Turnovers doom Baylor to an ugly loss in its first-ever game as No. 1

Baylor’s first game as No. 1 was a one-sided loss at West Virginia (AP).

Baylor’s first-ever No. 1 ranking will only last a week.

Just one day after ascending to the top of the polls for the first time in program history, the Bears didn’t look the part in suffering their first loss of the season.

A failure to take care of the ball was Baylor’s downfall Tuesday night against 10th-ranked West Virginia’s smothering, disruptive full-court press. In the Bears’ one-sided 89-68 loss in Morgantown, they matched their season high of 16 turnovers by halftime and finished with 29 by the end of the night.

How Baylor handled West Virginia’s press was always going to be the determining factor in this matchup between the two teams most likely to challenge Kansas for the Big 12 crown. The Bears have been slightly above average in taking care of the ball so far this season, but they hadn’t seen anything like a Mountaineers defense that forces turnovers on a national-best 32.2 percent of its defensive possessions.

Just getting the ball inbounded cleanly was often an insurmountable challenge for Baylor, as was navigating West Virginia’s array of traps to get it across mid-court. The Mountaineers feasted on typically sure-handed veteran guards Manu Lecomte and Ish Wainwright, who combined for 11 turnovers between them.

Even when the Bears did cross the mid-court stripe, they were ill-equipped to attack in transition and make West Virginia pay for pressing.

Glacial-paced Baylor thrives when it can run set offense, play through its talented big men in the post and bludgeon opponents on the offensive glass. The Bears looked hurried and uncomfortable when they tried to take advantage of 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 opportunities on Tuesday night, often leading to blocked shots, errant jumpers or more turnovers.

Power forward Johnathan Motley, Baylor’s leading scorer this season, tallied only eight points and finished with as many turnovers as field goals. Nobody else was much more effective as the Bears shot a modest 44.6 percent from the field and sank only 14 of 23 free throws.

The one silver lining for Baylor in the first half was that most of its turnovers were not of the live-ball variety. That forced West Virginia to have to score against the Bears’ long, athletic zone defense, enabling turnover-plagued Baylor to stay within seven at halftime.

Baylor had engineered a handful of second-half comebacks this season including a 22-point rally against Louisville, but the Bears only got worse after halftime Tuesday night. They still couldn’t take care of the ball against the press, nor could they keep West Virginia out of transition any longer.

The Mountaineers (14-2, 3-1) led by as many as 26 points late in the second half en route to their most impressive victory of the season. Forward Nathan Adrian led West Virginia with 22 points and guard Jevon Carter added 17.

It’s a shame that Baylor didn’t perform better on a big stage Tuesday night because the Bears had been one of college basketball’s best stories previously. They didn’t receive a single vote in the preseason AP Top 25 yet ascended to No. 1 just two months later, toppling national powers Louisville, Oregon, Xavier, Michigan State and VCU in the process.

No team had a better collection of non-conference wins than Baylor, yet respect has come slowly for the Bears. They were a six-point underdog at West Virginia despite boasting a better record, resume and ranking than the Mountaineers.

A nationally televised game the night after the college football season ended was a chance for Baylor to validate its No. 1 ranking and to establish itself as one of the nation’s premier teams.

In a hail of turnovers and miscues, the Bears let it slip away.