No. 6 MBB Defeats Texas, 59-44, in Big 12 Opener

Saturday, January 4

Waco, Texas

7 p.m.

Baylor

Texas

No. 6 MBB Defeats Texas, 59-44, in Big 12 Opener

1/4/2020 9:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Notes Texas Quotes Baylor Quotes

MaCio Teague hits 9-of-9 from line, leads Bears with 21 points.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Scott Drew knows there's going to be nights when the shots just aren't falling.
            That was certainly the case Saturday night at the Ferrell Center, when the sixth-ranked Baylor Bears missed 18 of their first 20 shots in the second half and really struggled all night, shooting just 31.3 percent.
            On those kinds of nights, the answer is the kind of lock-down, smothering defense that helped Baylor hold Texas to the fewest points in coach Shaka Smart's five-year tenure and grind out a 59-44 win in the conference opener for both teams before a crowd of 6,063.
            "I think the players really deserve the credit that no matter what the scheme is, they've bought in and really locked in defensively and cared about it," said Drew, whose team won its 10^th in a row in improving to 11-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12. "And it takes a team to defend, it's never one guy. I'm just pleased with their mentality, and it starts on the ball with Davion Mitchell for us."
            One of the best on-ball defenders in the country, Mitchell helped the Baylor defense limit the Longhorns to dismal 3-of-16 shooting from 3-point range. The Longhorns' starting backcourt trio of Andrew Jones, Matt Coleman III and Jase Febres combined for just 20 points total on 7-of-26 shooting.
            "We just threw a lot of different looks at them to see what would stick," said 6-9 senior forward Freddie Gillespie, who had five points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. "The most important thing was on the 3-point line, they got one 3 in the first half (1-of-6). That was crucial."
            On top of the 3-point shooting woes, the Longhorns (10-3, 0-1) also hurt their comeback chances by missing nine free throws in the second half and 10 for the game, hitting just 5-of-15 from the charity stripe.
            "We put ourselves in position with 10, 11 minutes left. I think Andrew (Jones) was at the foul line," Smart said. "It was a six-point game, so it's a game you still can go take, but not if you give them all those rebounds down the stretch, and not if you miss that many free throws and layups and open 3's."
            On a night when the Bears' own shots weren't falling, they held Texas to 34.6 percent shooting overall, dominated the boards, 48-35, and outscored the Longhorns, 21-5, on second-chance points.
            Gillespie had double-digit rebounds for the seventh time this season and ninth time in his career, but it was a collective effort for Baylor with four other players grabbing at least five boards. Mark Vital had seven, guards Jared Butler and MaCio Teague had six apiece and Mitchell had five.
            Teague was the Bears' only real consistent offensive threat, finishing with 21 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 from the line. He has scored in double digits in every game during Baylor's winning streak and had his second 20-point game at Baylor and 22^nd of his collegiate career.
            The key stretch of the game came in the last three minutes of the first half, when the Bears closed on a 9-0 run to make it 36-23 at the break. Butler made four straight free throws, followed by a Teague jumper, then Matthew Mayer drained a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound to give Baylor a 13-point lead.
            "It's huge getting separation in a game like this when baskets are hard to be found," Drew said. "When you can get that run and get the lead, that's huge. And to (the players') credit, I think we've grown. Against Arizona and Butler, we got leads and they came back and made it a one-, two-possession game. We were able to withstand whatever runs they made to make sure it never got to that."
            Jericho Sims was one of the few bright spots for the Longhorns, finishing with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore guard Courtney Ramey had 13 points off the bench to give UT its only other double-figure scorer.
            Baylor, which has won eight of the last nine meetings with Texas, faces a difficult two-game road swing this week with games at No. 22 Texas Tech (10-3, 1-0) on Tuesday in Lubbock and No. 3 Kansas (11-2, 1-0) next Saturday, Jan. 11, in Lawrence. On Saturday, Tech routed Oklahoma State, 85-50, while Kansas held off 16^th-ranked West Virginia, 60-53.
            "That's the great thing about the Big 12 is it doesn't matter who you're playing, you know you're in for a great game," Drew said. "Looking at basketball nationwide, I think you would be foolish to think that your team has arrived or your team is invincible. It's who shows up and executes and plays well. Those teams have been winning. That's special this year. It doesn't seem like there's one dominant team."