Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia will try to protect one of the nation’s longest home winning streaks Saturday afternoon when it hosts Baylor in Big 12 play inside Hope Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (14-7, 5-3 Big 12) are a perfect 13-0 at home this season and have won 16 straight games in Morgantown dating back to last year. The Bears (11-9, 1-7) arrive having dropped four straight games and seven of their last eight since conference play began.
WVU is coming off a 59-54 win over Kansas State on Tuesday, closing the game on a 14-5 run after trailing by four with 4:30 remaining. Honor Huff scored a game-high 17 points, while Treysen Eaglestaff provided the turning point with a late 3-pointer and a traditional three-point play.
Huff leads the Mountaineers, averaging 16.3 points per game and is second in the Big 12 with 77 made 3-pointers. WVU leans on defense, ranking second in the conference by allowing just 63.8 points per game while holding opponents to 41.1 percent shooting.
Baylor is coming off a 67-57 loss to Cincinnati, where the Bears shot 35 percent from the field and struggled from the perimeter.
Tounde Yessoufou led Baylor with 16 points and seven rebounds. Obi Agbim knocked down four of six 3-point attempts to finish with 14 points, while Dan Skillings Jr. added 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
The Bears were limited to 23.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc in the loss, and leading scorer Cameron Carr was held to four points on 1-of-11 shooting. Carr, a redshirt sophomore, is averaging 19.6 points per game this season, while Yessoufou, a freshman, is averaging 17.6.
Since Big 12 play began, Baylor’s scoring has dipped sharply after averaging 95.6 points per game during nonconference play. The Bears are being outscored by an average of 9.5 points per game in league action.
“Between Carr and Yessoufou, they’ve got two of the best wing scorers in the country and there is a reason why both of those guys are projected as first-round NBA draft picks,” Mountaineer head coach Ross Hodge said on his weekly United Bank Playbook segment. “I would imagine like most people against us, if you can increase the tempo, you feel better about your chances of scoring.”
Baylor has enjoyed unusual success in Morgantown, owning an 8-4 record at Hope Coliseum since WVU joined the Big 12. The Bears have won seven straight games against the Mountaineers and 10 of the last 11 meetings overall.
“I’ve got a ton of respect for coach Drew,” Hodge said. “I know a lot has been made about what coach (Curt) Cignetti has done this year at Indiana and how it is one of the most remarkable college sports stories, and right under that and of gets lost is what coach Drew has done with that Baylor program resurrecting it from the ashes.
“From where it was when he took it over to reaching the pinnacle by winning a national championship and the consistency he’s maintained there is really amazing,” Hodge added.
The Mountaineers are trying to become the first team since 1982 to finish undefeated at home. That team went 15-0 in the Coliseum en route to a 27-4 season.
Saturday’s game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tipoff and will be televised on ESPN2. Radio coverage begins at 3 p.m. on the Mountaineer Sports Network.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
