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Javon Small leads West Virginia to first-ever win inside Allen Fieldhouse

The Kansas Jayhawks haven’t quite lived up to preseason expectations the past few seasons, and 2024-25 looks to be no different. Kansas hosted West Virginia to open up Big 12 play on Tuesday afternoon, looking to win its sixth straight conference home opener. The visiting Mountaineers had yet to win at Allen Fieldhouse in program history, but as always, college basketball delivered the unexpected.

Two of West Virginia’s top three scorers, Tucker DeVries (14.9 ppg) and Amani Hansberry (10.6 ppg) weren’t available for the visitors, but senior guard and leading scorer Javon Small showed up in a big way. Small was one of the best backcourt players in the Big 12 last year at Oklahoma State and has gotten off to a great start to life in the mountains. Small’s ability as a two-way guard was emphasized in one of college basketball’s best environments, as he posted 13 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Small also proved his savvy in the clutch, baiting Kansas freshman center Flory Bidunga into a late foul that led to Small’s game-winning free throw.

Small finished the game with some late drama, but throughout the first 30 minutes, you wouldn’t have thought the Jayhawks would’ve even made it a game. Just over three minutes into the second half, West Virginia led 40-24, but if you know college basketball, you know Kansas will never roll over, especially in their home building. Zeke Mayo was the catalyst as the Jayhawks tied the game at 61-61 after trailing by 16, finishing with 27 points and going 13-13 from the free throw line. The Jayhawks’ veteran core of Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris Jr., and KJ Adams Jr. failed to show up for Bill Self, combining to go 8-24 from the floor and just 23 points.

Both West Virginia and Kansas put heavy reliance on the transfer portal this offseason, and while Kansas had the more heralded class, Darian DeVries has by far gotten more bang for his buck thus far. Even with 2x Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Tucker DeVries missing time due to injury, Javon Small has molded himself into the guy for the Mountaineers, establishing himself as one of the best guards in the sport after yesterday’s performance.

Drama across the Mountain West as Utah State picks up third consecutive road win

It was round three for most of the Mountain West on Tuesday, and while the conference isn’t as nationally recognized this season, there should still be plenty of drama from the conference’s top handful of teams. San Diego State was the team off on NYE, while the other top four teams, New Mexico, Boise State, and Utah State, all had to battle on the road for the holiday.

New Mexico lost a lot of talent this offseason, including Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year JT Toppin to Texas Tech, but star guard Donovan Dent came back to lead the team. Mustapha Amzil (14.6 ppg) was another name that had some pressure on him to perform, now in his second season with the program after transferring in from Dayton. Amzil scored 19 and 14 in the Lobos first two conference tests, then went for 23 on New Year’s Eve in New Mexico’s win at Fresno State.

After squeaking past San Jose State on the road over the weekend, Boise State traveled to Laramie for another difficult road test against Wyoming. With O’Mar Stanley struggling to get his feet under him recently, the Broncos have relied a lot on Tyson Degenhart and Alvaro Cardenas, who both showed up for Boise State against Wyoming. Degenhart finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Cardenas led the Broncos with 19 points and six assists in the 67-58 win.

The final game of 2024 was perhaps the most dramatic of the day in the conference, as high-flying Utah State traveled to struggling Nevada. Nevada’s five-point halftime lead was erased by the midway point of the second half, but it was still anyone’s game with 10 minutes to go. Then, Ian Martinez showed up. The senior guard from Costa Rica hadn’t scored up until the under-8:00 timeout in the second half, but he would go on to score 17 straight for the visiting Aggies. Nevada couldn’t match the firepower of Martinez, and Tucker Anderson sealed the game with two late free throws to give Utah State a 69-64 win, boosting them to 3-0 in conference play alongside Boise State and New Mexico.

Other Things to Note:

• Cooper Flagg’s 24-6-4 stat line leads #4 Duke past Virginia Tech by a score of 88-65
• Kam Jones goes for 18 points and 10 assists as #8 Marquette dominates Providence on the road
• UCF stuns Texas Tech on the road behind Keyshawn Hall’s 22 points
• Melvin Council Jr. comes up clutch as St. Bonaventure moves to 13-1 with dramatic win over VCU
• Atin Wright caps 17-point comeback for North Texas with off balance three-pointer at the buzzer to beat UAB