WACO, Texas — More than 8,500 celebrated Fat Tuesday by watching Brittney Griner and the Baylor women roll to their 54th consecutive home victory.

The men’s team owns a more modest winning streak inside the Ferrell Center — if one game qualifies as a streak — but the Bears are 9-point favorites for Wednesday night’s game against West Virginia. And speaking of streaks, the Mountaineers are 5-0 against the Big 12′s Texas teams, a point of boot-scootin’ pride in an otherwise unsatisfying season.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Baylor’s 7-foot-1 center Isaiah Austin (21) and 5-10 guard Pierre Jackson form a dynamic duo.

Can WVU take another jab at the Lone Star State tonight and help its postseason odds in the process? Decide for yourself after moseying through this five-key primer:

1. The long (Isaiah Austin) …
He’s just your run-of-the-mill 7-footer who splashes 3-pointers, dribbles like a Globetrotter and rejects shots with a wingspan that can stretch across all six lanes of I-35.

Austin, a consensus top-five recruit last season coming out of Arlington, Texas, has made good on his game-changing potential during a freshman season that’s likely to represent the beginning and end to his college career. He hasn’t officially declared himself a one-and-done player, but if he’s back at Baylor next season it will take a Billy Graham-sized miracle.

Averaging 14.9 points and league-high 9.7 rebounds, Austin has more double-doubles (nine) than West Virginia’s entire roster (five). His 19-point, 20-rebound performance against Oklahoma on Jan. 30 would have become legendary if not for the inconvenient fact that Baylor lost the game 74-71.

And indirectly he might even be partially responsible for teammate Cory Jefferson leading the Big 12 with a .596 shooting percentage.

“He helped me since he got here” last summer, Jefferson said. “Just going against his height every day, made me better. Having to get a shot off against him is difficult to do.”

2. And the short (Pierre Jackson) …
He’s just your everyday 5-foot-10 guard who leads the Big 12 in scoring (19.1) and assists (6.0) and wasn’t sure  he’d even land a major-college offer until he led College of Southern Idaho to a juco national championship as a sophomore.

WVU saw Jackson’s work up-close last season when the point guard scored 23 points, including the game-tying 3 at the end of regulation, to lift the Bears to an 83-81 overtime win in Las Vegas.

“Well, he beat us scoring a year ago,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. “He’s certainly one of the best players in the league. He can really score the ball and they can really get you spread because they’ve got a number of other guys capable of making shots, as well.”

3. The bunched-up Big 12
Baylor (15-8, 6-4) entered Wednesday at No. 49 in the RPI, well ahead of No. 88 West Virginia (12-11, 5-5), yet the Mountaineers are only a game back in the conference standings.

Picked second in the Big 12 preseason poll, the Bears currently are tied with Iowa State in fifth place, though Jackson predicted Tuesday “we’ll be at the top when it’s all said and done.”

Part of climbing to the top means improving offensive efficiency. Whereas Baylor ranks 45th nationally in points per possession, it ranks only 278th in turnover percentage, giving away the ball on more than 18 percent of its possessions.

“You can’t count us out,” Jackson said. “The Big 12′s been crazy this year. Teams you wouldn’t expect to lose have been losing. It’s wide-open.”

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently projects Baylor as a No. 10 seed in the NCAA tournament, but

4. Depth perception
West Virginia has 11 players averaging 12 minutes per game while Baylor has only eight. Of course, upon factoring in foul problems, WVU needs the extra bodies: The Mountaineers have committed 443 fouls to Baylor’s 364.

“They’re the same physical team you’ve come to know from Coach Huggins,” said Bears coach Scott Drew. “His teams always play really hard and you have to match their physicality.”

And with physicality comes the potential for copious amounts of fouls. Drew said players must make in-game adjustments to the officiating.

“If (officials) tend to be calling more fouls, you have to move your feet more and keep your hands off,” he said. “If they’re not, that’s where the reaching, grabbing and pushing comes in.”

 

Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

West Virginia forward Deniz Kilicli produced eight points and three rebounds, two blocks and two assists as the Mountaineers beat TCU 63-50.

5. WVU hitting its offensive stride
During its three-game winning streak, West Virginia is shooting 51 percent overall and 51 percent from 3-point range. Compare that to the season averages of 40 and 31 percent, respectively, and it begs the question: Has WVU evolved into a solid offensive team or do the past three wins (against teams with a 5-26 combined mark in the league) represent an anomaly?

“The 3-balls they’ve been hitting have really opened up things,” said Drew, primarily in reference to the Mountaineers’ freshman deep threats Eron Harris and Terry Henderson, but also perhaps with a nod to Gary Browne (whose 3-point percentage has creeped above the Mendoza line).

Because these shots aren’t made in a vacuum, there’s typically a causal effect one or two passes away. Huggins credits the re-emergence of senior forward Deniz Kilicli (13-of-21 in his last three games) with helping WVU’s perimeter guys find more space.

“He’s so much more active,” Huggins said. “When Deniz is active, he draws people to him and opens things for other people. Look at his stat line (Saturday vs. TCU): Eight points and he go

Allan Taylor

ataylor@wvradio.com
@AllanTaylorWVU
Allan Taylor joined MetroNews in August 2012, following 18 years of newspaper, magazine and multimedia work as an SEC columnist, sports editor, assistant sports editor, managing editor, news reporter and media consultant.
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Comments

  • cutty77

    Just keep Harris and Henderson in the Game,they will be fine.

