WVU Basketball Needs its Defense to Lead the Way Again

WVU basketball has been carried by its defense all season, and coach Darian DeVries wants the Mountaineers to get back to that as the team travels to Baylor this weekend.

West Virginia (15-9, 6-7 Big 12) is 4-7 in its last 11 games and the Mountaineers haven’t won back-to-back games since the beginning of January. DeVries believes better defense is the way to fix that.

“In a lot of those games, it was our defense that carried us and that’s what propelled us to some of those big wins,” DeVries said about the team’s early-season success. “In the games we’ve lost, it’s been our defense that’s let us down. That’s how we are going to win when our defense is really solid and discipline.”

Defense was the main reason WVU fell at home to BYU on Tuesday. The Cougars shot 55.6% in the second half and only turned the ball over three times after halftime.

“Against BYU, that’s how I thought we lost the game,” DeVries said. “We allowed them to shoot 55% in the second half, you’re not winning those games. We played good offense, but defensively we just made too many mistakes and we don’t have a big enough margin of error for that to happen.”

DeVries thought the team was actually too aggressive while defending BYU, giving the Cougars open driving lanes ot get into the paint and run their offense.

“We played plenty hard enough, we just didn’t play with enough discipline and we got a little too aggressive at times and (BYU) was able to get by us,” DeVries said.

The Mountaineers will face a similar challenge tomorrow against Baylor, who also likes to attack the rim and play inside out. DeVries said WVU needs to strike a balance between geing aggressive on the perimeter while also keeping the ball in front.

“That’s easier said than done because they’re so gifted as individual players at getting by you,” DeVries said. “That’s our challenge, we’re going to have to be really connected as a team defense.

“We still want our guys to be aggressive and into the ball, but also make sure they do a good job of keeping it in front. Anytime the ball gets behind you, you’re in trouble.”

WVU’s defense is second in the Big 12 in points against (64), fourth in opponent field goal percentage (40.4%) and second in opponent three-point shooting (29.2%), but there have been times, like the second half against BYU, where the Mountaineers’ defense has cost them games. Since the start of Big 12 play, WVU has held opponents to 38.4% shooting in wins and allowed 47.3% shooting in losses.

As inconsistent as West Virginia’s offense can be, if the defense falters even a little bit, the Mountaineers struggle to win on any given night.

WVU basketball tips off at Baylor Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

For a related story, WVU basketball finally drops down to dreaded bubble territory.