MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — There was no storming of the court after West Virginia stunned No. 11 Iowa State 102-77. Rather, the players stormed the student section.
Showing an uncharacteristic burst of emotion, junior forward Kevin Noreen led his teammates several rows deep into the courtside bleachers for a bit of postgame rowdiness the program hasn’t seen the past two seasons.
Calling it “the kind of moment you live for,” the 6-foot-10 Noreen made a conspicuous figure bouncing up an down amongst the undergrads.
“These people appreciate hard work and we’re all playing together. We’re giving them something that’s fun to be a part of, fun to get behind again,” Noreen said. “It’s been good to have their support.”
Nearby stood junior forward Remi Dibo, who scored a career-high 20 points and enjoyed chants of “DEEEEE-BO! DEEEEE-BO!” as he went to the bench late in the game.
“They’ve showed us support from the beginning, even when it was hard times,” Dibo said of the students who lingered to enjoy WVU breaking the 100-point barrier. “Today we just beat the No. 11 team in the country, so it felt good.”
The victory gave West Virginia (15-10, 7-5) its third consecutive home win over a top-50 RPI team, leading guard Terry Henderson to predict more postgame celebrations lie ahead: “I think I’m gonna go crowd-surfing next time.”