This isn’t the Baylor team you remember.
The No. 1 Bears, who haven’t lost since early November, are still a defensive team holding teams to 58.3 points per game and 38.2-percent from the field. Both of those totals are among the nation’s best.
Scott Drew’s club is currently the No. 4 team in defensive efficiency nationally according to KenPom but the biggest shift has been away from the trademark zone to a man-to-man look.
“Defensively I think they do a terrific job. Far and away this is the best man-to-man defensive team we’ve seen all year,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said.
The Bears have shifted away from the 1-1-3 and 2-3 zone looks that were staples under Drew to predominantly a man-to-man effort that is now the calling card of this club.
It’s a move that has been based largely on accentuating the positives of the club as the Bears feature a number of versatile defenders.
“Their whole team can switch and guard and I think that makes it a lot easier for them,” he said.
One of those is 6-foot-5 junior Mark Vital who is the key cog in the effort for the Bears on both ends of the floor, but especially defensively given his ability to do it all.
“He can guard a 7-footer and a 5-foot-6 guy. So they’re able to switch more things and whatever he is, the center or power forward, can guard anybody,” he said.
Vital also is the type of player that is there to get tough rebounds, sets screens and penetrates and pitches to get players open shots according to Huggins.
Sophomore Freddie Gillespie is another that fits into that category at 6-foot-8 and allows the Bears to make things difficult for opponents with the flexibility to move around and guard other spots.
A difficult challenge for any club, especially one that has been struggling to makes shots as West Virginia has over the past two games going 32-percent (43-136) from the floor over the past two contests. The Mountaineers also have the hurdle of starting 1-4 on the road in the Big 12 which is going to be tough to overcome a team that has yet to lose in the league.
“You go out and look to score against them in the past and see what worked. Go back and look how other people scored against them and conversely how other people slows them down,” Huggins said.
The Mountaineers are looking to snap their first two-game losing streak of the season and is on the right side of health as the Mountaineers should be back to full strength with guard Sean McNeil back. But given the magnitude, the Mountaineers realize that there are opportunities available if they can do something that hasn’t been done since early November.
“They understand where they are,” Huggins said.
Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN+.
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