Baylor
West Virginia
No. 12/13 MBB Begins Two-Game Road Swing at WVU
2/16/2024 10:33:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BU has won five-straight games against the Mountaineers
 |
12/13 BAYLOR BEARS (18-6, 7-4 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
13/13 BAYLOR (18-6, 7-4 Big 12) vs. West Virginia (8-16, 3-8 Big 12) Feb. 17, 2024 • 5:00 p.m. CT Morgantown, W.Va. • WVU Coliseum (14,000) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPN2 Talent: Pete Sousa (pxp), Chris Spatola (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via ESPN 1660 AM / 92.3 FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com Talent: John Morris (PBP), Pat Nunley (Analyst) SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 81 or on the SXM App Baylor Social Media:    |
 |
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (8-16, 3-8 Big 12) Location: Morgantown, W.Va. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Josh Eilert (Kansas St., 2004) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Baylor basketball's 2024 "reunion" tour will cover three time zones and roughly 4,450 miles on a five-day trip that takes the 12th-ranked Bears (18-6, 7-4) to West Virginia (8-16, 3-8) and No. 19/17 BYU (18-6, 6-5) before returning to Waco in the wee hours next Wednesday.
Instead of the band getting back together, though, senior forwards Jalen Bridges and Caleb Lohner will go back to the places where they started their collegiate careers. A West Virginia native, Bridges (10.8 ppg, 4.6 rebounds) returns to his roots for a 5 p.m. matchup Saturday against the Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum, where he spent his first three years of college.
"I expect it to be a great environment," said Bridges, who has 22 family and friends on his guest pass list, along with countless people that he couldn't get a ticket. "I believe they have a doubleheader on Saturday (#24 WVU women vs. #23 OU, at noon), so there's going to be a lot of fans. It's going to be loud and exciting, as it should be."
In his first return trip to West Virginia a year ago, Bridges was greeted with a chorus of "boos" from the fans that once cheered for him. But he recorded his third-career double-double and first at Baylor with 10 points and 11 rebounds to help the Bears snap a three-game losing streak with an 83-78 win over the Mountaineers.
"Last year, going back, you feel more heat from the fans," said Baylor coach Scott Drew. "At the same time, you want to play well. But last year, he did a great job of handling it. I think the team really rallied around him as well."
Bridges said he wasn't surprised by the treatment he received from the fans.
"I've seen them give people a lot worse treatment than I got, honestly," he said. "I feel like they went a little light on me."
This is not the same West Virginia team Bridges left two years ago. Former assistant coach Josh Eilert replaced Hall of Fame coach Bob Huggins, who resigned following offseason controversies that included his second DUI arrest.
Junior guards Kobe Johnson and Seth Wilson are the lone holdovers from Bridges' last season at West Virginia (2021-22).
The Mountaineers' top five scorers this season are first-year transfers – 6-5 guard RaeQuan Battle (15.6 ppg) from Montana State, 6-11 center Jesse Edwards (14.4 ppg, 8.1 rebounds) from Syracuse, 6-9 forward Quinn Slazinski (13.0 ppg) from Iona, 6-3 guard Kerr Kriisa (11.3 ppg, 4.5 assists) from Arizona and 6-1 guard Noah Farrakhan (9.6 ppg) from Eastern Michigan.
Battle was at the center of a hearing against the NCAA, when District Judge John P. Bailey issued a Temporary Restraining Order that allowed two-time transfers to play immediately.
"No matter who's coaching, it's really hard when you have people coming and going," Drew said. "Statistically, their best players have been added. Kerr missed a bunch of games. Jesse missed a bunch of games. Battle missed a bunch of games. It just takes time. That chemistry, it's hard enough if you have June, July, August and September to get to know one another. But it's even harder if the first time everyone is together is in conference play."
While West Virginia has lost five of its last six, including an 81-65 loss at TCU on Monday, Baylor has won four of its last five and is coming off arguably one of its most complete games. All five starters scored in double figures, led by VCU transfer Jayden Nunn with six 3-pointers and a season-high 27 points, in a 79-62 win over 25th-ranked Oklahoma.
