Baylor
West Virginia
MBB Faces Road Test at West Virginia
1/20/2019 10:52:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bears and Mountaineers tip off at 8:05 p.m. CT on ESPNU
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BAYLOR BEARS (11-6, 3-2) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
BAYLOR (11-6, 3-2) at WEST VIRGINIA (9-9, 1-5) January 21, 2018 • 8:05 p.m. CT Morgantown, W.Va. • WVU Coliseum (14,000) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPNU | ESPN App Talent: Kevin Connors (pxp), Chris Spatola (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor-IMG College / ESPN Central Texas Talent: John Morris (pxp), Pat Nunley (analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (9-9, 1-5) Location: Morgantown, W.Va. Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Bob Huggins (West Virginia, 1977) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Two years ago, when Baylor was ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history, the Bears turned it over 29 times in an 89-68 loss at West Virginia.
On the brink of possibly cracking the poll again, Baylor (11-6, 3-2) goes back to Morgantown on the heels of a 73-62 win over eighth-ranked Texas Tech. The Bears face West Virginia (9-9, 1-5) at 8 p.m. Monday at WVU Coliseum in a game that will be broadcast by ESPNU.
This is the second of three straight weeks of quick turnarounds. Baylor followed up a 73-68 loss to Kansas with a 73-69 road win over Oklahoma State last Monday.
"The Oklahoma State trip definitely helps us to prepare," said senior guard Makai Mason, who has scored in double figures in nine consecutive games and averaging 14.7 points per game. "We know we can't get too high off of this game. We know we've got to rest our bodies to prepare. I think we'll be ready. You can't take anybody for granted in this league."
Kansas found that out two days ago when the Jayhawks lost to last-place West Virginia, 65-64. The Mountaineers scored seven unanswered points in the last 2 ½ minutes to stun the Jayhawks and pick up their first conference win of the year after an 0-5 start.
"It's just a matter of being mentally tough enough to do the right things," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "I'm just happy to win. This isn't where we thought we'd be."
Despite losing a pair of talented guards in Daxter Miles and Jevon Carter, a rook with the Memphis Grizzlies, West Virginia was 13th in the Associated Press preseason rankings and third in the Big 12 coaches' preseason poll.
And it hasn't helped that the Mountaineers have been without 6-8 junior forward Sagabe Konate, who's missed the last nine games with a knee injury. He was averaging a team-high 13.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game when he went down.
Their first four conference losses were by single digits before getting blown out by TCU, 98-67, last Tuesday in Fort Worth.
"You hear 0-5, and you think, 'Are they down? Are they not playing well?''' Drew said. "And then you watch the games, and obviously a lot of one-, two-possession games. They make a shot, make a free throw, a different play, and now all of a sudden they're 4-1 and it's a completely different ball game. Obviously, they played very well against Kansas. They played well in a lot of games, just hadn't gotten the wins. So, typical West Virginia team, real physical, really tough inside."
While Huggins hasn't been able to replace the backcourt duo of Carter and Miles, he still has an imposing front line with 6-8 forwards Esah Ahmad (12.5 ppg, 5.5 rebounds) and Wesley Harris (8.3 ppg, 4.8 rebounds) and 6-9 sophomore Andrew Gordon.
"Their identity is still that physical team. They play a lot of forwards, a lot of bigger guys," Drew said. "So, it's not the real quick guard play they've had in the past. . . . We have to have great ball pressure so they can't just move the ball where they want to and run the offense they want to run. If we limit them to one shot, and they have four guys crashing, now we have an advantage on the transition. If they're getting offensive rebounds and scoring, now they have an advantage because they can set their press up."
Like West Virginia, Baylor's also had to deal with life without its big man. Sophomore forward Tristan Clark (14.6 ppg, 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks) has missed the last three games with a knee injury and will have season-ending surgery on Jan. 31.
