Saturday, January 31
Morgantown, W.Va.
4 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Baylor
Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Coliseum Win Streak at Stake on Saturday Versus Baylor
January 30, 2026 11:22 AM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia looks to keep its current 16-game home winning streak intact late Saturday afternoon against the team that has had the most success in Hope Coliseum against the Mountaineers – Baylor.
The Bears have won eight times in the arena since West Virginia joined the Big 12 in 2012-13, which is the most of any Big 12 team during that span of time.
Arch-rival Pitt has won 10 times in the building over its 56-year existence, while Connecticut has posted a winning 6-4 record in the facility from 1988 to 2022, which included an NIT victory in 1988 when Jim Calhoun was coaching the Huskies.
But Baylor's current 8-4 mark represents the highest winning percentage of any team in the Coliseum with more than 10 appearances, which should make Saturday's matchup so appealing to Mountaineer fans.
West Virginia, meanwhile, is attempting to become the first team since Gale Catlett's 1982 squad to post an undefeated record at home.
The Mountaineers that year went 15-0 in the Coliseum on the way to a 27-4 season and a No. 14 ranking in the final Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
Since West Virginia transitioned to power conference basketball when it joined the Big East in 1996, the Mountaineers have had just two one-loss seasons in 1998 (13-1) and 2007 (17-1) despite its 76.9% all-time winning percentage in the Coliseum.
Notre Dame clipped West Virginia 74-72 here in 1998, while Pitt topped John Beilein's Mountaineers 60-47 in 2007.
This year, WVU has already defeated Pitt, Cincinnati, 22nd-ranked Kansas, Colorado and Kansas State with tough league games remaining against the Bears on Saturday, versus 11th-ranked Texas Tech on Feb. 8, against Utah on Feb. 18, versus 13th-ranked BYU on Feb. 28 and against UCF on March 6.
Baylor, under veteran coach Scott Drew, is in the unusual position of being 11-9 overall and only 1-7 in league play following Wednesday night's 67-57 loss at Cincinnati.
In the contest, the Bearcats limited the Bears to just 35.5% shooting overall, including 23.1% on their 26 3-point tries.
Injuries and depth issues have plagued Baylor all season long, forcing Drew to mine the professional ranks to sign 2023 NBA draft pick and international professional player James Nnaji on Christmas Eve. Nnaji played seven scoreless minutes on Wednesday night at Cincinnati, and he's scored just 10 points in seven games so far this year.
Guard Cameron Carr, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound sophomore, is tops on the team in scoring with a 19.6-points per game average. He was limited to just four points on 1-of-11 shooting in the loss at Cincinnati on Wednesday night, however.
Tounde Yessoufou, Carr's backcourt mate, contributed a team-high 16 points versus the Bearcats, but did so on 6-of-16 shooting.
Obi Agbim, another guard, tallied 14 and Dan Skillings Jr. scored 10 against his former team.
"Between Carr and Yessoufou, they've got two of the best wing scorers in the country and there is a reason why both of those guys are projected as first-round NBA draft picks," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said on his weekly United Bank Playbook segment posted this morning. "I would imagine like most people against us, if you can increase the tempo, you feel better about your chances of scoring."
Caden Powell mans the post in Drew's four-guard attack and is averaging 6.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
Baylor's lone victory in conference play so far was at Oklahoma State, but four of its seven defeats have come against four of the top six teams in conference – Iowa State, Houston, Kansas and Texas Tech.
"I've got a ton of respect for coach Drew," Hodge said. "I know a lot has been made about what coach (Curt) Cignetti has done this year at Indiana and how it is one of the most remarkable college sports stories, and right under that and of gets lost is what coach Drew has done with that Baylor program resurrecting it from the ashes.
"From where it was when he took it over to reaching the pinnacle by winning a national championship and the consistency he's maintained there is really amazing," Hodge added.
West Virginia, meanwhile, slogged its way through a 59-54 victory over Kansas State on Tuesday night after coming off a two-game visit to Arizona.
The Mountaineers were trailing by four points with 4:30 remaining before closing out the game on a 14-5 run. Honor Huff tallied a game-high 17 for the Mountaineers, but it was Treysen Eaglestaff's 3 and traditional three-point play that turned the game around for them.
Eaglestaff has scored double figures in six of his last seven games, including a season-high-tying 23 in a recent road victory at Arizona State.
The Mountaineers, now 14-7 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play, earned mention in Joe Lunardi's most recent Bracketology posting on X. He lists West Virginia among the six teams after the Next Four Out in his tournament bubble grouping.
The Mountaineers are currently tied with surprising UCF in seventh place in the conference standings. The Knights have a tough one at home on Saturday afternoon against Texas Tech.
Saturday's game in Morgantown will tip off at 4 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Eric Frede and Mark Adams).
"The one thing I know about coach Drew is he's always been solution-oriented, so I know he's going to find the right solutions," Hodge said.
For the sake of West Virginia's homecourt winning streak, hopefully it happens after Saturday.
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will tip things off at 3 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
Tickets still remain and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
Fans attending Saturday's game are encouraged to take advantage of the special Happy Hour prices on beverages from the time gates open until tipoff.
