By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
Baylor isn’t on the bubble quite yet.
The Bears (15-9, 7-6) are a No. 9 seed in ESPN’s latest bracketology, while CBS slots them in with a No. 10 seed ahead of Saturday’s matchup with West Virginia (15-9, 6-7).
But with a .500 record against opponents in the top three quadrants and without starting center Josh Ojianwuna after the big man suffered a season-ending knee injury, the team is in danger of spiraling. Head coach Scott Drew turned to a 1-3-1 zone against Houston Monday, which showed promise, but it wasn’t enough to overcome 15 turnovers and a 76-65 loss.
“It’s always important to rattle off wins,” Drew said. “Why the Big 12 is good is not because the numbers in front, it’s because each team is really well-coached. They got a lot of good players. It’s really hard to win on the road, and just because you’re at home doesn’t mean it’s a given, so you gotta show up.”
Baylor shot 57.9% from the field against Houston, but that was not enough to overcome the Cougars’ aggressive, attacking defense. In addition to their 15 turnovers, the Bears only assisted on 10-of-22 makes from the field. West Virginia, a top-20 defense by raw scoring and KenPom’s analytics, could pose further challenges.
“They’re always gritty,” redshirt junior combo guard Langston Love said of the Mountaineers. “Physical team. They’ve got some nice guards, nice team all around.
In the face of pervasive turnover issues against Houston, Baylor’s offensive engine relied on turning defense into offense at a high level — and in large part, it worked, as the team shot its best field goal percentage in Big 12 play. If they can cut down on the miscues, freshman wing VJ Edgecombe thinks the Bears can be lethal.
“When the offense is flowing, we know how dangerous we can be,” Edgecombe said. “Everyone on the court can score the ball. Everyone can shoot the ball. Everyone is a threat.”
Without Ojianwuna, Drew said Baylor will “primarily” continue to run a seven-man rotation, which could occasionally bump up to eight or nine depending on game flow. After a season full of injuries, the last remaining hope is some vestige of consistency.
“[We’re] excited to see, if we can keep seven guys healthy, what we can become together,” Drew said. “As we continue to play together, practice together, develop chemistry together and some rhythm together — I know we have some talented guys and they can do some damage.”
Baylor will tip off against West Virginia at the Foster Pavilion at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be streamed live on ESPN2.