Bridges had his 13th double-digit scoring performance of the year with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals against the Sooners, while Yves Missi, RayJ Dennis and Ja'Kobe Walter scored 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
"Jalen – like any player – the older they get, hopefully the more consistent and the better at their craft (they become)," Drew said. "Anybody that takes a job, in Year 2 they're good. But in Year 4, hopefully they're a lot better. And he's the same way. He's spent time time working on his game. He's more consistent creating for others. He's always been a low-turnover guy, but now he's more in the assist realm with that."
Instead of coming back to Waco after Saturday's game, the Bears will fly straight to Provo, Utah, for the second leg of the "reunion" tour, facing BYU at 8 p.m. CST Tuesday at the 17,978-seat Marriott Center.
A native of Flower Mound, Texas, the 6-8 Lohner played his final two prep seasons at Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, and played two years at BYU, starting 44 games and averaging 7.0 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Cougars.
Lohner played only three minutes in the Bears' 81-72 win over BYU on Jan. 9 in their first conference home game in Foster Pavilion, but this is his first time back in Provo since transferring to Baylor after the 2021-22 season.
"Honestly, I do not know (what to expect)," said Lohner, who's averaging 2.4 points and 2.4 rebounds for Baylor this season. "BYU has incredible fans, an incredible fanbase, but not quite sure how that'll be approached yet, whether it'll be signs or boos or what. But I'm hoping I left a good enough mark that I'm not getting things thrown at me."
Saturday's game at West Virginia will be broadcast by ESPN2, with Pete Sousa and Chris Spatola calling the action. Baylor leads the all-time series, 16-8, including a 7-4 mark in Morgantown.
STORY LINES
• No. 12/13 BU heads east for it's only regular-season meeting with West Virginia on Saturday at 5pm on ESPN2.
• The Bears have won five-straight in the series and eight of the last nine overall.
• BU is 7-4 all time in Morgantown and have won four if the last five games in the hills of West Virginia.
• Baylor clinched its first of two Big 12 Championships at WVU Coliseum with a 94-89 OT win on March 2, 2021.
• The Bears enter third in the nation in 3-point FG% (40.3), fifth in offensive efficiency (122.3) and second the Big 12 in points per game (82.6).
• The Bears are the only team in the conference with six active players averaging double-digit points.
• Ja'Kobe Walter averages a team-leading 14.1 points per game, most among Big 12 freshmen, followed by RayJ Dennis' 13.2 points per game.
• Dennis leads the conference and ranks 10th in the nation in assists per game (6.5). The senior transfer is just 19 assists from breaking into the top-10 in program history for most assists in season.
• Langston Love is averaging a team-leading 12.8 points per game in Big 12 play, most in the league among players with no starts.
• BU has had six players win Big 12 Sixth-Man of the Year, no other conference school has more than two.
• Jalen Bridges returns to his home state to face his former school averaging a career-best 10.8 points per game.
• In two games against his former team last year, Bridges averaged 11 points and 6.0 rebounds, including a double-double (10 pts., 11 rebs.) in his only other visit to WVU Coliseum.
• In addition to his 11 points per game, Yves Missi is second in the Big 12 with 1.7 blocks per game.
• Jayden Nunn has picked up steam lately averaging 16.3 points per game in his last four, including a BU career-high 27 points on Tuesday against No. 25 Oklahoma. He averaged 9.3 points per game prior.
• In the last meeting in Morgantown, freshman Keyonte George scored a career-high 32 points, one of four players in double-figures, to help the Bears snap a three-game losing streak and pick up their first Big 12 win.
• A game after tying a season high in turnovers (21) against Kansas, the Bears committed a season-low five turnovers in a 17-point win over No. 25 Oklahoma.
• The 17-point margin was Baylor's largest win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 20 Texas 80-63 on Feb. 12, 2022.
• After averaging 19 points, 7.5 rebound and 1.5 blocks last week, Missi was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the week, BU's third weekly award winner this season (Walter & RayJ Dennis).
• All four of BU's losses in Big 12 play have come by a combined 12 points.
• Baylor is a nations-best 31-13 against ranked teams over the last five seasons.
• BU's 122-30 record since 2019-20 is the second best among Power Six teams in that span (Kansas).
• Baylor's 313 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas (351).
• Baylor is 12-4 in its last 16 games against AP top-10 teams.
• BU's 61-22 Big 12 record over the last five seasons is the best record of any power-conference team during that span (Kansas).
