Baylor drops first game of season in tough road test
Against Creighton last week, No. 18 Baylor dug itself a hole small enough on the road to climb out of to stay undefeated. That same hole was dug visiting No. 21 Xavier but was just too deep to escape as the Musketeers ran away with a 76-63 win, giving Baylor its first notch in the loss column.
Stopped ball movement, stopped offense
As Creighton briefly exposed, take away Manu Lecomte and the offense stalls. That eventually shifted as Lecomte found his way, but Xavier took the defense to a whole other level.
Lecomte was held to just 11 points (continuing to struggle from beyond the arc) and it wasn’t until late in the second half he even had an assist. He finished the evening with two dishes and crossed the double-digit barrier thanks to pulling some personal fouls to keep Baylor in the game for a time. But it wasn’t enough.
The assisting duties instead fell on King McClure (5) and Jake Lindsey (6). Though they’re individual performances of note, they did little to help propel the team, a difficult task to move the ball when the ball was barely there, to begin with.
Through five games, Jo Lual-Acuil had been a force around the glass, averaging 11.2 rebounds per game. Tonight, he dipped to just four rebounds, getting outworked by Tyrique Jones 7-4 in rebounds. Xavier walked away winning the rebound battle 38-28, leading to one of Baylor’s 15 percent offensive rebound rate- Baylor was seventh in the nation with a 39 percent rate.
Fresh faces swap roles
Five games into the season, teams finally have enough film to study freshman Tristan Clark. He’s been a crucial part of the offense and defense, playing in over 50 percent of available minutes all season. In that time, he’s made an argument for player of the game multiple times but he was virtually invisible on Xavier’s court even in just 11 minutes (only three in the second half).
He was scoreless and had just one rebound. His role was picked up by freshman Mark Vital, working effectively in the paint and was the team’s most efficient players overall.
Vital not only left the game with a team-high seven rebounds but also a best 31.9 percent shot rate. The team didn’t let that go unnoticed, awarding him a season-high 20 minutes in which he was directly used on 40 percent of possessions. Not even Lecomte crossed the 30 percent mark. Vital’s efficiency also translated to defense, stopping Xavier 83 percent of possessions, another team-best.
Clark and Vital swapping spots, while ultimately meaningless in the scheme of the game, signals there’s depth at Baylor’s disposal as does the season-best performance from Terry Maston leading the team with 15 points, by far the most efficient scorer of the night.
Personal fouls make the difference
Baylor was 1-2 last season when committing 22 personal fouls or more. This year, the Bears make that 0-and-1 after Tuesday’s loss.
Xavier was given a double-bonus midway through the second half, sending the team to the line and incredible 20 times. A chunk of that came in a last-ditch effort to turn the table in the closing minutes but it was a problem from start to finish.
Baylor at least avoided adding insult to injury with excessive turnovers. The Bears won the turnover battled 11-12, often getting the ball straight back after a TO, taking advantage of a fast and loose Xavier offense. But too often, Baylor’s defense mirrored that style with too much contact.
It wasn’t Baylor’s shots from the field that hurt. Baylor and Xavier’s shot total and percentage were nearly identical, Xavier just got the upper leg at the line, landing eight more free shots.