The Bears have won eight times in the arena since West Virginia joined the Big 12 in 2012-13, which is the most of any Big 12 team during that span of time.
Arch-rival Pitt has won 10 times in the building over its 56-year existence, while Connecticut has posted a winning 6-4 record in the facility from 1988 to 2022, which included an NIT victory in 1988 when Jim Calhoun was coaching the Huskies.
But Baylor's current 8-4 mark represents the highest winning percentage of any team in the Coliseum with more than 10 appearances, which should make Saturday's matchup so appealing to Mountaineer fans.
West Virginia, meanwhile, is attempting to become the first team since Gale Catlett's 1982 squad to post an undefeated record at home.
The Mountaineers that year went 15-0 in the Coliseum on the way to a 27-4 season and a No. 14 ranking in the final Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
Since West Virginia transitioned to power conference basketball when it joined the Big East in 1996, the Mountaineers have had just two one-loss seasons in 1998 (13-1) and 2007 (17-1) despite its 76.9% all-time winning percentage in the Coliseum.
Notre Dame clipped West Virginia 74-72 here in 1998, while Pitt topped John Beilein's Mountaineers 60-47 in 2007.
This year, WVU has already defeated Pitt, Cincinnati, 22nd-ranked Kansas, Colorado and Kansas State with tough league games remaining against the Bears on Saturday, versus 11th-ranked Texas Tech on Feb. 8, against Utah on Feb. 18, versus 13th-ranked BYU on Feb. 28 and against UCF on March 6.
Baylor, under veteran coach Scott Drew, is in the unusual position of being 11-9 overall and only 1-7 in league play following Wednesday night's 67-57 loss at Cincinnati.
In the contest, the Bearcats limited the Bears to just 35.5% shooting overall, including 23.1% on their 26 3-point tries.
Injuries and depth issues have plagued Baylor all season long, forcing Drew to mine the professional ranks to sign 2023 NBA draft pick and international professional player James Nnaji on Christmas Eve. Nnaji played seven scoreless minutes on Wednesday night at Cincinnati, and he's scored just 10 points in seven games so far this year.
Guard Cameron Carr, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound sophomore, is tops on the team in scoring with a 19.6-points per game average. He was limited to just four points on 1-of-11 shooting in the loss at Cincinnati on Wednesday night, however.
Tounde Yessoufou, Carr's backcourt mate, contributed a team-high 16 points versus the Bearcats, but did so on 6-of-16 shooting.
Obi Agbim, another guard, tallied 14 and Dan Skillings Jr. scored 10 against his former team.
"Between Carr and Yessoufou, they've got two of the best wing scorers in the country and there is a reason why both of those guys are projected as first-round NBA draft picks," West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said on his weekly United Bank Playbook segment posted this morning. "I would imagine like most people against us, if you can increase the tempo, you feel better about your chances of scoring."
Caden Powell mans the post in Drew's four-guard attack and is averaging 6.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
Baylor's lone victory in conference play so far was at Oklahoma State, but four of its seven defeats have come against four of the top six teams in conference – Iowa State, Houston, Kansas and Texas Tech.
"I've got a ton of respect for coach Drew," Hodge said. "I know a lot has been made about what coach (Curt) Cignetti has done this year at Indiana and how it is one of the most remarkable college sports stories, and right under that and of gets lost is what coach Drew has done with that Baylor program resurrecting it from the ashes.
"From where it was when he took it over to reaching the pinnacle by winning a national championship and the consistency he's maintained there is really amazing," Hodge added.
West Virginia, meanwhile, slogged its way through a 59-54 victory over Kansas State on Tuesday night after coming off a two-game visit to Arizona.
The Mountaineers were trailing by four points with 4:30 remaining before closing out the game on a 14-5 run. Honor Huff tallied a game-high 17 for the Mountaineers, but it was Treysen Eaglestaff's 3 and traditional three-point play that turned the game around for them.
Eaglestaff has scored double figures in six of his last seven games, including a season-high-tying 23 in a recent road victory at Arizona State.
The Mountaineers, now 14-7 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play, earned mention in Joe Lunardi's most recent Bracketology posting on X. He lists West Virginia among the six teams after the Next Four Out in his tournament bubble grouping.
The Mountaineers are currently tied with surprising UCF in seventh place in the conference standings. The Knights have a tough one at home on Saturday afternoon against Texas Tech.
Saturday's game in Morgantown will tip off at 4 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Eric Frede and Mark Adams).
"The one thing I know about coach Drew is he's always been solution-oriented, so I know he's going to find the right solutions," Hodge said.
For the sake of West Virginia's homecourt winning streak, hopefully it happens after Saturday.
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will tip things off at 3 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
Tickets still remain and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
Fans attending Saturday's game are encouraged to take advantage of the special Happy Hour prices on beverages from the time gates open until tipoff.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballUnited Bank Playbook: Baylor Preview
Friday, January 30
K-State Game Recap
Thursday, January 29
TV Highlights: WVU 59, K-State 54
Wednesday, January 28
Ross Hodge | Kansas State Postgame
Wednesday, January 28
