The Diehard Breakdown: Baylor 80 WVU 70

[WvuDieHard]

Kansas City Missouri is a town known for it's Steaks and Barbeque and bar room brawling? The Mountaineers found themselves in a very physical game today much like a bar room brawl. A game marred with hard fouls. Some with the whistle and some without. Nonetheless, the bigger, longer Bears, wore a depleted WV team down and coasted to a 80-70 win. WV stayed with Baylor through out the 1st half and did enjoy a 6 point lead with 4 minutes left in the first half. Baylor ended the half with a slim 38-36 lead.

The 2nd half saw more physical play. Holton is back slapped in the jaw with no call and no stoppage of play. Yet, WV continued to hang in there and took a brief 62-59 lead on a Tarik Phillips bucket with 8 minutes left in the game. WV would never lead again in this game as the size and strength of Baylor in the middle took over. Gathers and O'Neale score a combined 31 points while Prince shoots 7-9 from the field for a game high 18 points.

So, call the cab, pack the luggage, and Jet back to Mo'town. We are beat and banged up and need a full week of rest and practice. Paige played a good game today hitting a game high 4 3 pointers and collecting 18 points. Not to be out done, Devon Williams, fouled out of this game on 7-9 shooting, 7 rebounds and 18 points. This WV team showed some character today with Jevon Carter gimping and Macon and Williams in foul trouble. Yet in the end, it was the turnovers that did them in. 14 TO's to be exact. You don't win many tournament games committing 14 turnovers. Baylor is long so that length helps create some of those turnovers. WV got outrebounded today 31-28 and got only 4 more FG attempts than the Bears. A typical WV game will see 8 or 10 more shots. Baylor had 10 TO's today and that is a low number for a WV opponent this season. It will be interesting to see how healthy Wannie and Browne will be next week. If they go, it will help but they better be 100% ready because there will be no tomorrow in the NCAA tournament. Have a great day Mountaineer fans wherever your country road takes you!

PS:

BB--you still not buying this bullshit? Baylor made a believer out of me after watching them dismantle us twice. Yet, when Baylor plays against other big clubs, they are just another team.

 

[WVUDAD]

When we took the lead with about 8 minutes to go after hanging with them the whole game, I thought we had a chance, but reality set in. Baylor is a horrible matchup for this team, they have an answer for everything we do. I didn't think we would win the game, but we did present well especially with our leaders on the pine. Rest, heal, and charge into the NCAAs!!!!!

 

[Anotherwvufan]

This was a tough hard fought game. I don't buy the matchup either. We finished off on an 8-21 run. Missed shots at key times, bad turnovers near the end and fouls killed us. Baylor did not beat us as much as we gave the game away at the end.

 

[bbwvfan]

Tough loss for our young team today. No seniors on the floor for WVU once again.

WVU literally threw this game away in the 2nd half. I had hoped the experience from throwing the KU game away would habe helped control the nerves better today.

WVU proved they had no match up problems as they went toe to toe with them the entire game. Had they eliminated their mistakes, they would be facing a team they know they can beat in the semi's.

So...I think they proved this match up nightmare to be nothing but a bunch of BS.

 

[WVUDAD]

This was a tough hard fought game. I don't buy the matchup either. We finished off on an 8-21 run. Missed shots at key times, bad turnovers near the end and fouls killed us. Baylor did not beat us as much as we gave the game away at the end.

I would say the bad matchup caused many of the issues you mention, even in most of our losses this year, we had many more shots, more rebounds, more steals, less turnovers than the opponent, but have fumbled the ball away and got out physical ed against Baylor in all three games. I think the very fact that we lost to them three times this season says they are a bad matchup for us.

 

[DCWV4life]

How does losing a third game to a team prove that there are not match up problems? lol you guys crack me up.

This is the best we played against them this season, but for not a 3 min stretch around the 5 min mark in second half where we just turned the ball over and let them score who knows what would have happened.

I think most would agree, the L's from this year are going to lead to big W's in the coming years. Team is growing and learning on the run.

 

[bbwvfan]

Match up problems are nothing but excuses. If a team is considered to be an equal, then I don't buy 'em. Every team has its strengths, and its weaknesses. Well... every team outside of UK...

With as many minutes WVU held the lead in yesterday's game... I would like to know how that identifies a match up problem. They threw away yesterday's game.

WVU played one bad game against BU... at home. And, one bad half when both seniors were out due to injury.

They have been their equal in the last 3 halves of play against them.

Some match up problem...

 

[DCWV4life]

Ok if you do not want to label it match up or whatever they are just better than us.

6 halfs of play we outscored them once by 4 points

First game
1st half +16 Baylor
2nd half +2 Baylor 18 pt loss So no we did not play any better as margin of victory was bigger than half time lead
Second Game
1st Half +16 Baylor
2nd half +4 WVU 12 pt loss, not really seeing improved play
Third game
1st half +2 Baylor
2nd half +8 Baylor did not show improvement 10 pt loss

3 double digit L's, I guess we could argue over the semantics of saying it is a match up problem or whatever until the cows come home.

