It is often said sporting events are the best reality shows. What we think should happen doesn't always play out.

 

Take the Mountaineer basketball team. This time last week we were looking forward to West Virginia going on the road at Florida for the Big 12/SEC Challenge.  A rare January non-conference game against a good, but not great team that had yet to face West Virginia's unique style would certainly produce a resume-boosting win for the Mountaineers, right?

 

I thought West Virginia would go in and play with great energy and cause a ton of problems for Florida and would walk out with a win in a very difficult environment.  Well, I was right. Sort of. West Virginia did exactly what I thought it would do, just not against Florida. I had the outcome right, but the opponent wrong.

 

West Virginia struggled mightily against Florida. Yes, it was the first game without Jonathan Holton, but I'm not sure that would have been enough to get the win. Florida shot lights out, hitting 60 percent of their shots from three. The Gators handled the press and answered West Virginia's one big run when it looked as if the Mountaineers would make a game of it.

 

The performance in Gainesville is not what you wanted in the game right before a trip to Ames, Iowa and a matchup with the Iowa State Cyclones. Playing without a key starter, coming off a loss and heading into one of the toughest road venues in all of college basketball is not exactly a recipe for success.

 

After Iowa State jumped out to a 15-point lead and Hilton Coliseum sounded as if it was about to explode, it didn't look good for a West Virginia win.  You already know what happened next. The Mountaineers were fantastic the rest of the way.

 

Devin Williams regained the dominant form we saw earlier in the season when he was racking up double doubles. Williams finished with 17 points and a career high, 18 rebounds. Freshman Esa Ahmad played as well as I've seen him play this year. He was dynamic at times offensively, hammering down two monster dunks.  Nate Adrian continued his hot shooting streak by draining a huge three to cut a five point Cyclone lead to two and steal momentum. Also, his defense on Iowa States Georges Niang, especially late in the game, was crucial.

 

Mix in Jaysean Paige's 23 points and Jevon Carter's defense on Monte Morris and it was a truly a "team win." Cliche, I realize, but absolutely true.  Not many teams win in Ames. In fact, only three have done so in the last four seasons.

 

The reward? A few days to enjoy it and then a date with the 13th ranked Baylor Bears. Welcome to life in the Big 12.  Baylor, much like Texas, had been a difficult matchup for WVU. Baylor leads the all-time series 7-1 and has won four straight games against West Virginia. Baylor does a couple of things really well that create problems for West Virginia.

 

The Bears are really good on the glass, especially on the offensive end. West Virginia has won a bunch of games the past two seasons by winning the battle on the glass and getting extra scoring chances by being one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. However, it's tough to dominate the glass against Baylor and their star big man, Rico Gathers. Gathers had two double figure rebound games against West Virginia last year, including 16 in the first matchup. Baylor is one of the few teams in the league that can neutralize West Virginia's advantage on the boards.

 

Offensively, the Bears have shot extremely well against West Virginia. In three wins over WVU last year, Baylor did not shoot less than 50 percent from the field and made 41 percent of its threes in those games. Taurean Prince is a guy to keep an eye on for the Bears. In three games against WVU last year, he averaged 17 points per game. Veteran guard Lestor Medford has only turned the ball over 54 times in 28 career starts.

 

I wrote last week that I thought this three game stretch of at Iowa State, Baylor and at Kansas on Tuesday, may very well determine if West Virginia wins the Big 12.  The Mountaineers picked up a game on the field by winning in Ames. Can it hold serve with a win today over Baylor?

 

Recent history tells us it will difficult for WVU to get the win today. Recent history said the same thing about the Iowa State game though. Remember, the best reality shows are sporting events. You just don't know what will happen.

 

Speaking of big hoops games, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Thursday night's Mountain East Conference Game between number two nationally ranked Fairmont State and number six, West Liberty.

MetroNews Sports broadcast the game on wvmetronews.com, with Bridgeport's own Travis Jones doing the play-by-play. Former Mountaineer basketball star, Warren Baker was the analyst and I served as the sideline reporter for the game.

 

It was not only a fun basketball game to watch, it was an incredible atmosphere. Joe Retton Arena was filled to the rafters, almost literally. Every seat was taken and fans were two and three deep on the walkways in the upper deck behind the baskets. It was a loud, but respectful crowd.

 

As you would expect from two of the top teams in the country, it was a back and forth game with a load of talent on the floor. West Liberty won the game 84-77.

 

If you like basketball and want to watch some talented players put some points on the board, give the MEC a try. It's worth a look.

 

Editor's Note: Photos, including one of the still disciplined Jonathan Holton at the bottom, by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.