MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — There’s not much similar in how Baylor and West Virginia’s seasons have played out.
The Bears (11-9, 1-7) accomplished much more in non-conference play and have found success tough to come by in the Big 12 through the opening half of their league slate.
The Mountaineers (14-7, 5-3) largely failed to bolster their postseason resume over the first 13 games despite compiling a 9-4 mark, but they’ve displayed more promise within league play, falling three times to top 10 opponents on the road and otherwise posting victories.
Nearly all of WVU’s success has come at Hope Coliseum, and the Mountaineers go for a 17th straight home victory at 4 p.m. Saturday when they welcome Baylor for a matchup airing on ESPN2.
“It’s a grind, man. It’s unforgiving,” first-year West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge said of the Big 12. “You better be able to move on pretty quick, win or lose, and get to the next thing.”
While the Mountaineers were nowhere near their best Tuesday in their most recent outing, they overcame a slow start and lengthy second-half scoring drought to move to 13-0 at home this season with a 59-54 victory over Kansas State.
WVU outscored the Wildcats 14-5 over the final 3:17. Treysen Eaglestaff accounted for eight points and Honor Huff five of the remaining six. On a night where he finished with 12 points and made 5-of-12 shots, Eaglestaff played his best ball late, scoring twice on second-chance opportunities and making his only three-pointer in six attempts down the stretch.
“All the shots felt good. You can’t control when it goes in and out,” Eaglestaff said. “It wasn’t falling first half. I didn’t lose confidence or anything. I knew if it’s not falling, I have to do other things. I tried rebounding the best I could. Towards the end, offensive rebounds were pretty big. When the shots came, I was teed up and ready for it and shot it like every other shot.”
Jan 27, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) drives against Kansas State Wildcats guard Nate Johnson (34) during the second half at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Imagesa
One negative that came about for the Mountaineers was a slow start in a third straight game. WVU did not score over its first nine possessions and until Chance Moore’s fast break dunk 5:49 into the matchup.
Although the Mountaineers recovered to lead 28-22 at halftime, sluggish play to start was also an issue on a two-game road trip in Arizona last week.
Arizona State led 11-4 and 26-13 before WVU battled back to trail 37-35 at halftime in what marks the Mountaineers’ lone win outside Morgantown this season. Last Saturday at top-ranked Arizona, hope vanished rather quickly for the visitors as the Wildcats led 10-2 and 22-8 en route to their 35-point victory.
“You’re always kind of evaluating everything. Some of it is you’re getting good looks and not making them,” Hodge said. “It’s like trying to figure out where your leverage pieces are going to come from and how do you leverage the defense. Teams play different teams different, and Kansas State has done it a lot. Some of it is you have to let the game tell you what they’re going to do.”
WVU has led at halftime in three Big 12 games and never by more than seven points. The Mountaineers have been outscored by 38 points across the first half in league play and by six points in the second half.
“You go into a game thinking you may see this and you don’t always see that,” Hodge said, “but you’re evaluating everything.”
WVU has four players averaging double-figure scoring, led by Huff’s 16.3 points. Eaglestaff follows at 10.6, while Brenen Lorient (10.4) and Moore are close behind.
The Mountaineers’ best asset has been their defense and they rank fourth in the Big 12 in points allowed in league play at 69.8 and second overall to Houston for the season at 63.8.
While WVU scores the fewest points of any conference team in league play and for the season, Baylor is 14th in that category as it pertains to its performances in the Big 12.
Across eight league games, the Bears are shooting 41.7 percent and 32 percent on threes. Big 12 teams have been far more efficient from long range against the Bears, shooting 37.6 percent.
The struggles have carried over to the free-throw line, where BU is hitting at a 64.7 percent clip in league action.
In Wednesday’s 67-57 loss at Cincinnati , the concerning offensive trends continued as the Bears made 23-of-65 shots, 6-of-26 triples and 5-of-9 free throws.
Jan 28, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Scott Drew yells to his team in the first half against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
“At the end of the day, just because people are in zone doesn’t mean you have to take threes,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. “Our movement was much better later.“
Cameron Carr, a 6-foot-5 sophomore and the Bears’ top scorer at 19.6 points, suffered through his worst showing at Baylor against the Bearcats, scoring four points on 1-for-11 shooting and turning it over four times.
“If you get easy buckets or easy looks, you can get going. Cincinnati did a great job not giving him easy looks,” Drew said. “When your first couple shots are tough and you miss them, it’s hard to get in a rhythm. Credit them and their defense for that.”
Tounde Yessoufou, another 6-5 wing, is the team’s second-leading scorer at 17.6 points and nearly reached his average with 16 at UC.
Obi Agbim, a 6-3 guard, follows at 10.8 points, while 6-6 swingman Dan Skillings Jr. (10.3) and 6-1 guard Isaac Williams IV (10) also average double figures.
Agbim leads the team with 48 treys and made four in the most recent contest, which marked the Bears’ fourth straight loss.
“It’s not the way we wanted the season to go right now, but we all have to be hungry,” Agbim said. “We all have to believe and be hungry. There’s only one way to go. We can’t really dwell on the past. We have to sleep on it, get better the next day, adjust and try to be the best that we can for the next game.”