The Bears have re-invented themselves since losing Clark, going to more of an outside attack with guards King McClure (10.8 ppg), Mason (14.7 ppg) and freshman Jared Butler (8.2 ppg). In last week's wins, Baylor hit 15 3-pointers in the road win at Oklahoma State and then drained 11 in Saturday's 73-62 upset of Tech.
Since being inserted into the starting lineup, Butler has averaged 16.3 points and 4.3 assists while shooting 17-of-36 overall (47.2 percent), 10-of-23 from outside the arc (43.5 percent) and a perfect 5-of-5 from the line.
"Why he's playing so well is because he's letting the game come to him and taking what they give him," Drew said of Butler, who had a game-high 19 points in the win over Tech.
"Older guys like me, we have to stay in his ear, telling him you've got to stay grounded," McClure said. "I still joke with him every now and then like, 'You still can't beat me, you're still not that good.' Just try to keep him level-headed. He's been playing amazing. He's really stepped up with Tristan being out. He's a really elite player, especially to be so young. My man just turned 18, and he scored 19 against a top-10 team. It's rare."
After Monday's game, Baylor returns home to face Alabama (11-6) at 11 a.m. Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Crimson Tide has wins over Kentucky, Arizona and Wichita State and nearly knocked off top-ranked Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville.
STORY LINES
• Baylor travels to Morgantown for an 8 p.m. CT tip on Monday, seeking its 3rd straight win.
• Monday's game will be televised on ESPNU with Kevin Connors and Chris Spatola on the call.
• Baylor and West Virginia meet for the 16th time. Baylor leads the series 8-7, but WVU has won 6 of the last 7 meetings. Baylor won its first 3 trips to Morgantown before losing each of the last 3 meetings at WVU.
• In 6 seasons since West Virginia joined the Big 12, Baylor and WVU have split the season series twice (2014, 2017), BU has swept twice (2013, 2015) and WVU has swept twice (2016, 2018).
• WVU won all 3 meetings last season — 57-54 in Morgantown, 71-60 in Waco and 78-65 in Kansas City.
• In Baylor's last trip to Morgantown, the Bears never trailed in the 1st half and WVU never trailed in the 2nd half (tied 29-29 at halftime). BU missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
• All 5 of BU's Big 12 games have been within 5 points in the last 2 minutes (4 of 5 decided by 5 pts or less).
• Scott Drew is in his 16th season in Waco and is the Bears' all-time wins leader (307-201).
• BU is coming off a 73-62 win over No. 8 Texas Tech on Saturday in Waco. The Bears' 73 points were the most allowed by Texas Tech this season (69 vs. Duke), and BU notched its 7th top-10 win in the last 3 years.
• BU also won last Monday vs. Oklahoma State in Stillwater. King McClure posted a career-high 29 points, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range. Baylor's 15 made 3-pointers were its most since 2014.
• Baylor is shooting 48% (26-of-54; 13.0 made 3FGs/game) from 3-point range in its last 2 games after shooting 29% (99-of-339; 6.6 made 3FGs/game) in its first 15 games.
• Makai Mason has scored in double-figures in a career-best 9 straight (15.6 ppg, 32.3 mpg during streak).
• Mason has made multiple 3-pointers in 7 straight games, shooting 40% on 3FGs in that span (19-of-47).
• Baylor returned 3 letterwinners from last year's team, the nation's fewest among Power-5 teams.
• McClure is the lone returning senior, while Tristan Clark and Mark Vital are back as sophomores.
• BU added 9 newcomers for 2018-19, including 5 transfers (two Division I, two JuCo, one Division III).
• Clark was ruled out for the season after suffering a left-knee injury in the Jan. 20 win over Iowa State.
• Vital moved to the starting 5-spot with Clark out and has 32 rebounds (19 offensive) in 3 games since.
• Jared Butler joined the starting lineup with Clark out and is averaging 16.3 ppg and 4.3 apg in 3 starts.
• Butler is shooting 43% on 3FGs (10-of-23) in the last 3 games after 23% (10-of-44) in his first 14 games.
• Baylor ranks 7th nationally in block percentage (16.1) and 25th in defensive 2-point FG pct. (.453).
