Baylor
5-0,1-0Big 12
Kansas State
3-5,1-1Big 12
No. 2 MBB Rolls to 100-69 Victory at Kansas State in Big 12 Opener
12/19/2020 5:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MaCio Teague led the Bears with 23 points
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Returning to practice just two days earlier and playing their first game in 10 days, the second-ranked Baylor Bears had every excuse to come out of the gates rusty in Saturday's Big 12 opener at Kansas State.
This was anything but rusty. Looking like a well-oiled machine, the Bears (5-0, 1-0) hit 15 of their first 20 shots and streaked out to a 56-27 halftime lead en route to a conference-opening 100-69 blowout win over the Wildcats (3-5, 1-1) at Bramlage Coliseum.
"We're definitely capable shooters, and we had good looks," said Baylor head coach Scott Drew, whose team shot 62 percent in the first half and 58 percent overall for the game, knocking down 15-of-32 outside the arc. "But, anytime you start a game 15-for-20, that doesn't happen often. A lot of times, you get good looks and you don't always make them. But, I couldn't be more pleased with how we came out the first 20 minutes."
Baylor became the first team in 13 years to score 100 against Kansas State (Xavier, 103, Dec. 13, 2007) and the first Big 12 team in the 25-year history of the league to score 100 in Manhattan (Oklahoma scored 117 on Jan. 18, 1992, in a Big Eight game).
"Defensively, (K-State coach Bruce Weber) does a phenomenal job with his guys," Drew said. "You score 100 points on them, you're doing something really well."
Knocking down three-straight 3-pointers, including a rare four-point play with an and-one, MaCio Teague scored 12 of his game-high 23 points in helping Baylor get out to a 15-4 lead in the first 5:01 of the game.
Teague recorded his second career double-double for the Bears with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Jared Butler had his first with 14 points and a career-best 13 assists.
"I came into the game with my mind on it," Butler said of the double-digit assists. "Last game (83-52 win over SFA on Dec. 9), I came into the game wanting seven assists (and got it). This game, I wanted to get 10. It's just something about me putting my mind to it. Davion (Mitchell) had his first 20-ball (20-point game), MaCio shot the ball well, (Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua) did great. When I do that, I make our team a lot better and I can score when I need to."
Mitchell knocked down a career-best 6-of-10 from outside the arc, scored a career-high 20 points and added three assists, three rebounds and two steals.
"Credit to all my teammates – MaCio, especially Jared, he had a phenomenal night passing the ball," Mitchell said. "(Butler) got me a lot of open shots with his eyes. MaCio, really everybody on our team, they trust me to knock them down."
In a game they never trailed, the Bears jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first six minutes and went up 38-17 on a Mitchell trey with 7:28 left in the first half. The 56 first-half points were the most by Baylor since scoring 61 versus Savannah State on Dec. 17, 2017.
"We've definitely tried to take our offense to another level," Butler said. "There was some criticism about our offense last year, that it was kind of stagnant. So, we definitely tried to take it to another level. Credit to (assistant coach) John Jakus and the staff for really harping on ball movement and fluidity in our offense. That's shown a lot this year."
Tchamwa Tchatchoua added 13 points for Baylor, which was playing without sophomore guard Adam Flagler and redshirt freshman Jordan Turner. In a quick turnaround, the Bears will face Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-7) at 7 p.m. Monday at the Ferrell Center.
"We just want to play as many games as we can," Mitchell said. "We don't care who we play, we're just going to come out ready to play."
