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2015 Big XII Tournament Bracket
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Game Day Vitals
- #18 West Virginia Mountaineers (23-8, Big XII 11-7, NCAA RPI 20) vs. #16 Baylor Bears (23-8, Big XII 11-7, NCAA RPI 10)
- Series Record :1-6, last matchup was an ugly loss in Waco L 78-66
- Location: Sprint Center (Capacity: 18,972) Kansas City, MO
- Vegas Lines: (+3) for the good guys, O/U: 138.0
- Date: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 12:30 PM ET
- Television: ESPN2 / WatchESPN
- Radio Affiliates
Opponent Information
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- #16 Baylor Bears (23-8, Big XII 11-7, NCAA RPI 10)
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Head Coach - Scott Drew, 12th year as BU head coach, 245–168 career (.593)
- Last Result - Win over Texas Tech in Waco W 77-74
- Official Baylor Bears athletics website
- SBN Baylor blog - Our Daily Bears
The Interwebs
Yep. Gonna use these gifs until either I die or I am replaced writing the previews........ even for conference tournaments.
I HAVE TWO OPTIONS FOR GIFS HERE, SO I'M JUST GOING TO GO WITH BOTH. ONE IS TOPICAL:
AND ONE IS BECAUSE BAYLOR HELPED ITS CONCEPTION:
WE THANK YOU FOR BOTH.
Game Preview
Mountaineers begin to practice in KC. Gary Browne on the floor. Juwan Staten in sweats. pic.twitter.com/U7nBWtNMSf
— TonyCaridi (@TonyCaridi) March 11, 2015
.@JuwanStaten3 getting some shots up at this afternoon's practice. pic.twitter.com/v81p55tFNV
— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) March 11, 2015
There were several ways that West Virginia could have avoided playing Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament and none of them came true. The Mountaineers, out of sheer bad luck, end up facing their Achilles heel personified as WVU were swept by the Baylor Bears by a combined 30 points over two games. The good news, as shown above, is that Gary Browne could feature in this game and Juwan Staten is simply showing signs of life. It is no secret that the Mountaineers can perform without their senior guards, but this is more than just a tall task.
There is no secret for this game. If West Virginia can clamp down on Baylor with the press and force several turnovers, then the Mountaineers can play their game. If #PressVirginia fails and the Mountaineers do not shoot at even an average rate, then this one will get ugly quick.
Prediction: WVU 73, Baylor 78