• BU is 8th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage (37.8), and Vital ranks 7th nationally (16.5).
• BU is 106-88 in Big 12 play in 11 seasons since 2008 after going 45-131 in the league's first 11 seasons.
• Baylor is 1 of 16 teams nationally to appear in every postseason since 2012 (5 NCAAs, 2 NITs).
• Baylor is 24-2 when leading at halftime since the start of the 2017-18 season (9-2 this season).
• BU is 79-17 since 2015-16 when leading at any point in the 2nd half of a game (11-2 this season).
• Drew is coaching his 509th game at Baylor (307-201). His .604 winning percentage is best in BU history among coaches with 40+ games, and his teams have a .674 winning percentage since 2007-08 (273-132).
• Baylor is 31-34 in Big 12 road games since 2012, second-best in the league behind only Kansas (43-22).
ON THE CALL
• Monday's game will be broadcast on ESPNU with Kevin Connors and Chris Spatola calling the action.
• Connors is calling his 3rd Baylor game, while Spatola is calling his 4th Baylor game this season and 6th overall. The pair worked together on Baylor's Jan. 8 win vs. No. 20 Iowa State and the Bears' Jan. 14 win at Oklahoma State.
QUICK HITS
• Baylor is one of nine teams to be nationally ranked in each of the last 11 seasons dating back to 2007-08 – Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
• BU is 40-68 against AP-ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first 4 rebuilding seasons.
• Baylor defeated 7 top-10 teams in the last 3 seasons, including a 6-3 mark vs. top-10 teams in Waco.
• Baylor is 12-22 against AP Top 10 teams since March 2012. BU started the Drew era 1-26 vs. top-10.
• Baylor has won 89% of its games when leading at the half since 2011-12 (142-18).
• Baylor is 182-85 over the last 7 seasons, averaging 24.4 wins per season since 2012.
• Baylor's 182 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (225).
• Baylor is 273-132 since 2007-08, the first year Drew's staff had a full allotment of scholarships.
• Baylor has the nation's 11th-longest active streak with at least one 3-point FG made in 886 straight games.
SERIES HISTORY VS. WEST VIRGINIA
• Monday is the 16th all-time series meeting, all of which have been played since 2011.
• WVU has won six of seven against the Bears after Baylor won seven of the first eight series meetings.
• BU leads the series 8-7, including a 3-3 mark in Morgantown. BU won its first 3 trips to Morgantown in 2013, 2014 and 2015, while WVU won in Morgantown in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
• 4 of 6 games in Morgantown have been decided by double-digits, but the total score in those 6 games is WVU 432-431.
A WIN WOULD ...
• Be Scott Drew's 308th win at Baylor and the 328th of his Division I coaching career.
• Improve BU's record to 80-41 during King McClure's 4-year career and 77-41 in games McClure has played.
• Be Baylor's 3rd straight win in Big 12 play and 2nd straight win in Big 12 road games.
• Improve Baylor's record against WVU to 9-7, including a 4-3 mark in Morgantown.
• Make Baylor 32-34 in Big 12 road games since 2012 and 23-25 since 2014, both 2nd-best in the league.
• Improve Baylor's record to 107-88 in Big 12 play since 2008 after going 45-131 in the league's first 11 seasons.
TWENTY-TWO WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS IN LAST FIVE SEASONS
• Baylor has gone 22-28 against ranked teams since the start of the 2014-15 season (2-1 this season).
• BU's 2-1 record this year includes wins vs. No. 8 Texas Tech and No. 20 Iowa State and a loss to No. 7 Kansas.
• BU is 40-68 against AP-ranked teams since 2007-08 after going 0-27 in Drew's first four rebuilding seasons.
• Baylor has won multiple games vs. AP Top 25 teams in each of the last 12 seasons. The Bears have defeated at least five ranked teams in four of the last five seasons dating back to 2013-14.
• BU has knocked off seven AP top-10 teams in the last 3 seasons (7-7 vs. AP Top 10).