    February 13, 2013 at 10:36 am | Reply Report comment

    • Larry

      We can only hope that the dynamic duo plays about half a game. Thats all they are going to get. Murray averages about 10-13 minutes a game. It is what it is...

      February 13, 2013 at 12:18 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Hoffy

    Allan, the best point you made is whether WVU has improved offensively over the past 3 games. I am wondering, as well, whether what we have seen is a fluke or the real thing.
    The other factor I am looking at is the play of the big guys - can they stay out of foul trouble long enough to have a meaningful impact and take some pressure off the young guns?

    February 13, 2013 at 10:45 am | Reply Report comment

  • tony

    this is the biggest game of the year. we should look at it as a golden opportunity to climb another rung. circumstances are perfect to keep aboard this wave we've climbed on. dont think the crowd will bother us. we have to keep it close by half-and keep the intensity of the old dog with the bone deal. its eat or not eat time, folks.

    February 13, 2013 at 11:39 am | Reply Report comment

    • alumni05

      I agree...i think this could potentially be our make it or break it game. Now i'm not saying that if we win tonight then we'll go undefeated the rest of the way. I do however feel like a win tonight gives us a nudge over the fence and will boost our confidence to a different level.

      February 13, 2013 at 1:08 pm | Reply Report comment

      • big tom

        did you read what you just wrote before posting it,,, you idiot

        February 13, 2013 at 2:46 pm | Reply Report comment

        • alumni05

          I'm starting to think Big Tom is a small child who has his big sister write his comments for him. Be sure she changes your diaper before bed!

          February 13, 2013 at 8:10 pm | Reply Report comment

          • big tom

            i am starting to think alumni05 is a small child who has his big sister write his comments for him. Be sure she change your diaper before bed....

            February 13, 2013 at 8:24 pm |

      • Habib Haddad

        Are we having a cliche contest?

        February 13, 2013 at 3:30 pm | Reply Report comment

  • LETSGOOOOMTNEERS

    I'm looking forward to seeing how our Defense does against their 1 turnover in nearly every 5 possessions team and also when? and which zone? Huggs'll bring tonight. No doubt the Refs affected last year's game, especially with the non-calls, and I'm expecting we won't get much help from them again this year, but if we keep up the excellent Assists to Points ratio, I'm lookin' for a W..... When someone asked Huggs if he'd settled on a starting lineup, he answered that he was more interested in finding finishers. Great response. Let's Finish Strong tonite, flip that point spread on 'em and Keep on Climbin'.
    I still remember the surprise of the break-out game that Dom had last year against the Bears, I've been a fan of his ever since. LGM.

    February 13, 2013 at 1:03 pm | Reply Report comment

  • big tom

    i just hope someone is there to remind huggie who is hot and to put them in the game in the second half.
    i don't think this is a make or break game, cause if we lose, it could destroy the rest of the season, but,, on a more serious note, we will be extremely lucky if we win 3 of the last eight games..
    we can't depend on freshmen to bail us out, though they have a lot of promise but they are freshmen.
    bench kilicili now, and we might do better, but i wouldn't even allow him to travel, he's a virus to this team.
    start murray show him you have confidence in him, put the game on his shoulders, it might just be a make or break game for him...go eers..

    February 13, 2013 at 1:50 pm | Reply Report comment

    • alumni05

      Did you read what you wrote before posting it? It makes no sense really. I suggest getting somebody to look over your comments before you submit them. Just a little advice Big Tooty!

      February 13, 2013 at 2:02 pm | Reply Report comment

      • big tom

        if you would have gotten past the third grade you might understand, but then again, probably not.

        February 13, 2013 at 2:27 pm | Reply Report comment

        • DWM

          Big Tom,

          Huggs just said it has been the effectiveness of Deniz in the last three games that has opened up the floor for the the kids to get open shots, and you're saying to bench him?

          Also, even when Deniz was ineffective, Huggs said he still had a positive outlook. The biggest problem Deniz has is the fact that we are not good at getting the ball in the post.

          February 13, 2013 at 4:15 pm | Reply Report comment

          • big tom

            i got your sister down between my legs

            February 13, 2013 at 8:23 pm |

          • big tom

            and he can't dribble, pass, rebound, shoot layups, etc.

            February 13, 2013 at 8:26 pm |

        • alumni05

          Much better job! Tell your sister good job.

          February 13, 2013 at 8:11 pm | Reply Report comment

  • Don

    Take the Mountaineer Mascot he killed a bear

    February 13, 2013 at 2:54 pm | Reply Report comment

  • John

    We aren't the best team in the country but neither are the teams in this conference. This IS NOT the Big East we have a chance to win a good portion of the remaining games, hopefully Huggins can stop yelling and keep teaching. Odds aren't good to make the tournament, but we still have a shot.

    February 13, 2013 at 4:48 pm | Reply Report comment

    • big tom

      we will be lucky to win 3 more games,,, we haven't beaten anyone above in the rankings, what makes you think we will.

      February 13, 2013 at 8:27 pm | Reply Report comment

  • JimJim

    John, you are correct, this is not the Beg East! Big 12 = Ugly Basketball

    February 13, 2013 at 7:00 pm | Reply Report comment