kansas. During the 05-06 season the Mountaineers downed No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 3 Villanova and No. 8 Pitt. In both of those seasons, West Virginia advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.

The last time WVU beat a team ranked as high as No. 2 was on Dec. 29, 2019, over No. 2 Ohio State in Cleveland, 67-59.

Editor’s note: the WVU program signifies 1942 (claimed national title), 1959 (NCAA national runner-up) and 2010 (Final Four) as the top three seasons in program history. And DeVries’ team has now accomplished something those teams did not already.

For a related story, WVU basketball fans enjoy big win over No. 2 Iowa State on Jerry West Day.