WVU Basketball Preps for 2-Game Road Trip to Colorado, Houston

Going to Texas Tech used to be the lone long road trip for WVU basketball in the Big 12. With the conference’s recent expansions, however, the Mountaineers now have several cross-country trips to make each year, the first of which begins this weekend at Colorado.

WVU (11-3, 2-1 Big 12) makes the long trip out to Boulder for a matchup with the Buffaloes (9-5, 0-3) on Sunday at 3 p.m. (ESPN+). It won’t be a simple trip out and back to Morgantown either, as the Mountaineers will stay on the road to play at No. 12 Houston a few days later on Tuesday.

“All your focus is on basketball and you’re out on the road together, so it’s not that bad,” WVU coach Darian DeVries said Friday.

West Virginia usually has one of these two-game road trips every season. DeVries, who took similar trips while at Drake, said the key is just staying focused on basketball the whole time.

“I think as long as you approach it right and the guys come out with the right mindset, it’s fine,” he said. “I’ve had some of the swings go great and some of the swings haven’t gone well, so I haven’t really been able to say one way or the other whether they’re good or bad for you. I think it still comes down to you and your focus and coming out and playing well.”

This trip is the first of a couple two-game road swings WVU will make this season. In early March, the team will fly out to play BYU and Utah back-to-back. While that kind of traveling isn’t necessarily easy to do, DeVries said it is a great opportunity for some team bonding. 

“We’ll make the most of it,” he said. “One of the days we’ll take the guys to a movie in the afternoon just to get them out and about a little bit. Maybe another day we’ll go watch an NBA game or something like that. Just different things just to occupy a little bit of time.”

And being cooped up in a hotel gives the team plenty of time to watch film together.

In the end, DeVries is just hoping this travel is easier than the team’s trip to Kansas earlier this month, which was plagued by plane malfunctions and hotel power outages. 

“I’ll do the same travel if we can get the same result,” he joked. “I am hoping for a smoother trip this time.”

For a related story, Mountaineer Report: reality for WVU basketball, Darian DeVries extension debate.