A team that is authoring an improbable in-season turnaround also brought us one of the more stunning results of the season on Monday.
Baylor looked very little like an NCAA Tournament team through pretty much the entire non-conference season, but January has been very good for the Bears. A string of five wins in six games entering Monday included notable victories over the likes of Iowa State and Texas Tech, plus a Big 12/SEC Challenge victory over Alabama on Saturday, with all three of those wins at home at the Ferrell Center.
Baylor hadn’t picked up a take-notice road win in that stretch, but that changed Monday night. The Bears pummeled Oklahoma 77-47, building an 18-point halftime lead and adding on even more in the second half in a complete domination of a team that has spent time in the national rankings this season and, other than letting the score getting away in the final minutes against Wisconsin early this season, has been rock-solid competitive most all year.
Facing one of the nation’s leaders in field goal percentage defense, Baylor shot 54.4% with a balanced effort that included no one with more than 12 points but seven players with at least seven points. The Bears’ shooting percentage was almost double the Sooners’; Oklahoma shot a miserable 27.3%, and ironically after hitting better than 55% in its last game against Vanderbilt, a 31-point victory.
Baylor’s ascendance has come almost out of nowhere in what was considered largely a reloading year. In fact, the Bears have some non-conference clutter to overcome after losing lost at home to Texas Southern and Stephen F. Austin, had several other close shaves in games most would’ve expected more from, and even their two best wins (at Arizona, home vs. Oregon) held little luster with the Pac-12’s struggles this season.
On top of that, the Bears lost their No. 2 scorer and rebounder, the NCAA Division I leader in field goal percentage and one of the top shotblockers in the country when Tristan Clark suffered an injury to his left knee in January. Without him, incredibly Baylor has won five straight to improve to 14-6 overall, and nearly halfway through the Big 12 loop Scott Drew’s team is a contender for the league title at 5-2.
Baylor is again an excellent defensive and rebounding team that especially pounds the offensive glass, and on defense its zone continues to be a pest to play against. It’s also a team with few stars; Clark was on his way to becoming one, while leading scorer Makai Mason is still known more for his play at Yale several years ago than with the Bears now, and among healthy players now just Mason and King McClure average in double figures.
In a Big 12 that has had its share of chaos and teams having peaks and valleys, though, the Bears have put themselves into a terrific position now with three of their next four at home. What was that old rumor claiming Scott Drew couldn’t coach?
Side Dishes:
- Duke won at Notre Dame 83-61, the Blue Devils’ young talent obviously on a different level and built to win quicker than the Irish’s. Zion Williamson scored 26 and most notable from this one was Duke making 10 of 19 from three-point range. Notre Dame, meanwhile, shot just 34.8% and turned 18 offensive rebounds into just 15 points.
- Texas Tech hadn’t scored as much as 70 points since before New Year’s, and had scored as much as 80 just four times all season. The Red Raiders came alive, though, with an 84-65 win over TCU every bit as decisive as that score. Jarrett Culver scored 18, but so did Matt Mooney, and Tariq Owens added 17. With the Horned Frogs, meanwhile, one wonders how long they can hang on when getting contributions from essentially just six players as they did Monday.
- Howard topped Maryland-Eastern Shore 72-57 in a rare ESPNU appearance for both schools. The Bison received 51 points from their bench led by Charles Williams (21 points) and Chad Lott (20). Also a winner on the night, though, was UMES interim head coach Clifford Reed, who sported a sweet plaid suit on the sidelines.
- Prairie View-a team that gave Baylor a run in an early-season meeting-is now 7-0 in the SWAC after a 79-63 win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Gary Blackston-all 6-foot-2 of him-scored 29 points and also pulled down 11 rebounds. Staying on the Panthers’ heels is Alabama State, which is 6-1 in league after a narrow 68-65 win over Southern.
- Missouri State announced that Obediah Church will not be returning to the team and that he and the team have officially, in MSU’s words, “parted ways.” Church has not played for the Bears since mid-December after starting the team’s first 11 games and for most of his previous three seasons as well. A prolific shotblocker, the 6-foot-7 Church became just the sixth player in Missouri Valley Conference history to record 200 blocks. The Bears have played well of late, though, and really since transfer Tulio da Silva got eligible and rolling. MSU is currently one of the hottest teams in the MVC and has won four of six to move to 10-11 overall and 4-4 in the Valley entering a Tuesday night tilt at Valparaiso.
Tonight’s Menu:
- The evening tips off with the Mid-American Conference with Ohio at Northern Illinois. The Huskies deserve a call for their bounce back season and their win over Buffalo last week, even as they followed it up with a two-pont loss at Akron.
- No. 1 Tennessee is on the road at South Carolina (6:30 p.m. Eastern, SEC Network). The Volunteers are one of a number of top 10 teams traveling. Virginia is at North Carolina State (7 p.m., ESPN2), where slowdown meets push the tempo, while also in the ACC North Carolina goes to Georgia Tech. In the SEC, Kentucky travels to Vanderbilt (9 p.m., ESPN) , which is reeling after seven straight losses including a blowout at Oklahoma on Saturday but just missed knocking off Tennessee last week. Also, Nevada is at rival Nevada-Las Vegas (11 p.m., ESPN2), and the Runnin’ Rebels beat the Wolf Pack last year-in Reno.
- Who knows if there’s a such thing as do-or-die time for a school like Texas in a major football conference, where in recent years only a few name brand wins can make a middling resume apparently stand out to the NCAA selection committee. If there is, though, the Longhorns might face it when they host Kansas tonight (7 p.m., ESPN).
- It may be the game of the year in the Atlantic Sun, where Lipscomb takes on new A-Sun member Liberty. Both are 7-0 in league, and both have at least faint NCAA at-large hopes. The Bisons’ go-go offense takes on the Flames’ packline defense.
- Nebraska is teetering on the edge of seeing a once-promising season fade. The Cornhuskers badly need a win over Wisconsin at home (8 p.m., Big Ten Network). Isaiah Roby has a huge task trying to neutralize Ethan Happ. Also, let’s see how Maryland bounces back at home after laying an egg at Madison Square Garden on Saturday against Illinois. The Terrapins host Northwestern (7 p.m., FS1).
- Mississippi State goes to Alabama (8:30 p.m., SEC Network), and it’s exactly the type of game the Crimson Tide seems to win every time it seems they’re about to slip out of the NCAA Tournament picture.
- Finally, Ohio State has some positive momentum now after winning at Nebraska, helpful as it will go to Michigan (9 p.m., ESPN2).
Have a super Tuesday.
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
