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MORGANTOWN -- Classes don't begin until today, but school was in session last night at the Coliseum when No. 2 West Virginia (15-1, 4-0 Big 12) played host to unranked Baylor (11-5, 1-3 Big 12).
Lesson No. 1? How do you win close games?
Answer: You grind them out and there has been no team in the Big 12 that has perfected the art of grinding games out than the Mountaineers as was proven in WVU's 57-54 win.
"Maybe we didn't shoot the ball as well as we liked, but we can always be in control of our effort," former Wheeling Central all-stater Chase Harler said. "(Grinding out wins) is what we have become known for."
Harler, who played only two minutes in WVU's 89-76 win over then-No. 7 Oklahoma, saw 19 minutes of action against the Bears, finishing with seven points, four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
"I wasn't expecting to play that long," the Moundsville native said. "But, I'm always ready to play whenever the coaches need me. (Baylor) play a lot of zone and I'm pretty good against zones."
Lesson No. 2? If you are going to have any chance to beat the Mountaineers, you can't turn the ball over.
Answer: The Mountaineers, who play at No. 8 Texas Tech on Saturday, forced 21 miscues by the visitors, turning them into 20 points.
"I think (the press) just wears on you," Harler said. "By the end of the game, it takes your legs away and you see players missing shots that they were making earlier."
And, that was the case for Baylor as the Bears connected on 45.8 percent (11 of 24) of their shots in the first half, but only 27.6 percent (8 of 29) during the final 20 minutes of action.
"We know what to expect when we come in here," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "That's what they are going to do every game. There's no secret. They press you. They get in your face. And, they force you to take bad shots or make bad passes."
And, the final lesson?
If you are going to win the Big 12, you are going to have to do it in Morgantown.
"We take a lot of pride playing here," Harler said. "The crowd was great. The atmosphere was great. This is just a very intimidating place to play."
For the majority of the first 20 minutes it appeared as if it would be the Bears playing the part of the instructor while the Mountaineers would be the students. However, the Mountaineers closed out the half with a 12-5 run to knot the game at 29.
Harler, who missed his first free throw of the season earlier, got things rolling with a triple off a Daxter Miles Jr. feed to bring the Mountaineers to within three at 26-23 with 3:32 left in the half.
The second half witnessed the hosts take the lead for good on a Miles 3-pointer with 15:02 left to play.
"(Shooting) was a struggle for both teams," Miles said. "We both like to play good defense, so shots are going to be contested. We just made a few more than they did."