Utah Coach Compliments Atmosphere Inside WVU Coliseum

Utah played its first-ever game in the Mountain State Sunday evening, and despite coming out on the losing end, Utes head coach Craig Smith had nothing but good things to say about the sold-out crowd in the WVU Coliseum.

“What an amazing environment tonight,” Craig said after his Utes lost 72-61. “It was a great, spirited atmosphere in there.”

Utah was a perfect 6-0 against the Mountaineers prior to Sunday, but the teams hadn’t played since 1998 and they had never played in Morgantown.

Despite that, Smith, in his fourth season with Utah, said he has long admired the atmosphere inside the WVU Coliseum.

“When you turn the TV on, if you see (a WVU) game, it’s hard to turn the channel,” Smith said. “You can feel the atmosphere through the screen. This is my first time as a coach participating in a game in that arena and it’s a cool vibe, it’s a special vibe in here and you can feel that.”

Smith’s comments continue a trend set by the other former Pac-12 coaches coming to Morgantown for Big 12 play this season. Both Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd and Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley were very complimentary of the WVU program after their games in Morgantown earlier this season.

Smith might have seen the best the Coliseum has to offer, however, as it was the second official sell-out of the season for the Mountaineers, with the first coming on Jerry West Day against Iowa State.

WVU basketball stays at home to host another team from out west, BYU, Tuesday at 7 p.m. That game will air nationally on CBS Sports. 

“Home games are so golden in this league, you have to come in and be ready to go,” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said. “We’ve got BYU on Tuesday and hopefully another really big and impactful crowd like it was tonight.”