Mountaineers' Climb Halted by Bears at Foster Pavilion in a Close Encounter
The West Virginia Mountaineers, ranked 22nd, faced off against the 18th-ranked Baylor Bears in a conference game that ended with the scoreboard reading 65-58. The Mountaineers now stand with an overall season record of 12-8, while the Bears improved to 14-6. Despite a valiant effort in the fourth quarter where they outscored their opponents by five points, it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit from earlier periods.
The Mountaineers displayed resilience throughout the match. They were particularly aggressive on defense, racking up a total of 11 steals and limiting their own turnovers to just eleven. This defensive hustle translated into offense as they scored seventeen points off turnovers. However, shooting was an area of struggle for West Virginia; they shot only thirty-two percent from the field and twenty-two percent from beyond the arc.
West Virginia's efforts inside were more fruitful as they amassed twenty-six points in paint and grabbed ten offensive rebounds contributing to thirteen second-chance points. Their free throw shooting hovered around sixty-five percent but didn't provide enough edge to close down on Baylor's lead.
On Baylor's side, their field goal percentage stood at forty-eight percent which included seven made three-point shots at thirty-nine percent accuracy. The home team also capitalized on their two-point attempts with an impressive fifty-three percent success rate.
The Bears dominated on rebounds with forty-one total compared to West Virginia's thirty-three and blocked five shots over West Virginia’s single block throughout the game. Despite committing nineteen turnovers themselves, Baylor managed fifteen points off those given up by West Virginia.
As fans look ahead for West Virginia Mountaineers' next challenge, attention turns towards Schollmaier Arena where they will face TCU Horned Frogs on February 13 at 7:30 PM Eastern Time. The game will be broadcasted live via ESPN+, allowing fans not able to make it to Fort Worth an opportunity to follow all of the action remotely.