KANSAS CITY - West Virginia will get a third crack at Baylor's unique zone defense when the two teams meet later this evening in the Sprint Center in Kansas City in the final Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship quarterfinal round game, scheduled to tip sometime around 9:30 p.m. EDT.
 
The Mountaineers (22-9) won both times against the Bears (18-13) this season despite shooting just 36.8 percent in those games.
 
In Morgantown, WVU outlasted Baylor, 57-54, when Jevon Carter made a long 3 near West Virginia's bench with 56 seconds left to unknot the score, and the Mountaineers were able to make free throws to hold off the Bears.
 
In Waco a month later, West Virginia caught Baylor two days after its emotional, 59-57 home win over Texas Tech and jumped out to a 20-point lead in the first half and led by as many as 28 early in the second half.
 
Again though, the Mountaineers struggled to make shots against Baylor's great length, but turned the Bears over just enough to get out and score in transition.
 
When West Virginia used to face Syracuse's 2-3 zone when both were in the Big East, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said the way to counteract Syracuse's great length was by being physical with the Orange bigs in the block.
 
That's not possible in the Big 12.
 
"They won't let you," he said Wednesday. "The Big East was officiated way more physically than the Big 12 is so we were very physical with their inside guys. They won't let you do that in this league."
 
So, how do you attack it then?
 
"You have to get in gaps," Huggins explained. "As spread as they get, there are gap,s but they just do a great job of not letting you pass the ball in there. They do a great job of getting in lanes so we've got to do a great job of getting in gaps and stay out of line with them."
 
Sophomore guard James Bolden, one of the smallest players on the floor, admitted Baylor's length can be troublesome.
 
"I know from experience when I'm out there it's hard to see the cutters because they're so long," Bolden said. "We've just got to do a good job of hitting the open spot."
 
In the game played in Morgantown, Baylor led by nine early in the first half, and the Mountaineers didn't take their first lead until early in the second half. West Virginia's biggest lead of the game was only four points.
 
In Waco, West Virginia limited Baylor to just 5-of-26 shooting in the first half and used an 18-3 run over a seven-minute span to build a 29-9 lead.
 
Another 7-0 run to close the first half, punctuated by a Carter breakaway dunk, gave the Mountaineers a 40-18 halftime lead.
 
After leading by as many as 28 points early in the second half, Baylor whittled the deficit to 12 before Daxter Miles Jr. ended the Bear run with a four-point play.
 
"You watch the film and you look at the stats, and it looked like we did a great job turning them over, but they just had a bad game," Huggins said.
 
Five different players scored double figures for the Mountaineers, led by Esa Ahmad's 15 points and 10 rebounds. Sagaba Konate nearly had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks.
 
Jo Lual-Acil Jr. led Baylor with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He scored 11 and grabbed 10 boards in the first game.
 
Fouls were prevalent in both games - a combined 35 in the first game and 46 in the second, including five technicals.
 
Baylor coach Scott Drew, who opted not to use his court time at the Sprint Center on Wednesday and was not available to the media, was unhappy with the physical play and felt his team got pushed around a little too much in the 11-point loss.
 
It will be interesting to see what changes Drew chooses to make for tonight's third meeting.
 
"I can't control what they're going to change, so we just have to be as prepared as we can be," Huggins said. "We know they are going to play some 1-1-3. We know they are going to play some man. They are going to three-quarter-court press a little bit. I think the biggest thing is they're terrific at offensive rebounding. We can't let them get more shots than we get."
 
Huggins said the one stat he will be keeping a close eye on is offensive rebounding. If the Bears continue to dominate the glass as they did during the first two meetings, that could be a troubling sign for the Mountaineers.
 
Beating a team three times in one year is difficult, but West Virginia did it last year when it defeated Texas twice during the regular season and then got past the Longhorns, 63-53, here in Kansas City the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.
 
"It's possible," Carter said.
 
The Mountaineers will try to do it again tonight. ESPN2 (Dave Fleming, Robbie Hummel and Kris Budden) will televise the game nationally while the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's radio coverage on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the mobile app TuneIn will begin at 8:30 p.m.
 
Baylor is fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid and could use another quality victory to get on more secure ground. West Virginia is comfortably in the tournament and is looking to enhance its seeding with a strong performance out here in Kansas City.
 
The Mountaineers are 4-5 in Big 12 Tournament games and are 0-1 against Baylor here in Kansas City, falling 80-70 to the Bears in 2015.
 
West Virginia has reached the Big 12 Tournament championship game the last two years, falling 81-71 to Kansas in 2016 and losing 80-74 to Iowa State last year.

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