Going to roll with this format again for tonight’s game preview, I thought it did fairly well last time. Once again, same as for Cincinnati, going to do a bit of a personnel breakdown, some stats and what I see from Baylor on tape.
After losing three straight to formidable opponents, the No. 13 Bears have seemed to have found their footing again and are entering Tuesday’s game the victors of back-to-back games against UCF and Iowa State. Saturday’s game against the Cyclones was noteworthy because Scott Drew was ejected and that caused quite the stir, though I don’t believe that has any impact on him for Tuesday’s game.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I, like an overwhelming amount of Big 12 officials, am not the sharpest. Baylor is 5-3 in conference play and is 16-5 on the year overall, including 11-1 at home, with that lone loss coming in the triple OT thriller against TCU.
Baylor is littered with talent and has one of the most efficient offenses in the country. Per both KenPom and EvanMiya, the Bears have the 4th-highest rated offense on both respective websites.
Entering the Big 12 slate, Baylor was one of the best shooting teams in the league, averaging 40-plus percent from beyond the arc. In four of eight conference games however, the Bears were held to 25 percent or less from three.
You will likely continue to hear this but Baylor has seemed to have found its groove and it showed with 45 and 52 percent shooting nights in their most recent wins.
Schematically is going to be pretty similar to what Tech does when they’re in a groove, which is producing paint touches and kicking out for open looks. This offense from inside-out is incredibly sound and it will be interesting to see how the Tech staff gameplan for this since they’ve struggled at times guarding the perimeter.
From a personnel standpoint, the team really revolves around their triple threat of Jalen Bridges, RayJ Dennis and standout freshman Ja’Kobe Walter.
Baylor getting Bridges back was a big deal when it happened because he had first entered his name in the NBA Draft, but elected to return for his senior season. Bridges averages about 10 points a game, and for being 6-foot-9, his shooting splits of 44/37/85 are respectable.
RayJ Dennis is the team’s primary ball handler who is averaging 13 points a game. Dennis is also one of the league’s best distributors, leading the Big 12 with 6.5 assists per game.
The third point of the trident for Baylor is the highly-touted freshman Walter. Originally of McKinney, Walter has been electric this season, and BleacherReport’s most recent 2024 NBA Mock Draft had Walter going No. 8 to the Rockets. He has been struggling shooting the ball as of late, but Walter maintains Baylor’s top Offensive Bayesian Performance Rating of 4.58 on EvanMiya, so his value is still present.
I’d really say those three are their main core. I think a guy like Langston Love is worth paying attention to, he’s Baylor’s spark plug off the bench who is the team’s second-leading scorer.
Yves Missi is the big man down low, a 7-foot freshman who hails from Belgium, Cameroon and California. He’s lengthy and lanky, similar build to Warren Washington, but not as refined offensively, still very raw.
If the Bears run a man-to-man offense, there could be some potential for Washington to get isolation looks against the young buck Missi. What I have been noticing however is Drew is putting his team in a lot more zone looks, where they’ll start a possession in a 1-3-1 and then transition into a 2-3 or 3-2.
If that is what they elect to run Tuesday, I would keep an eye out for Darrion Williams to perhaps be fed in the middle of the floor where he could get turn around looks in the midpoint or kick out for shooters. While their zone has been effective, I don’t reckon Baylor is elite defensively like years past and Tech will certainly get their chances.
What tonight's game will boil down to is if Tech can guard the perimeter, which is much easier said than done. If you can run them off the three-point line and pack the paint you give yourself a better shot. This Baylor team seems different than the ones in years past, just a wide mix of experience and several young players they’re depending on nightly. While I don’t think Baylor is as prolific on defense, what is concerning is they might just simply be too talented and have too many playmakers for the Red Raiders to stop. Tech is plenty capable of keeping it competitive, but it will be tough, for sure.
