Lady Bears (27-1, 17-0) at West Virginia (20-8, 11-6) Preview and Game Thread

Baylor travels to Morgantown to attempt to complete another perfect conference season in the Big 12. Standing in the way is a team last to tie the Lady Bears for a conference championship, West Virginia. The Mountaineers are in third in conference and could tie for second if Iowa State slips up against Kansas. The game will be played at 6 p.m. Monday on FS1 and the FoxSportsGo App.

How To Watch:

6 p.m. Monday

FS1

FoxSportsGo App

Keys To The Game:

Pound the paint

Keep Tynice Martin in check

Run Naomi Davenport off the three point line

Protect the rock

Fun Facts:

West Virginia is a state, look it up

Mike Carey uses FOP and that upsets his cousin Everett, who is a Dapper Dan man

Deliverance was filmed in Georgia

BAYLOR LADY BEARS CAN RUN TABLE FOR FOURTH TIME IN HISTORY WITH WIN AT WEST VIRGINIA
After a 76-44 win over Oklahoma State in Baylor's regular-season home finale, the Lady Bears have a chance to go undefeated in conference play for the second-straight year and for the fourth time in school history. The Big 12 has seen an undefeated regular season five times with Oklahoma going 16-0 in 2006 and Nebraska 16-0 in 2010. Baylor has accomplished the other three feats with 18-0 marks in 2012, 2013 and 2018.
 
BAYLOR LOOKS TO IMPROVE ON THREE IMPRESSIVE WIN STREAKS MONDAY
A Baylor win vs. West Virginia State Monday would mark the 41st-straight win over a Big 12 opponent in the regular season for the Lady Bears. The only streak longer in Big 12 history was when the Lady Bears won 44-straight from 2011-14. Baylor will also gun for its 35th-straight win vs. a Big 12 opponent on the road and will also look to extend the nation's longest active overall win streak at 20 games.
 
WEST VIRGINIA IN SHORT
If Iowa State beats Kansas Monday at 6:30 p.m., the Cyclones will ensure a second-place finish in the Big 12. However, if the Jayhawks pull off the upset, West Virginia could tie for second if the Mountaineers were to pull off an upset of Baylor. Prior to beating Kansas Saturday, WVU had dropped two-straight Big 12 games to Oklahoma and at Kansas State to keep them just behind pace of Iowa State for second place in the standings. West Virginia's Tynice Martin is averaging 18.2 points per contest entering into Monday's game while Naomi Davenport averages 14.9. Mike Carey is in his 18th season as head coach of the Mountaineers and has 679 career wins as a college coach.
 
INTERIOR DEFENSE DOMINANT
While some may look at the fact that Baylor has surrendered 210 3-point field goals this season (most by a Big 12 school) as a negative, take into account that only 600 of 1,518 points given up by Baylor this season have come on two-point field goals. That' s just 300 two-pointers in 28 games, which averages 10.7 2-point field goals per game or 21.4 points per game given up inside the 3-point arc this season.
 
DEFENSE BEGINS WITH DIDI
DiDi Richards, a sophomore guard/forward is consistently asked to guard the top perimeter player on Baylor's opposing team. For example, she held Katie Lou Samuelson of UConn to 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting Jan. 3, and she held OSU's Vivian Gray to a dozen on 5-of-16 from the floor Jan. 30. Both those players rank in the top 50 nationally in points per game. Richards' numbers aren't flashy, but respectable, she's averaging 1.3 steals per game for the year and 1.5 in Big 12 play, but she's anchoring the defensive unit that is leading the nation for the third-straight year in field goal percentage defense.
 
BALANCED EFFORT LEADING BAYLOR IN 2018-19
Despite having the No. 1 team in the country and in the Big 12, Baylor has taken home just one weekly Big 12 Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week award. Juicy Landrum and NaLyssa Smith earned those honors, respectively, sharing with another Big 12 player in each case. This result is partly due to the offensive balance that the Lady Bears have shown all season. Four players average in double figures for Baylor led by All-Americans Kalani Brown (15.7 ppg) and Lauren Cox's (12.1 ppg). The duo's numbers are down from a season ago, mostly due to the fact that freshmen posts Smith (8.5 ppg) and Queen Egbo (5.7 ppg) are able to spell the starters off the bench with offensive production. And, also guards Chloe Jackson and Juicy Landrum are each sharing the scoring load at 11.3 per contest each.
 
POUND THE PAINT, CLEAN THE GLASS, D-UP
In 14 statistical categories, the Lady Bears rank in the top 10 nationally. But, the Lady Bears (thru games March 1) rank tops in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (33.0), rebound margin (+16.7) and field goal percentage defense (.308) while ranking fourth in field goal percentage (.502). Kalani Brown ranks sixth in the nation in field goal percentage at a .625 clip. In addition to the nation's best defensive field goal percentage, the Lady Bears rank tops in the nation in blocked shots per game (7.2), led byLauren Cox's 2.52 per contest. Baylor's rebounding is a staple of the program, and the Lady Bears have out-rebounded its opponents in 27 of 28 games this season, Baylor won the rebounding battle in 34 of 35 contests last year, and in 96 of the last 100 contests, BU has had the upper hand on the boards.
 
LADY BEARS ON THE RUN
Baylor has 28 runs this season of at least 10 unanswered points including at least one in 12 of the first 17 Big 12 contests. In 19 of 28 games this season, the Lady Bears have had at least one such run, and Baylor has also put together five runs of 20 or more points. In addition, Baylor is dominating opponents in transition, out-scoring opponents 307-73 on the fast break this season.
 
SHARING IS CARING: BAYLOR LEADS NATION IN ASSISTS PER GAME
Baylor's 23.0 assists per contest ranks best in the nation while the Lady Bears rank third in assists-to-turnover ratio at 1.76:1.Chloe Jackson's 5.8 assists per contest (ranks 14th nationally) and 2.56:1 assists-to-turnover ratio (ranks 21st nationally) lead Baylor. DiDi Richards is averaging 4.1 assists per contest while ranking 17th nationally in assists-to-turnover ratio at 2.79:1 and post Lauren Cox ranks 18th in that category at 2.69:1. Juicy Landrum also ranks fifth in the Big 12 in assists-to-turnover ratio while third on the team at 4.0 assists per contest. As a team Baylor's ball distribution has been the hallmark of the offense in 2018-19. In fact out of Baylor's 899 made field goals this season, the Lady Bears have assisted on 644 marking 71.6 percent of the team's buckets coming on an assist from a teammate.
 
50 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
In just one occurrence since Kim Mulkey's arrival at Baylor in the 2000-01 season have the Lady Bears lost a game when shooting 50 percent or better. Baylor's record under Mulkey when shooting 50 percent or better is 214-1, and the Lady Bears are 36-0 when shooting 60 percent or better. The lone loss came in the 2017 NCAA Tournament when Baylor fell to Mississippi State in the Elite 8, 94-85 on March 26 despite shooting 53.3 percent from the floor.