Upcoming Opponent for West Virginia Fires its Head Coach

The Mountaineers will be facing an interim coach in the coming days.

Feb 15, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes head coach Craig Smith reacts to a call against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first half at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images | Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

With just four games remaining in the 2024-25 season, the Utah Utes are parting ways with head coach Craig Smith, according to multiple reports. Known college basketball insider Jeff Goodman first reported the news.

BREAKING: Utah is parting ways with Craig Smith, source told @TheFieldOf68.

Strange timing.

Utah is 7-9 in the Big 12.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 24, 2025

Why is this relevant for West Virginia fans? Well, two reasons, really.

Firstly, the Mountaineers will be heading out to Utah this weekend for a two-game road trip, starting with BYU on Saturday before hopping over to Salt Lake City to face the Utes on Tuesday night. The Mountaineers won the first matchup in Morgantown earlier this season, 72-61.

This means Darian DeVries will be coaching against an interim head coach, and that person could ultimately end up being the man who led West Virginia last season, Josh Eilert. The longtime WVU assistant went 9-23 in his one and only season on the job, taking over a very challenging situation following the departure of Hall of Famer Bob Huggins.

The Utes are currently 15-12 (7-9) on the season and still have an outside shot of making the NCAA Tournament. As of today, they're ranked 73rd in the NET but have some opportunities to bolster its resume down the stretch with matchups against Arizona, West Virginia, and BYU, in addition to the Big 12 Conference tournament.

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