Day After Reflections & Podcast: Baylor 65 Washington St 59

Ashley Hodge and Chris Fuentes discuss Baylor's 65-59 victory over Washington State and what Baylor needs to do to reach its potential going forward

Five Reflections

1.  Baylor’s defense has improved dramatically since the Marquette game.  The Bears held Gonzaga 19 points under their average (63).  Tarleton State 15 points under their average (57).   And Washington State 11 points under their average (59).  Each of those teams averaged less than 1 point per possession against the Bears.  

2.  It is a good thing the defense has been good because 3 point shooting has gone the other direction in the last 3.  The Bears shot 19-68 (28%) in the last 3 wins.  A big part of that is LJ Cryer (2-6) and Adam Flagler (3-8) not taking many 3s.  Doing a better job of getting into the paint and kicking out to open 3 point shooters and/or better ball movement.  Jalen Bridges on a 2-25 streak from 3 doesn’t help.  He’s too good of a shooter historically to think he won’t start knocking down 3s.

3.  Offensive rebounding has fallen off against Gonzaga (18%) and Washington State (32%).  Not concerned yet but that has been a staple of Scott Drew teams.  We are usually over 40% of rebounding misses most games.  

4.  The upside of this team may be determined by the improvement of Keyonte George, Langston Love and Joshua Ojianwuna.  All three are good players but they can all go to another level.  I’m excited to see Keyonte George’s improvement in rebounding the last few games.  

5.  We need these next two games to get in a good rhythm offensively.  The Big12 conference has 8 teams in the top 35 of KenPom defensive efficiency.  Only Oklahoma (58) and Baylor (47) are outside the top 35.  But Baylor is starting to play like a top 35 defense in recent games.