No. 16 MBB Sets Ferrell Center Record with 18 3's in Win over Central Arkansas

Tuesday, November 5

Waco, Texas

11 a.m.

Baylor

1-0 #16/18

105

Central Arkansas

0-1

Central Arkansas

Baylor

105

Photo by: Baylor Photography

No. 16 MBB Sets Ferrell Center Record with 18 3's in Win over Central Arkansas

11/5/2019 2:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score 01 UCA Box UCA Quotes Baylor Quotes Postgame Notes

Jared Butler hits eight treys, scores 30 points in season opener

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Jared Butler remembers that feeling walking in the Baylor locker room after last year's stunning 72-69 season-opening loss at home to Texas Southern.
            He wasn't about to let that happen again.
            The Baylor sophomore guard drained a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored 30 points to lift the 16^th-ranked Bears to a 105-61 blowout victory over Central Arkansas before a Tuesday matinee crowd of 8,805 at the Ferrell Center that included thousands of elementary children bused in for "I'm Going to College Day."
            "Man, it's great that we got off to a great start," said Butler, who was 8-of-12 from 3-point range and 10-of-14 overall, finishing one point shy of his career-high 31-point effort at Kansas last year. "I think it's really important. But with that being said, it doesn't matter how you start, it's how you finish."
            MaCio Teague, a Division I transfer from UNC Asheville who sat out last season, recorded a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds and knocked down four 3-pointers to help the Bears set the Ferrell Center record and come within two of the school record with 18 made 3-pointers.
            "You're always nervous with the first game, especially when you're playing a team you respect," coach Scott Drew said. "Won't guarantee we'll always shoot 55 percent, but when you do and you have 25 assists and you defend and rebound like we did today, obviously not a lot to be upset with. The good thing is a lot of people got a chance to play, and you've got a lot of film now to work and get better with some areas."
            Baylor was particularly hot from outside the arc, knocking down 9-of-15 in the first half and 18-of-33 for the game. Teague was 4-of-6 from 3-point range; Devonte Bandoo was 3-of-4 from distance and scored 15 points; and Matthew Mayer hit both of his 3-point attempts and chipped in with eight points off the bench.
            "We talk about this all the time, it just so happened that I got the lucky bounce and the lucky kick-out 3's from offensive rebounds," Butler said. "Next night, it might be MaCio, next night it might be Davion (Mitchell) or it might be Bandoo. It's just the combination of how well we put time in the gym and how well we share the ball. When we know someone's got it going, we try to get them the ball, too. It just happened to be my night."
            Even with the size that UCA brought, including another 7-footer off the bench, Baylor won the rebounding battle, 51-30 and outscored the visiting Bears, 40-26, in the paint.
            Baylor opened up a 19-0 lead in the first six minutes, hitting three treys, before UCA finally got on the board with a shot by Eddie Kayouloud at the 13:48 mark. Ryan Bergersen led three players in double figures for UCA with 17 points, followed by Kayouloud with 13 and 7-footer Hayden Koval with 12.
            "Some games, it's just hard to score and get that first bucket," Drew said. "For us, I think it was really important to come out aggressive. When we came out aggressive and we were able to get in transition, that really helped us offensively to get some of those jitters off. When you're playing defense and you're into it like that, that allows the other nerves to settle quicker."
            Baylor hits the road next to play Washington in the Armed Forces Classic at 8:30 p.m. CST Friday in Anchorage, Alaska. The Huskies were 27-9 last year, going two rounds deep in the NCAA Tournament.