DREW ERA HIGHLIGHTS
• Drew is coaching his 509th game at Baylor (307-201). His .604 winning percentage is best in BU history, and he's the program's all-time wins leader by 106 victories over the next closest coach.
• Baylor has a .674 winning percentage (273-132) since Drew's first year with no scholarship restrictions in 2007-08 and a .682 winning percentage (182-85) over the last 7 seasons since 2011-12.
• In Drew's 16 seasons as Baylor head coach, BU has been ranked in 211 of 509 games. Prior to Drew, BU was ranked in 2 of 2,197 games over 97 seasons. In 10 seasons since 2008-09, BU has been ranked in 208 of 374 games.
• BU has graduated 91 percent of its scholarship seniors since Drew took over in 2003 (31 of 34).
• In Drew's first 15 seasons at Baylor, 38 players have gone on to professional careers.
• Baylor has won 5 tournament titles under Drew — 2007 Paradise Jam, 2011 Las Vegas Classic, 2013 Postseason NIT, 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis and 2017 Hall of Fame Classic. BU is 20-4 in regular-season tournaments since 2013-14.
CLARK OUT FOR SEASON WITH LEFT KNEE INJURY
• Sophomore forward Tristan Clark is out for the year after suffering a left-knee injury in the Jan. 8 win over Iowa State.
• Clark started the first 14 games this season and was leading the nation with a .737 field goal percentage, which was on pace to become the 4th-best single-season mark in NCAA Division I history.
• Clark averaged 14.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.8 minutes per game prior to the injury. At the time of the injury, he was 7th in the Big 12 in scoring, 9th in rebounding and 3rd in blocks.
MCCLURE LEADING AS LONE RETURNING SENIOR
• Senior King McClure, Baylor's lone player with 3+ years in the program. He has played in 117 games at Baylor, while his teammates who played in Saturday's game vs. Texas Tech have combined to play 151 games at BU.
• McClure slid to the starting 3-spot with Clark's injury. He posted a career-high 29 points with 9 rebounds and 4 assists in a career-high 38 minutes of Monday's win at Oklahoma State.
• McClure has made 2 starts this season as point guard, 9 starts as shooting guard and 6 starts at the 3-spot.
• McClure has posted 20+ points 4 times this season after doing so in 1 of 100 games over his first 3 years.
• In 3 games since Clark's injury, McClure is averaging 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals.
MASON RETURNS AFTER MISSING TWO SEASONS
• Makai Mason has started the last 14 games after missing the majority of the previous 2+ seasons due to injury.
• Mason played in only 1 game over his last two seasons at Yale before joining the Bears as a grad transfer. He also missed the first 3 games at Baylor with an ankle injury before debuting as the first grad transfer in program history on Nov. 16.
• Mason leads the team with 14.7 points, 2.8 assists and 31.8 minutes per game.
• Mason is on a career-best streak of 9 straight games scoring in double-figures, averaging 15.6 points in that span.
• Mason led the Bears to a huge road win at Arizona (12/15) with a game-high 22 points and career-high 7 rebounds.
• Mason has a season-high 25 points in the win over No. 20 Iowa State (1/8), including 7 points in the final 2 minutes.
• He has scored 10+ points in 13 of 14 games played, including 4 games with 18+ points.
VITAL DOING THE DIRTY WORK
• Despite being undersized at 6-foot-5, Mark Vital slid to the starting 5-spot with Tristan Clark out. Vital leads the Big 12 in offensive rebounding (3.9), ranks 4th in rebounding (7.7 rpg), 15th in blocks (0.6) and 30th in minutes (27.1 mpg).
• Vital had team-highs with 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes of Monday's win at Oklahoma State.
• In 3 games starting at the 5-spot with Clark out, Vital has grabbed 30 rebounds, including 19 offensive boards.
• Vital posted 17 rebounds in Baylor's win at Arizona, which were 3 more than all Arizona players combined (14).
