Starting with West Virginia, Gonzaga looks to continue run of success against Big 12 at Battle 4 Atlantis

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Darian DeVries has faint memories of his last encounter with Gonzaga.

There were no palm trees, blue skies, sandy coastlines or sweeping ocean views, just frigid temperatures in Spokane and a cold front awaiting the Creighton Bluejays in the second half at Gonzaga’s McCarthey Athletic Center.

“If I remember right, I think we were up one, down one at half then it turned very quickly at their place,” said DeVries, the first-year West Virginia coach who spent 17 years on Creighton’s staff as an assistant.

Check that. Creighton was leading by seven points at Gonzaga’s gym before guard Zach Norvell Jr. went on a second-half flurry, scoring 21 second-half points to help the Bulldogs outscore the Bluejays 54-30 down the stretch of a 91-74 victory.

DeVries won’t have to worry about Norvell this time around – the former guard has new responsibilities on Mark Few’s coaching staff – but third-ranked Gonzaga enters Wednesday’s 11:30 a.m. matchup at the Battle 4 Atlantis with someone drawing Norvell comparisons in transfer Khalif Battle, not to mention a few dozen other superlatives that have captured West Virginia’s attention this week in the Bahamas.

“They are incredibly fast and we certainly haven’t played anybody with this type of speed,” DeVries said Tuesday. “They’re very good in transition, they’re elite at it, they play to it every single game. That’s a huge challenge is how do you try to slow them down and I think the biggest thing is making sure you have to take care of the basketball, No. 1, and making sure you’re getting good shot selection so you’re playing in transition all the time.”

Gonzaga’s had its way with the Big 12 Conference this season, opening the year with a 101-63, wire-to-wire rout of Baylor at the Arena, before following with an 88-80 victory over Arizona State at the Kennel. The Zags (5-0) have won four consecutive games against the Big 12, 15 of their past 17, and own a 5-0 advantage in the series with West Virginia.

The Mountaineers (3-1) will be an entirely different outfit under DeVries, who turned over WVU’s roster after winning at least 20 games in each of his six seasons at Drake, including 27- and 28-win seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24. DeVries’ final game at the school was a 66-61 loss to Washington State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

WVU’s roster is transfer-heavy, and the Mountaineers have deferred to a smaller unit in their first four games, starting four players who range from 6-foot-4 and 6-8.

“Pressure defense, very athletic and handsy and good rim protection,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said of the Mountaineers. “Then very opportunistic on the offensive end. They’ve got a great offensive player in (Tucker) DeVries, but then they’ve got some very nice shooters. Kind of all the above.”

Darian DeVries is responsible for drawing up WVU’s game plans, but his son, Tucker, a senior wing, is usually responsible for carrying them out on the floor. The 6-7 DeVries followed his father from Drake after winning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors and was the only player in college basketball last season to average at least 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and 1.5 steals per game.

He’s not hitting those marks at WVU yet, but DeVries is still putting up a respectable stat line through four games: 13.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.5 spg.

“He gets a lot of usage and anything inside of probably 28 feet is a legitimate shot for him,” Few said. “We’ve got to be very, very leery of that and I would just say that.”

With WVU’s most recent game coming six days ago, Darian DeVries has had plenty of time to study up on Gonzaga’s personnel, but he already has a good feel for one of Few’s most important players. In fact, DeVries might have connected with old Creighton boss Greg McDermott for a few tips when it comes to dealing with GU point guard Ryan Nembhard, who spent two years with the Bluejays before transferring to the Zags.

Nembhard is playing as well as any point guard in the country and has the numbers to back it up. The senior’s 47 assists are tied with Purdue’s Braden Smith for best in the country, and he’s organized and orchestrated Gonzaga’s offense without much error, committing just six turnovers in five games.

“I’ve seen him a lot, he’s a great player,” DeVries said. “I’ve been watching them so closely over the years, so feel like I’ve got a great feel for him as a player. He’s so well-rounded and terrific and unselfish and knows how to lead a team.”

Tucker DeVries knows WVU’s smaller lineup could have its hands full with Gonzaga’s frontcourt, featuring 6-10 Braden Huff, 6-10 Ben Gregg and 6-9 Graham Ike.

“I think it’s common with their whole team is you’ve just got to make it as difficult as possible, and we’re going to have to play really well together on defense, because they move it so well and you’re naturally going to be in rotations a lot,” DeVries said.

“As long as we play together on defense and try to limit some of the things they want to get, it’s going to put us in the best position.”