Baylor Poses Major Threat To West Virginia

A huge win at Iowa State was much needed, but the schedule doesn’t get any easier for the West Virginia University men’s basketball team.

By Michael Miller@uncle_drank Feb 5, 2016, 9:04am EST

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions.

Football:

Year One in the Books for WVU's Lyons | WVU Athletics
My, how time flies! West Virginia University director of athletics Shane Lyons has now been on the job for a full year. It was this time a year ago when Lyons was beginning to reacquaint himself with WVU athletics following a successful three-year tenure as Alabama’s No. 2 administrator.

Where have all the Florida recruits gone? | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Throughout the years, Florida recruiting has been very good to WVU. Former head coach Don Nehlen is in the College Football Hall of Fame partially because of kids from the Sunshine State. Current Marshall coach Doc Holliday earned a reputation mining Florida, initially for Nehlen. Heck, coaches have been hired in Morgantown simply because of their Florida connections. Damon Cogdell, recently released, is the latest.

Gold & Blue Lunch: How WVU went uptempo for juco RB | WV MetroNews
West Virginia coaches spent months and years pursuing Steven Smothers, Brendan Ferns and Kyzir White. But a fast-tracked relationship with junior college running back Justin Crawford filled a vital need.

Basketball:

Gathers, Baylor pose major threat to West Virginia | The Daily Athenaeum
A huge win at Iowa State was much needed, but the schedule doesn’t get any easier for the West Virginia University men’s basketball team.

Trio of WVU starters find success together again | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Jaysean Paige has become West Virginia’s most productive player, leading the team in scoring and leading all Big 12 bench players with 14 points per game, but he might be the most predictive, too.

WVU's Huggins a master motivator | Beckley Register-Herald
The headline in a Morgantown newspaper Sunday after West Virginia’s lopsided loss at Florida wasn’t meant to be malicious. In fact, the "Mess Virginia," headline, playing off of the Mountaineers’ new nickname of "Press Virginia," was kind of clever.

Mountaineers look to build momentum, sweep Kansas State | The Daily Athenaeum
Last time the West Virginia women’s basketball team met the Kansas State Wildcats, the Mountaineers used a couple of large runs to seal the 72-53 win in their favor. The Mountaineers will hope for a similar result on Saturday as the Wildcats make the trip to Morgantown. It will be the second meeting between the two teams this season.

West Virginia Athletics:

WVU baseball chosen 6th in Big 12 | The Exponent Telegram
Coming off a standout freshman season, West Virginia sophomore infielder Kyle Davis has been named to the Preseason All-America Third Team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. At the same time, the Mountaineers were picked to finish sixth in Big 12 coaches preseason poll for the second consecutive season.

No. 1 West Virginia faces No. 3 Kentucky in battle for supremacy | The Daily Athenaeum
The West Virginia University rifle team will conclude the 2015-16 home slate this weekend as it will play host to conference foe No. 3 Kentucky.

Around The NCAA:

2016's top 10 unsigned recruits, including one who could alter the top 5 classes | SBNation
Demetris Robertson and nine other unsigned prospects still have to find a program to call home for 2016.

What will the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee do with Wichita State? | SBNation
Wichita State has won seven NCAA Tournament games in the past three seasons, and seems to be good enough to win six this season. Still, the Shockers aren't quite a lock to make the big dance at all.

(15) Baylor Bears vs (14) West Virginia Mountaineers
Saturday at 8PM Eastern on ESPN2 from Waco, TX. The Mountaineers face another tough test at home against Rico Gathers and the Bears.