No. 3 Gonzaga became the latest top-five team to take a tumble this week as the Bulldogs lost to unranked West Virginia 86-78 in an overtime stunner Wednesday in the Battle 4 Atlantis. West Virginia, a 14.5-point underdog, pulled off the upset by erasing a 10-point second-half deficit to force overtime.
West Virginia guard Tucker DeVries played hero late by sending the game to overtime with a clutch steal and two free throws with 5.9 seconds remaining that tied the game at 69-69 and forced the overtime period. In overtime, DeVries had a block and two more clutch free throws as the Mountaineers pulled away.
DeVries finished with 16 points in the win, while teammate Javon Small stole the show with 31 points.
Amani Hansberry added 18 points and Toby Okani added 10 for the Mountaineers.
The loss for Gonzaga was made possible in part by a cacophony of mistakes late, including a turnover and an awkward final attempt at a game-winner in regulation. The Zags had seven turnovers in the second half and overtime combined.
Gonzaga joins No. 2 UConn and No. 5 Iowa State among top-five teams to take losses this week in what will likely pave the way for a major shakeup in the college basketball rankings next week. The loss is Gonzaga’s first on the season after a 5-0 start that featured wins over Baylor, Arizona State and San Diego State.
West Virginia will face Louisville Thursday in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Gonzaga will meet No. 14 Indiana in a consolation bracket game.
Thanksgiving week madness
If it feels like this week has been especially mad comparative to other Thanksgiving weeks, then your assessment is correct — it has! It’s the first time teams in the top three of the AP poll have suffered three losses to unranked opponents since 1986, per Heat Check CBB. No. 2 UConn is responsible for the other two on that end after suffering losses to Memphis and Colorado this week at the Maui Invitational.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello also had this great nugget: Gonzaga’s loss was the sixth loss by a team ranked inside the top-five of the AP poll this season, marking the third-most in a season before the month of December since the AP poll’s inception in 1948-49.
Team DeVries working well for WVU
West Virginia landing coach Darian DeVries as its prized coach during carousel season was a coup, in no small part, because it meant his son Tucker would likely come as a packaged deal. So far both have lived up to expectations. Now 5-1 on the season, the Mountaineers already have a signature win under Darian DeVries — aided by Tucker DeVries’ stellar play down the stretch.
Gonzaga’s offense not enough
Even after its first loss of the season, Gonzaga holds the No. 1-rated offense in adjusted efficiency metrics at KenPom.com with the third-best turnover rate in the sport and a respectable 55.2% effective field goal range. That firepower has been good enough to power it to big wins this season — a 101-63 blowout of Baylor, an 88-80 shootout win over Arizona State — but it wasn’t enough against the Mountaineers.
West Virginia picked Gonzaga apart by attacking the rim and launching with high volume from 3-point range, the latter of which served as the difference in the game. Gonzaga’s defense from beyond the arc still rates well on the whole, but it had major communication issues vs. the Mountaineers and was frequently either out of position or not positioned at all to defend their high octane attack. And bad shot selection for Gonzaga and untimely turnovers only compounded things for them.
We’ve seen teams with great offenses and just-OK defenses go far — Baylor in 2020-21 comes to mind — but the defense for Gonzaga has to step up a notch to avoid squandering an offense that looks like it could be among the most efficient in the sport this season.
