Baylor Replaces Gonzaga In The Top Spot Of The AP Top 25 Poll, Week 12
Though Gonzaga who is a member of West Coast Conference didn’t lose to BYU over the weekend we have a new top 25 team in the country in Baylor out of the Big Twelve who has record of 15-1 as we head into Week twelve of the season while Gonzaga slides down one spot to number two after being the top ranked team for four weeks in a row.
How did Baylor perform in their game over the weekend?
They won on the road at Oklahoma State.
Mired in a bit of a shooting slump, hitting just one of his last nine shots from the floor and going 0-for-4 from 3-point range, senior guard Devonte Bandoo turned to fellow Canadian and former Baylor sharpshooter Brady Heslip.
"I was just trying to get some words of wisdom from him, just trying to figure things out," he said.
In the second half of Saturday's game at Gallagher-Iba Arena, Bandoo did his best Heslip impersonation, draining four 3-pointers and scoring 14 of his 16 points in helping the second-ranked Bears rally from a 12-point deficit to beat the upset-minded Oklahoma State Cowboys, 75-68.
"Even though one person might not have a good night, we're so deep that anyone can step in and have a great night," said Bando, who also hit a pair of late free throws to seal the Bears' 14th win in a row overall. "Today, it was me, so it was a good feeling."
Two of Baylor's five starters didn't even score a point, with Davion Mitchell and Mark Vital going a combined 0-for-7 from the field. But, Jared Butler and Freddie Gillespie had game-high scoring honors with 17 points apiece, and Bandoo's season-high 16 points helped the Bears' bench outscore the OSU reserves, 32-22.
"It takes a team to win it," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team improved to 15-1 overall and a school-record 5-0 in Big 12 for the first time since 1998. "As a coach, you're really proud when different people step up, especially guys that have been working hard. Devonte's been spending time, and it was just a matter of time. We had confidence in him, but he really played hard defense and rebounded. He had a great rebound late." “according to https://baylorbears.com/news/2020/1/18/mens-basketball-no-2-mbb-completes-comeback-at-oklahoma-state.aspx
OSU (9-8, 0-5) came into the game shooting just 22 percent from 3-point range in league play, but the Cowboys were 8-of-14 from outside the arc in the first half and were up 36-27 at the break. Cameron McGriff had made just 9-of-42 (21.4 percent) of his 3-pointer attempts for the season, but drained four treys and scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half.
Bandoo said the Bears didn't even have McGriff as a shooter in their scouting report, "and out of nowhere he's hitting four 3's. We're going to get players' best, and we've got to adapt and figure that out."
"Normally, he makes open ones and maybe some contested, but he was on fire early," Drew said of McGriff. "But, it's like free throws. We go 19-for-23. Last game (68-55 win over Iowa State), we were 13-for-22 or something. That's why defense and rebounding are so critical. And taking care of the basketball can't be understated. We only had two turnovers in the second half, and that was huge."
The Cowboys never trailed through the first 31 minutes and matched their largest lead of the game when Yor Anei scored off an offensive rebound and put-back to make it 47-35 with under nine minutes to play.
Tristan Clark, who scored eight points in 12 minutes, started a key 11-2 run with a nice outside jumper. And then Gillespie finished it off with a fast-break bucket that trimmed the deficit to 49-46.
A pair of free throws by Lindy Waters stopped the bleeding for OSU, but MaCio Teague knocked down his only 3-pointer of the dayafter an offensive rebound to give the Bears their first lead, 53-51, with 8:43 left in the game. “according to https://baylorbears.com/news/2020/1/18/mens-basketball-no-2-mbb-completes-comeback-at-oklahoma-state.aspx
"It's not easy being down, especially when a team gets going like that," Bandoo said. "Just the fact that we picked it up, we found a way and we executed, especially on the defensive end."
OSU fought back to take a 61-60 lead on a pair of free throws by Isaac Likekele, who had 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals.
But, Bandoo had the answer, draining back-to-back 3-pointers in a closing 15-7 run as the Bears pulled away late for their fifth-straight win in Stillwater.
"Everybody contributed," Drew said. "It's a great day to be a Baylor Bear."
McGriff and Likekele shared team-high scoring honors for the Cowboys with 16, while Waters and Thomas Dziagwa hit a combined six 3-pointers and chipped in with 14 points apiece.
In arguably one of his best games of the season, Clark was a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor and finished with eight points and two rebounds in just 12 minutes off the bench. Matthew Mayer was also solid off the bench, scoring six points in 14 minutes and adding two rebounds and two assists.
The Bears have a quick turnaround, hosting Oklahoma (12-5, 3-2) at 8 p.m. Monday in an ESPN "Big Monday" game at the Ferrell Center. Junior forward Brady Manek had a career-high seven 3-pointers and 31 points in the Sooners' 83-63 drubbing of TCU on Saturday.
"We need our fans rested, we need their voices rested, we need that energy caffeine," said Drew, whose team can match a school-record 15-game win streak with a victory on Monday. "We need their 'A' game on Monday. We've got to protect the home court." “according to https://baylorbears.com/news/2020/1/18/mens-basketball-no-2-mbb-completes-comeback-at-oklahoma-state.aspx
Who’s Baylor’s next opponent ? They play at home against Oklahoma tonight.
How did Gonzaga perform over the weekend?
Like Baylor,
They beat their opponent as they beat BYU.
Tillie had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 1 Gonzaga beat BYU 92-69 on Saturday night for its 12th consecutive win.”according to https://gozags.com/news/2020/1/19/mens-basketball-tillie-leads-no-1-gonzaga-past-byu-92-69.aspx
The Zags (20-1, 6-0 West Coast) shot 74% (17 for 23) from the field after halftime. They stretched their home win streak to 34 in a row, tops in the county, and also became the first school to 20 wins this season. “according to https://baylorbears.com/news/2020/1/18/mens-basketball-no-2-mbb-completes-comeback-at-oklahoma-state.aspx
Corey Kispert scored 19 points for Gonzaga, and Joel Ayayi and Admon Gilder had 14 apiece. “according thttps://gozags.com/news/2020/1/19/mens-basketball-tillie-leads-no-1-gonzaga-past-byu-92-69.aspxo
Who’s Gonzaga’s next opponent?
They host Pacific on Saturday in Spokane Washington.
As for the rest of the AP Top 25 poll this week, It looks like this. “according to https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings/_/week/12/year/2020/seasontype/2
1.Baylor
2. Gonzaga
3. Kansas
4. San Diego State
5. Florida State
6. Louisville
7. Dayton
8. Duke
9. Villanova
10.Seton Hall
12. Oregon
13. Butler
14. West Virginia
15. Kentucky
16. Auburn
17. Maryland
18. Texas Tech
19. Iowa
20. Memphis
21. Illinois
22. Arizona
23. Colorado
24. Rutgers
25. Houston