The Gonzaga men’s basketball team is set for three games in as many days down in The Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, starting with a matchup against West Virginia at Imperial Arena on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs (5-0) head into the multi-team event already boasting wins over Baylor, Arizona State and San Diego State to start the 2024-25 campaign. In their last outing, they held Long Beach State to a season-low in points to come away with an 84-41 victory at the McCarthey Athletic Center last week. Five players scored in double-figures, though their head coach was more impressed with the effort they showed defensively to hold the Beach to 17-of-54 (31.5%) from the field and 2-of-20 (10%) from 3-point range.
Offensively, the Zags rank No. 1 in the country in efficiency and boast the lowest turnover rate in the country, according to KenPom.com. Five players put up more than 11 points per outing, led by Ike at 14.6 points.
“They’re elite at a lot of different things,” West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries said of the Zags on Tuesday. “Very good team, very balanced team. Tremendous challenge to try to slow them down as people have seen, as they’ve gotten off to a great start with this early season. But again I think they’re they’re certainly deserving of their early season accolades and rankings.”
Advertisement
Javon Small, a 6-foot-3 senior who transferred from Oklahoma State, paces West Virginia at 15.5 points and 4.0 assists per outing. He’s 20-of-47 (42.6%) from the field and 10-of-23 (43.5%) from the 3-point line. After recording five steals in the 43-point win over Iona, Small is top 10 in the country in steals per game (3.0) and ranks top 25 in steal percentage (5.5%) according to KenPom. The South Bend, Indiana, native also finished with 23 points, five rebounds, five assists and one block to lead the Mountaineers to an 86-43 win over Iona.
Senior wing Tucker DeVries, a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year who followed his father to Morgantown, West Virginia, this offseason, chips in 13.5 points and 2.5 steals per game. The Drake transfer excels at disrupting passing lanes and can knock down 3-pointers (11-of-27, 40.7% this season).
“Pressure defense, very athletic and handsy and good rim protection,” Mark Few said of the Mountaineers. “And then very opportunistic on the offensive end. They got a great offensive player in DeVries, but they got some really nice shooters, so, kind of all the above.”
HOW TO WATCH GONZAGA VS. WEST VIRGINIA
Who: Gonzaga and West Virginia tip off the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis
When: 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. EST | Wednesday, Nov. 27
Advertisement
Where: Imperial Arena at Atlantis Resort | Nassau, Bahamas
TV: ESPN
Betting: Gonzaga -15.5 (-110); O/U 155.5 (-110)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Continue to follow our Gonzaga coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Instagram and Twitter.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (10-3) welcome the Maryland Terrapins (10-5) to Kendrick Family Ballpark Tuesday afternoon the first encounter between the two programs since 2023 and the first meeting in Morgantown since 2018. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.
Advertisement
The Mountaineers captured their fourth consecutive series of the season after taking two of the three games from Columbia over the weekend. West Virginia sophomore Matt Ineich and senior Brodie Kresser both blasted grand slams during the series. Ineich lifted WVU in game two with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th in game two, and Kresser ignited a 16-1 rout, capping a six-run second inning in the series finale.
Advertisement
Gavin Kelly leads West Virginia at the plate with a .436 batting average with a Big 12 leading nine doubles. Ineich and senior Paul Schoenfeld has raked in a team-leading 16 RBI apiece, while senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high three home runs.
On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start sophomore David Hagen. The right-hander has made four appearances on the season, including one start. He last started in the home-opener against Ohio where he pitched two scoreless innings and recorded a strikeout to collect his first win of the season. He holds a 1.00 ERA with five strikeouts on the season.
After starting 3-4, Maryland is 7-1 in its last eight games. The Terrapins won two of three at UNC Wilmington in the season opening series, followed by a midweek win against Georgetown before getting swept at Louisiana. The Terps bounced back with a pair of midweek wins versus Delaware and swept a one-win Wagner team.
Junior Brayden Martin is batting a team-best .443 to go with four doubles and 12 RBI. Redshirt freshman Ryan Costello leads the Terps in home runs (9) and RBI (21) and is third in batting average at .328, while freshman Ty Kaunus has a team-high seven doubles and has .269 batting average.
Advertisement
Maryland is scheduled to start freshman Nic Morlang. The right-hander has four appearances on the season, including four starts. He allowed five earned runs in his appearances, coinciding with his two starts, in six innings of work. In his last two appearances in relief, He’s allowed one earned run on five hits.
Advertisement
West Virginia leads the all-time series 8-5, including a five-game winning streak over Maryland.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a series of parties in Morgantown over the weekend.
Morgantown police officers, West Virginia University Police and state police responded to reports of overcrowded parties, underage drinking, physical altercations and multiple injuries.
Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffie said several citations were issued for open containers and underage consumption.
Advertisement
Two large parties were dispersed and six arrests were made without incident.
None of the reported injuries are believed to be serious or life-threatening.
The Morgantown Fire Department assisted in the operations.
Hancock County, WV — A Weir High School senior has been recognized as the 2026 West Virginia Student Journalist of the Year.
Hailey Hans was selected for the statewide honor after building a journalism portfolio since her freshman year. She also serves as the staff manager of Weir Student Media, where she oversees articles and is in charge of deadlines.
“When I was a freshman I was placed in the journalism one class, and I actually tried to get pulled from the class. But, then after I sat in the class and I learned a little bit, that’s where my love grew and then from there I continued to take classes, I helped pass a law, and I got to these national conventions. Where it just lit a fire inside me,” Hans said.
Hans is planning to attend West Liberty University in the fall to study education with a minor in journalism, with the goal of becoming a journalism teacher. She will now submit her portfolio for the national-level contest.
