Getty Baylor is the top ranked team in the nation.
Things are expected to get defensive as the top-ranked Baylor Bears take on No. 14 West Virginia in a Big 12 battle on Saturday at Ferrell Center.
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The game (4 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV anywhere, but anyone in the U.S can watch it live on ESPN+:
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can then watch West Virginia vs Baylor live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
West Virginia vs Baylor Preview
Baylor is in the midst of a historic season and have earned the No. 1 ranking in the nation thanks to a winning streak that has spanned 21 games. The Bears lost to Washington in just their second game of the season, but haven’t looked back since.
And Baylor has not just been beating up on nobodies. Their resume includes wins against Villanova, Arizona, Butler, Texas Tech and Kansas.
“To see the excitement people have for Baylor basketball and to see how people view it – as a parent at Christmastime, you want all your kids happy,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said on the Tiki & Tierney show. “To see our past players and our current players just being proud of what they’re doing and what they’ve helped build gives you a lot of joy. The success that they’ve had, that’s what makes coaching what it’s about today.”
Baylor’s latest victory came against Texas 52-45, with the Bears limiting the Longhorns to just 16 first-half points. MaCio Teague led the Bears with 11 points.
“Defensively, they are phenomenal,” Texas coach Shaka Smart told USA Today after his team’s loss. “They have such a physicality about them.”
Baylor has been dominant defensively, rarely allowing opponents to eclipse the 60-point mark. But Drew also cited the bond his team has.
“Great chemistry, great leadership,” coach Scott Drew said. “They trust each the other. Each of them making plays for each other, because they know if they have good looks, they’ll knock them down.”
West Virginia has lost two straight, the latest a 58-49 loss to Kansas. West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins didn’t hold back when asked about the loss, which dropped the Mountaineers to 18-6 and just 6-5 in Big 12 play.
“(Turnovers) and 19-for-60 from the field didn’t help any,” Huggins said on his post-game radio show. “You’re not going to win if you don’t make shots. We didn’t make shots inside. We didn’t make shots on the outside. We turned the ball over at the most inopportune times. We don’t get loose balls. Balls that get tapped in the air, we don’t get.”
West Virginia has been one of the worst teams in the nation when it comes to turnovers, turning it over on 20.6 percent of their possessions.
“We continue to do the same things over and over again,” Huggins told reporters this week, per 24/7 Sports. “You don’t catch the ball and post up with your head down and dribble it. You don’t do that. You’re going to lose it. We do it constantly. How many balls do we throw away trying to throw hook passes into posts among all those hands and arms and everything else? It’s a lack of understanding.”
Baylor is a 5.5-point favorite for the game.