By now you know, WVU is all alone in first place in the Big 12 this morning. No. 1 Oklahoma lost on the road to Kansas State — root canal, man — and the Mountaineers won at home against Baylor. A week ago, this seemed pretty far away, and though it doesn’t mean much today, understand that had the Bears won then the conversation would have been much different. There would have been a five-way tie for first place, which seems fitting given the depth and strength of the league.

Instead WVU sits atop that deep and strong league.

So it matters some, and the perpetual underdogs must adjust their mirrors.

The Big 12, the only conference with every team owning at least 10 wins, has six teams in the RPI’s top 26. At least five teams have been in the national polls every week this season.

“I wouldn’t say this is weird,” forward Nathan Adrian said. “It’s something we’re proud of and something we’ve worked hard for.”

Up next? A road game at 7 p.m. Tuesday against No. 6 Kansas, which has won or shared the last 11 regular-season titles, which is 3-0 at home against WVU and which lost in Morgantown by 11 points last month.

This is WVU’s best start to any conference schedule since going 8-2 in the Big East in the 2009-10 season, which ended with the Mountaineers in the Final Four. In the 2005-06 season, WVU started 9-1 in the Big East.

“A buddy of mine told me one time when we were pretty good, ‘Make sure you tell them the dog with the bone is always in danger,’ ” coach Bob Huggins said. “There’s a lot of truth to that. When you have what everyone else wants, you’ve got a whole bunch of people trying to get it.”

A few simple observations about last night to underscore how WVU, again, wins in spite of itself:

• Baylor averages 12.5 turnovers per game and had but 10.
• WVU leads the nation in steals and had but four.
• The Mountaineers scored eight points off turnovers.
• The Bears won the rebounding battle 41-34 and had 17 offensive rebounds.
• Jon Holton-less WVU had six second-chance points.
• Baylor’s bench outscored WVU’s, 26-24.
• The Bears took 62 shots and the Mountaineers took 55.

How many times out of 10 is that a loss?

But here’s the weird part. WVU crippled the 2-3 zone. Constant ball movement. Clinical make-the-pass-that-makes-the-pass stuff. The first four baskets after halftime, when the Mountaineers learned of Oklahoma’s loss and their opportunity, came with assists from the paint. WVU actually got Baylor to ditch the zone without making 3-pointers.

Shot selection was good all night long and especially in the second half.