DeVries, Yesufu talk physicality, defense and energy following Utah victory

DeVries said the team knew it was going to be a physical battle against the Utes heading into the matchup.DeVries said the defensive plan was to keep the Utes out of the paint due to their height.WVU Men’s Basketball takes on Brigham Young University at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the WVU Coliseum. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and can be heard on U92 The Moose.
“It’s definitely always room for improvement but this is definitely a step in the right direction, considering their size. I don’t think they had a guy under 6 feet 5 inches. So, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. We’ve got to do better,” Yesufu said.“I thought for us tonight, it was not letting them get into spots where that becomes their advantage and trying to keep it out of the paint and being physical and tough. Getting through screenings and being able to have them play out in the perimeter as opposed to down in three feet where they have the advantage,” he said.Despite the victory, WVU was outrebounded 35-33. Fifth-year guard Joseph Yesufu said the performance was a step in the right direction.
“It was certainly a physical game, as most nights are. You’ve got to bring your lunch pail every night. Our guys really battled. Utah really battled. It was a tough, hard-fought game,” DeVries said in a postgame press conference. “Utah’s got great size all the way across. We knew this was going to be a game where we were going to have to get into some bodies, be physical and fight for rebounds.”“I thought the guys fought hard tonight. They did a nice job of making catches tough and not giving them a lot of clean things coming off of some of their screening and little flip actions.”Head Coach Darian DeVries spoke about WVU Men’s Basketball’s physicality and defense following the team’s 72-61 over the University of Utah at the WVU Coliseum Saturday.“When he gets hype, we all get hype. You guys haven’t seen nothing yet. He really gets after it. I mean, we love it,” he said.Yesufu said DeVries feeds into the team’s energy.