No. 10 West Virginia (16-6, 9-4) vs. No. 2 Baylor (18-0, 10-0)
Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas; Thursday, 5 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: No. 2 Baylor goes for its fifth straight win over ranked opponents against No. 10 West Virginia . Baylor’s last loss vs a ranked opponent came against the then-No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks 64-61 on Feb. 22, 2020. West Virginia took care of TCU by eight on the road in its last outing.
TEAM LEADERSHIP: The do-everything Jared Butler is averaging 17.1 points, 5.1 assists and 2.4 steals to lead the charge for the Bears. Davion Mitchell is also a top facilitator, accounting for 13.4 points, 5.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game. The Mountaineers are led by Derek Culver, who is averaging a double-double with 15.1 points and 10.3 rebounds.
FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: Miles McBride has had his hand in 41 percent of all West Virginia field goals over the last five games. The sophomore guard has 30 field goals and 28 assists in those games.
STREAK STATS: West Virginia has won its last six road games, scoring 78.7 points and allowing 70.3 points during those contests. Baylor has won its last nine home games, scoring an average of 89 points while giving up 62.1.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Mountaineers have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Bears. Baylor has 40 assists on 92 field goals (43.5 percent) across its previous three outings while West Virginia has assists on 46 of 85 field goals (54.1 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Baylor offense has scored 86.4 points per game this season, ranking the Bears second among Division 1 teams. The West Virginia defense has allowed 72.1 points per game to opponents (ranked 213th).
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