Jan 10, 2017
West Virginia shocks No. 1 Baylor
Nathan Adrian broke out of a shooting slump with a career-high 22 points, and No. 10 West Virginia beat No. 1 Baylor 89-68 on Tuesday night in the Bears' first game as the top-ranked team in program history.
The Canadian Press
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Nathan Adrian broke out of a shooting slump with a career-high 22 points, and No. 10 West Virginia beat No. 1 Baylor 89-68 on Tuesday night in the Bears' first game as the top-ranked team in program history. Baylor (15-1, 3-1 Big 12) committed a season-high 29 turnovers -- the school record is 31 -- and never led in its second true road game of the season. The loss means No. 5 Gonzaga is the only remaining unbeaten team in Division I.
West Virginia (14-2, 3-1) started the second half with an 11-3 run and kept pouring it on, leading by as many as 26 points down the stretch. Fans rushed the court and sang John Denver's "Country Roads" after the Mountaineers toppled a top-ranked Big 12 opponent at home for the second straight season. A year ago this week, West Virginia beat Kansas when the Jayhawks were No. 1.
Jevon Carter added 17 points and Brandon Watkins scored 11 for West Virginia. Terry Maston, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and Al Freeman each scored 10 for the Bears. West Virginia leads the nation with nearly 13 steals and 24 forced turnovers per game and rotated 13 players against Baylor to keep the pressure on. The Mountaineers had 15 steals Tuesday.
The Mountaineers have beaten Baylor three straight times and improved to 5-8 against teams ranked No. 1 in the AP poll.
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: The Bears looked disorganized from the start and lost to a ranked opponent for the first time after four earlier wins. They fell to 1-7 all-time in top-10 matchups. West Virginia: The scrappy Mountaineers were outrebounded 41-32. But they had 13 more shot attempts than the Bears, which is what coach Bob Huggins wants every game -- more opportunities.
UP NEXT
Baylor plays at No. 25 Kansas State on Saturday. West Virginia travels to Texas on Saturday.