Today, West Virginia men’s basketball head coach Darian DeVries held a press conference, where he outlined what he has seen from upcoming opponent, Baylor, and the keys to success that would give the Mountaineers a victory.
DeVries opened up the press conference talking about what he has seen from the Baylor Bears amid his first ever matchup with the Bears led by head coach, Scott Drew.
“They are very, very talented offensively,” DeVries said. “They just have so many guys that can shoot it. They put a lot of pressure on the rim, so they create some challenges from that.”
The Bears have one of the best scoring offenses in all of college basketball. Boasting a 15-9 record on the season and beating ranked opponent Kansas by a large margin, Baylor has been able to efficiently pass the rock and score inside. However, that may not be the case against West Virginia as Baylor just lost their star, 6-foot-10 center, Josh Ojianwuna.
DeVries talked about how the Bears have been ridden with injuries throughout the entire season but are starting to get most of their guys back.
“They have been short bodies for a good portion of the year, but they’re getting some of those key guys back,” DeVries said.
Not only do the Mountaineers have to connect on defense, but their offense needs to fire on all cylinders.
“If you let them get into the paint now they are at the rim and they are kicking out for threes,” DeVries said. “That’s our challenge, we are going to have to be really connected as a team defense.”
The Mountaineers face a challenging defensive scheme imposed by the Baylor Bears.
“They do kind of a tandem zone, it looks like a one-three-one.” DeVries explained that “they have all four guys above the free throw line and as the possession goes it kind of drifts back into a two-three.”
That kind of defense can confuse and punish any offense that is not prepared to go up against it because the guards and the wings look to trap the opponents at the top of the key. DeVries explained that on defense, the Bears “always try to get two guards tandem up top with two wings.”
This is nothing new for Baylor or DeVries. “They have done that for a lot of years.” When DeVries was the head coach at Drake, he faced Baylor in the NCAA Tournament where they ran that exact scheme.
If the Mountaineers can find weaknesses or gaps in Scott Drew’s complex Baylor defense and are able to disrupt the dynamic and fast-paced Baylor offense, the Mountaineers could find themselves in a competitive battle where they are able to come out on top.