BUTLER STEPS INTO STARTING ROLE WITH CLARK OUT
• Freshman guard Jared Butler leads the team with a 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio (39a/21t). He's played in all 17 games and joined the starting lineup at the 2-spot for the last 3 games with Tristan Clark's injury.
• In 3 starts with Clark out, Butler is averaging 16.3 points, 4.3 assists and 1.7 steals in 31.7 minutes per game.
• Butler is shooting 43% on 3FGs (10-of-23) in the last 3 games after 23% (10-of-44) in his first 14 games.
• Butler has led the team in scoring and assists in 2 of 3 games since Clark's injury. He had team-highs with 14 points and 4 assists vs. No. 7 Kansas and led the team with 19 points and 5 assists vs. No. 8 Texas Tech.
• Butler also had 16 points (4-of-7 on 3FGs) and 4 assists in a career-high 35 minutes of Monday's win at OSU.
KEGLER SETTLING IN AFTER LONG LAYOFF
• Mario Kegler went 629 days between games after sitting out the 2017-18 following his transfer from Mississippi State and then missing the first 6 games this season.
• Kegler had started the last 11 games and ranks 3rd on the team in rebounding (6.0), 5th in scoring (7.7), 2nd in blocks (0.9) and 4th in minutes (27.1).
• Kegler had a career-high 10 rebounds, 7 points, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal in the win over No. 20 Iowa State.
• Kegler has played at 21+ minutes and grabbed 5+ rebounds in 10 of 11 games played this season.
MAYER SCORING AT HIGH RATE OFF BENCH
• Freshman wing Matthew Mayer ranks 2nd on the team with an average of 18.9 points per 40 minutes.
• Mayer has scored in double-figures off the bench 4 times, including two games with as many points as minutes — 18 points in 18 minutes vs. Nicholls State and 17 points in 14 minutes at TCU.
• Mayer has played turnover-free in 12 of 17 games and has 8 assists and 2 turnovers over his last 11 games.
BIG 12'S SECOND-BEST ROAD MARK SINCE 2012
• Baylor is 31-34 in Big 12 road games since 2012, second-best in the league behind only Kansas (43-23).
• BU is 22-25 in Big 12 road games since 2014, which is also second-best in the league behind only Kansas (30-18).
PROTECTING HALFTIME LEADS
• Baylor went 15-0 last season when leading at halftime and is 27-2 in its last 29 games when leading at the half.
• Baylor has won 89% of its games (142-18) when leading at the half since 2011-12 (9-2 in 2018-19, 15-0 in 2017-18, 18-3 in 2016-17, 18-2 in 2015-16, 21-7 in 2014-15, 18-2 in 2013-14, 17-1 in 2012-13 and 26-1 in 2011-12).
• BU has won 37% of games in which its been tied or trailing at the half since 2011-12, going 40-67 in those.
• BU has led at halftime in 160 of 267 games over the last eight seasons, and BU is 182-85 since 2011-12.
BUTLER'S STRONG SECOND HALF LEADS BEARS TO WIN OVER NO. 8 TEXAS TECH
• Freshman Jared Butler led the Bears with 19 points and 5 assists (14 points, 2 assists and 3 steals in the 2nd half), while Makai Mason added 16 points to help the Bears to a 73-62 win over No. 8 Texas Tech on Jan. 19.
• Baylor trailed 23-10 midway through the 1st half, but BU closed the half on a 23-8 run to lead 33-31 at halftime.
• Butler scored Baylor's first 8 points in the 2nd half, and after Tech cut the BU lead to 2 points with 5 minutes left, Butler made a 3-pointer and converted a 3-point play on consecutive possessions to extend the lead back to 8 points.
• BU went 10-of-10 at the foul line in the final 3 minutes, with Freddie Gillespie and Mason making 4 apiece.
UP NEXT
• BU returns home to host Alabama at 11 a.m. CT Saturday in the 2019 Big 12/SEC Challenge.
• The Bears then go back on the road for a third straight Monday game, this time at Oklahoma at 8 p.m. on Jan. 28.
• Baylor's next Big 12 home game is Feb. 2 against TCU. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