 

[bbwvfan]

WVU outscored BU in the second half of the game at BU. They fell behind big after Browne's injury. And, Wanny was already out of the game. How can you say there is not improved play in the 2nd half... when they scored 4 more points than them?

Yesterday, they lost it at the end. The 10 point margin is not representative of how that game went back and forth.

Those were two equal teams yesterday until our freshmen made some poor plays... and a 1 point deficit went to a 5 point deficit. And, that was without our 2 senior guards...

 

[DCWV4life]

WVU outscored BU in the second half of the game at BU. They fell behind big after Browne's injury. And, Wanny was already out of the game. How can you say there is not improved play in the 2nd half... when they scored 4 more points than them?

Yesterday, they lost it at the end. The 10 point margin is not representative of how that game went back and forth.

Those were two equal teams yesterday until our freshmen made some poor plays... and a 1 point deficit went to a 5 point deficit. And, that was without our 2 senior guards...

Browns injury happened 3 minutes into the game, not like it was neck and neck for much of the game and he went down. The other 17 mins of the half they kicked our a$$.

They shot 33% in the second half and it helped Baylor shot 30% and still won by 12..not much improvement at all. They were losing my double digits most of that game.

Third game was more competitive, but close only count in ......well you know the rest.

 

[bbwvfan]

Well... if Carter had been playing PG all season long... instead of being forced into action for the first time all year... due to Browne and Staten's injuries... then I think you have a valid point about the way BU handled WVU in game 2.

But... that isn't the case. Carter played better in the 2nd half of that game, and was doing well yesterday until he got injured himself.

They had to take him off of point after his injury.

 

[Anotherwvufan]

WVU is not loaded with great basketball players. We are small inexperienced, young, can's shoot, can't handle the ball and we are not as athletic as most of the teams in the B12. I see the only reason that we have done so good this year was because of Huggy. Give Catlett this team and we go 4-14 in this league. We have motchup problems against everyone. You guys said it about Texas earlier in the year.. Guess what we beat them. It just comes down to making the shots and decisions by the players. Make a couple more free throws, hit a couple of 3s late in the game, have a couple of foul calls go our way, we win.

You can call it a matchup problem or you can just say they are a better team that we will need to play our best against. Kansas got our best shot, Baylor did not. When you play a team neck and neck for 35 minutes, hard to call it a matchup problem. If we get to play Kentucky, we will see a matchup problem.

 

[WvuDieHard]

I think size and length can create a match up problem. Baylor is just another team against other clubs who can match their size inside. Kansas beat them handedly last night. We can play with anybody if we play smart but we are a few cards short of a 52 deck with a few players. Call it inexperience if ya will but it was the difference in games we won and we lost. We have match up issues with several teams in the Big 12, I just think Baylor happens to be the cream of that crop. It doesn't mean you can't win, it just means you better limit your mistakes.

 

[bbwvfan]

And, KU has no more size than WVU. It is nothing but a convenient excuse to help explain a poor performance.

Poor performances happen. The game plan did not change when WVU faced BU. They attacked the zone inside. The first meeting, WVU took 40 of their 66 FG attempts from within 5 feet of the basket.

Against all that size and length…

 

[CoolBeans]

About our seed....

Look for us to get a SEVEN SEED.

Why?

Our ranking would merit a 6 seed, but I honestly foresee at least 3 Big 12 Schools getting a 3 seed. They can bump up or down seeds up to one slot to avoid conference rematches early. I don't see them bumping us up to a 5 seed, so it looks like a potential #7 Seed for WVU.

I hate that, but it's what I see.

 

[DCWV4life]

The first meeting, WVU took 40 of their 66 FG attempts from within 5 feet of the basket.

Against all that size and length…

How many of those shots did they make? Among the 7 blocks they had they altered a lot of shots as well....hmmm maybe because of their size and length

 

[bbwvfan]

They only made 14 of 40 shots from within 5 feet. They missed a ton of easy shots. I wasn't able to watch the first half of the game, but listened to Tony and Jay's broadcast on the radio. Both of them were repeatedly stating how they could not believe the number of easy shots WVU was missing inside.

At half of the Big 12 Tourney game, Huggs said he was disappointed in the offense the first half... they weren't going inside enough. WVU was shooting 50% at half... killing it inside. Against all their size and length too.

Weird... huh?

 

[WVUDAD]

Still think Baylor is this great team that just beat us? They are not that great, WVU matched up very poorly with them, PERIOD. Amazing that a certain few just want to argue. Anyway, the B12 isnt looking too good so far. Yet again, it is also being proven that the league you play in says NOTHING about the teams on the floor.