West Virginia looks to avoid season sweep at Baylor
By Vince Gaudio
No. 20 West Virginia will hit the road to face No. 19 Baylor as the Mountaineers aim to win their fourth straight game.
The Mountaineers are looking to avenge yet another loss. West Virginia took care of the Texas Longhorns, Tuesday night (snapping a four game losing streak against the Longhorns) and avenged their blowout loss to Texas earlier in the season.
“Our mindset and our attitude (changed),” said freshman guard Daxter Miles Jr. in regard to his team winning their last three games. “It’s all about attitude and how you prepare. We play hard, we play so hard. We play together.”
The Mountaineers will now face Baylor who dominated WVU, 87-69 just three weeks ago.
West Virginia (22-6,10-5) is looking to continue their hot streak against tough Big 12 teams. It won’t come easy though. Once again, the Mountaineers’ forwards will be tested as they face a physical, lengthy Baylor squad.
Despite losing to Baylor earlier in the season, the Mountaineers are arguably playing their best basketball of the year.
Feb 7, 2015; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Juwan Staten (3) lays the ball up while being defended by Baylor Bears forward Rico Gathers (2) in the second half at WVU Coliseum. Baylor won 87-69. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
On Wednesday night, Baylor (21-7,9-5) upset Iowa State, 79-70, as they had a strong night on both sides of the court. Baylor shot 14 of 26 (54 percent) from behind the arc and 27-59 (46 percent) from inside the three-point line.
Taurean Prince led the Bears with 20 points while Kenny Chery contributed with 15 points. Prince is averaging 13.3 points per game and making a case for Big 12 player of the year.
West Virginia is hoping to protect and shoot the ball better as the Mountaineers committed 16 turnovers, shot just 36 percent from the floor and 26 percent from behind the last time WVU faced Baylor.
Juwan Staten continues to lead the Mountaineers, averaging 14.5 points per game and 4.6 assists per contest. Sophomore Devin Williams has been a huge help scoring and defending inside the paint as he averages 11 points per game.
Against Texas, Williams led the Mountaineers with 14 points and 7 rebounds.
“He’s a man,”said head coach Bob Huggins about Williams, following his performance against Texas. “He rebounded and scored in traffic, and he made free throws. He made a lot of good passes in the post.”
Williams will have his hands full once again as he takes on Rico Gathers, who got the best of Williams during their last matchup. Gathers scored 17 points and collecting 17 rebounds.
West Virginia is getting hot at the right time and are attempting to make a late push for a Big 12 championship.
Their last two of three games are away from Morgantown and all three games are just as important as the next.
This game is huge for both teams in terms of Big 12 tournament seeding. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and will broadcast live on ESPNU.