What Baylor’s Loss To West Virginia Means For NCAA Tournament
What does Baylor’s unexpected loss to West Virginia mean for the NCAA Tournament? It means that the seedings are due for a shake-up.
The Mountaineers came into WVU Coliseum on Saturday afternoon and absolutely shellacked the fourth-ranked team in the nation. Not only did they beat the Bears – they did so in dominant 76-64 fashion.
In the beginning, the two teams played a fairly close game. In the first half, West Virginia led 24-22 in an outing that looked like it could go either way.
Then something changed.
The Mountaineer offense went supernova in the second half to the tune of 52 points – completely running over Baylor’s defensive schemes in the most aggressive way possible. A lot of the credit goes to West Virginia’s bench, as the reserves managed to chip in a combined 51 points.
West Virginia defeats No. 4 Baylor, 76-64, to finish the regular season 21-10 and secure a first round bye in the Big 12 Championship!#HailWV pic.twitter.com/Lq2xyoe3v9
— WVU Basketball (@WVUhoops) March 7, 2020
Forward Emmit Matthews led the way, scoring 18 points on six-of-11 shooting, as well as four rebounds. Oscar Tshiebwe had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Beyond the team’s offensive explosion, West Virginia also locked the Bears down defensively. When it was all said and done, the losing side shot a mere 23.5 percent from behind the arc.
So what are the ramifications of this outing?
Well, first and foremost it means that Baylor may take a serious hit. A presumed No. 1 seed, the Bears may get dropped to No. 2. After starting the year with 24 victories and a mere one defeat, the team has now lost three of their last five. That is not the sort of momentum you want heading into March Madness.
For West Virginia, it just means the Mountaineers will likely get better seeding when it is all said and done.
While the outcome of this showdown obviously has an impact on both teams, it is a far more painful loss for the Bears than it is an important win for West Virginia.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
