WACO, Texas — In spite of a confusing start to the season, Baylor finds itself in a favorable position five games into Big 12 play.
The Bears are just a 1/2-game out of first place in the conference heading into the week.
The problem for Baylor, therein lies with its opponent Monday, West Virginia.
BU leads the all-time series with the Mountaineers, 8-7, however, WVU has won six of the past seven, including all three meetings last season.
Monday night, the Bears head into WVU Coliseum winners of three of their past four, two of which came over Top 25 opponents, including No. 8 Texas Tech on Saturday.
But both of those ranked opponents lost to BU in Waco.
This game, the back end of a Saturday-Monday turnaround, is crucial for Baylor, in order to show the Bears can win on the road against a formidable foe.
"You hear 1-5 and you think, 'Oh, are they down?'" Baylor coach Scott Drew said Sunday. "Then, you watch the games and there's a lot of one- or two-possession games where if they make a shot, make a free throw or make another play, all of a sudden they're 4-1 or so."
The Mountaineers' Big 12 stretch, during which they've started 1-5, has their most lopsided loss coming at TCU last Tuesday, when the Horned Frogs drubbed WVU 98-67. The second-worst?
An 85-77 loss at home to Oklahoma State.
One problem the Bears will face in scouting WVU is the Mountaineers have used 11 different starting lineup combinations, with 12 players having started at least one game.
For the Bears, not having sophomore standout post Tristan Clark hasn't been an issue. Baylor is 2-1 without Clark, and with true freshman Jared Butler joining the starting lineup at that point, and the Bears reinventing themselves as a perimeter team in Clark's absence.
This game, according to Drew, should come down to rebounding. Baylor and West Virginia lead the conference in rebounding, with Baylor checking in eighth, nationally, on the offensive glass.
"It's going to be a war every time a shot goes up," Drew said.
Tipoff in Morgantown, West Virginia, is set for 8 p.m. Monday.