West Virginia @ Baylor preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 21, 2019 ) Baylor 85, West Virginia 73

Baylor's latest resurrection of NCAA Tournament hopes can be pinned on the back of Freddie Gillespie, a former Division III player who walked on to the team last season. The 6-8 junior forward posted his first double-double in Tuesday's road upset over No. 20 Iowa State and will look to build on his performance as Baylor seeks a season sweep when struggling West Virginia comes calling Saturday.

Gillespie, who sat out last season after transferring from Carleton State (Minn.), scored a career-high 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting in his fourth start while adding 10 rebounds and two blocks against the Cyclones as Baylor rebounded from a 25-point thrashing at Texas Tech - its third loss in four games. "Freddie was outstanding. He really did a good job, really competed and played at a great level tonight," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team improved to 17-9 overall and tied for fourth in the Big 12 with Iowa State at 8-5 - a game out of second place and two back of Big 12-leading Kansas State. "And defensively, he did a very good job as well." West Virginia fought the Wildcats to a draw until a 19-2 spurt early in the second half led to a 65-51 loss on Monday. In the first meeting between the teams this season on Jan. 21, Makai Mason scored 29 points while Mario Kegler added 18 and seven rebounds as the Bears pulled out to a 21-point lead and coasted to an 85-73 victory.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (10-16, 2-11 Big 12): Freshman forward Derek Culver (11.5 points, 9.2 rebounds) continued to shine with 11 points and 13 rebounds against the Wildcats, posting his fifth consecutive double-digit rebound performance while also drawing double-digit fouls from a variety of Wildcat defenders. "Derek's a load in there; he got (Makol) Maiwen in foul trouble early and they just kept throwing bigs at him," Coach Bob Huggins said. "He's going to have to learn to score the ball through contact. When I had (Danny) Forston and Kenyon (Martin), I spent a lot of time working with them scoring the ball through contact, but it was to get a free throw after the ball went in. That's what we've got to get to with him." Freshman Emmitt Matthews Jr. became the Mountaineers' 14th different starter this season in their 16th different starting combination and finished with nine points, but the 6-7 forward had just one rebound and one assist in 36 minutes.

ABOUT BAYLOR (16-10, 8-5): Freshman guard Jared Butler (12.6 points, 4.0 assists, 2.8 3-pointers per game in 12 starts) hit five 3-pointers and scored a team-high 17 points to go with six rebounds and five assists against the Cyclones, while senior guard Mason (15.5 points, 3.2 assists) played for just the second time in four games and hit four free throws in the last 35 seconds to finish with 14 points. "Even if he misses shots, he draws so much attention that it makes it easier on everybody else," Drew said of Mason, who was just 4-of-18 from the floor but leads the team in scoring and is tied with Butler for the team lead with 44 3-pointers. "Just a gutsy performance (by Mason), and obviously not practicing makes it a little tougher. But, we don't win up here without him. Hopefully now, he won't be as sore and we can get him back out there because we like winning." Mark Vital (6.3 points, 6.8 rebounds) leads the Big 12 in offensive rebounds per game (3.5), just ahead of Culver, and is the only player in Division I with at least 75 offensive rebounds and more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds.

TIP-INS

1. Prior to losing three of four prior to the Iowa State victory, Baylor had won six straight.

2. The Mountaineers have lost eight conference games by double digits, including three at home, and haven't scored more than 53 points in the last four contests.

3. Gillespie's previous highs were 13 points and nine rebounds against Kansas State.

PREDICTION: Baylor 73, West Virginia 60