Game Details
Where: Foster Pavilion, Waco, Texas
When: 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 6
Watch it on: ESPN
What to know: Baylor
Head coach: Scott Drew
Record: 16-5 (5-3 Big 12)
Spread: BU -5.5
After losing three straight to formidable opponents, the No. 13 Bears have seemed to have found their footing again and are entering Tuesday’s game the victors of back-to-back games against UCF and Iowa State. Saturday’s game against the Cyclones was noteworthy because Scott Drew was ejected and that caused quite the stir, though I don’t believe that has any impact on him for Tuesday’s game.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I, like an overwhelming amount of Big 12 officials, am not the sharpest. Baylor is 5-3 in conference play and is 16-5 on the year overall, including 11-1 at home, with that lone loss coming in the triple OT thriller against TCU.
Baylor is littered with talent and has one of the most efficient offenses in the country. Per both KenPom and EvanMiya, the Bears have the 4th-highest rated offense on both respective websites.
Entering the Big 12 slate, Baylor was one of the best shooting teams in the league, averaging 40-plus percent from beyond the arc. In four of eight conference games however, the Bears were held to 25 percent or less from three.
You will likely continue to hear this but Baylor has seemed to have found its groove and it showed with 45 and 52 percent shooting nights in their most recent wins.
Schematically is going to be pretty similar to what Tech does when they’re in a groove, which is producing paint touches and kicking out for open looks. This offense from inside-out is incredibly sound and it will be interesting to see how the Tech staff gameplan for this since they’ve struggled at times guarding the perimeter.
From a personnel standpoint, the team really revolves around their triple threat of Jalen Bridges, RayJ Dennis and standout freshman Ja’Kobe Walter.
Baylor getting Bridges back was a big deal when it happened because he had first entered his name in the NBA Draft, but elected to return for his senior season. Bridges averages about 10 points a game, and for being 6-foot-9, his shooting splits of 44/37/85 are respectable.
RayJ Dennis is the team’s primary ball handler who is averaging 13 points a game. Dennis is also one of the league’s best distributors, leading the Big 12 with 6.5 assists per game.
The third point of the trident for Baylor is the highly-touted freshman Walter. Originally of McKinney, Walter has been electric this season, and BleacherReport’s most recent 2024 NBA Mock Draft had Walter going No. 8 to the Rockets. He has been struggling shooting the ball as of late, but Walter maintains Baylor’s top Offensive Bayesian Performance Rating of 4.58 on EvanMiya, so his value is still present.
I’d really say those three are their main core. I think a guy like Langston Love is worth paying attention to, he’s Baylor’s spark plug off the bench who is the team’s second-leading scorer.
Yves Missi is the big man down low, a 7-foot freshman who hails from Belgium, Cameroon and California. He’s lengthy and lanky, similar build to Warren Washington, but not as refined offensively, still very raw.
If the Bears run a man-to-man offense, there could be some potential for Washington to get isolation looks against the young buck Missi. What I have been noticing however is Drew is putting his team in a lot more zone looks, where they’ll start a possession in a 1-3-1 and then transition into a 2-3 or 3-2.
If that is what they elect to run Tuesday, I would keep an eye out for Darrion Williams to perhaps be fed in the middle of the floor where he could get turn around looks in the midpoint or kick out for shooters. While their zone has been effective, I don’t reckon Baylor is elite defensively like years past and Tech will certainly get their chances.
What tonight's game will boil down to is if Tech can guard the perimeter, which is much easier said than done. If you can run them off the three-point line and pack the paint you give yourself a better shot. This Baylor team seems different than the ones in years past, just a wide mix of experience and several young players they’re depending on nightly. While I don’t think Baylor is as prolific on defense, what is concerning is they might just simply be too talented and have too many playmakers for the Red Raiders to stop. Tech is plenty capable of keeping it competitive, but it will be tough, for sure.
Game Details
Where: Foster Pavilion, Waco, Texas
When: 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 6
Watch it on: ESPN
What to know: Baylor
Head coach: Scott Drew
Record: 16-5 (5-3 Big 12)
Spread: BU -5.5
