Baylor passes first test as nation's No. 1 team with 61-57 win over Oklahoma

WACO — As rigorous of a journey as it can be, there is actually one thing even tougher than achieving a No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll.

Maintaining it.

So credit Baylor for passing its first test just hours after catapulting to the top of the perch Monday for the second time in school history.

MaCio Teague scored 16 points and Freddie Gillispie grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds to propel the Bears past Oklahoma 61-57 at the Ferrell Center.

The win was the 15th straight for Baylor, which is now 16-1 overall. At 6-0 in the Big 12, the Bears are off to their best start in conference play since 1947-48.

“It’s nice,” Gillispie said of the ranking, “because we can say, ‘Hey, at one point in the season we were No. 1 in the country.’ But outside of that, guys have bigger goals.”

Winning a first-ever Big 12 championship is the initial order of business on that list. And even though Baylor is atop the standings for now, it will have a difficult time staying there if sloppy performances like Monday’s become the norm.

Much like they did in non-conference wins over Arizona and Butler, the Bears looked crisp and efficient in building a double-digit lead at intermission—and then held on for dear life to stave off a furious comeback in the second half.

“We definitely made it interesting," Gillispie said.

The game appeared all but over after a layup by Gillispie gave Baylor a 59-51 cushion with 1:37 remaining. But Oklahoma’s Austin Reaves and Brady Manek swished three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to pull the Sooners within two, 59-57, with 41 seconds left.

After an Oklahoma timeout, disaster almost struck when Sooners forward Kristian Doolittle stole the ball from Jared Butler on the perimeter with 12 ticks remaining. The Sooners raced down the court and fired a pass to Reaves, who was wide open in the left corner. Reaves, though, misfired on a game-winning three-point attempt. Baylor’s Devonte Bandoo snared the rebound and was fouled with 3.5 seconds remaining. Bandoo made both free throws to seal the victory.

Phew!

After the game it was difficult to tell whether head coach Scott Drew was more excited or relieved.

“In the Big 12,” he said, “if you want to win a championship, you’ve got to win your close games and you’ve got to win your home games. We did, and that’s all that matters.”

Drew smirked.

“But thanks to everyone for praying on that last shot,” he said.

A loss by Baylor Monday would’ve played into a bizarre—and somewhat troubling—narrative that has hovered over college basketball all season. In 2019-20, nothing makes a flourishing team flounder like being ranked No. 1.

Baylor on Monday became the seventh team this season to achieve a No. 1 ranking. That matches the record set in 1983 for the most No. 1s in the history of the poll, which dates to the 1948-49 campaign.

Baylor’s only other No. 1 ranking came on Jan. 10, 2017. That same night the Bears suffered their first loss of the season 89-68 at West Virginia.

“Our staff has done a better job this time blocking out distractions and putting more focus on how we want to be No. 1 at the end of the year,” Drew said. “At the same time, when it first comes out and it’s on a game day, I know there’s added juice and excitement. It was the first time we played at home when we were No. 1.”

Baylor survived Monday despite a four-point, 2-of-13 shooting performance from Butler, who entered the game averaging a team-high 16.9 points. Butler (along with Gillispie and Mark Vital) was one of three players who missed the front end of a one-and-one in the second half.

Drew was also irked at his team’s performance on the glass. The Bears out-rebounded Oklahoma 46-36 overall but lost the battle of the boards 22-21 in the second half, when they gave up nine second-chance points.

“Time and time again,” Gillispie said, “it’s shown that our defense can get us out of some sticky situations. Tonight was no different. That’s what wins us games. We have good defensive chemistry and lock down when we need to.”

Indeed, aside from their late-game surge, Oklahoma struggled offensively against Baylor’s vaunted pressure. Baylor has now held five of its six Big 12 opponents below the 60-point barrier and leads the conference in scoring defense, allowing an average of 55.2 points per game.

“This Baylor team is outstanding,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “When you look at them and try to identify where there’s a shortcoming … I mean, they’ve got great guard play, they’re great defensively, they’re great rebounders and have really good low-post play. They’ve got all the ingredients to be what they are.

“They’re the (No. 1) team in the country right now and are deserving of that.”

Other positives Monday included the play of Tristan Clark and Bandoo, both of whom come off the bench. Clark, a preseason All-Big 12 selection who continues to battle through knee pain, scored six points against the Sooners after netting eight in Saturday’s win at Oklahoma State. That’s an encouraging sign for a team that lacks depth down low.

Although he only scored five points, Bandoo had one of his best all-around games in a Baylor uniform, matching career-highs with eight rebounds and five assists, including a beautiful pick-and-roll dime to Gillispie that resulted in an easy basket that put Baylor up 59-51 with 1:37 remaining.

Bandoo had 16 points to help Baylor battle back from a 12-point deficit Saturday in Stillwater. He also hit a clutch three-pointer late in the Bears’ Jan. 7 win at Texas Tech.

“He’s been huge the last two games,” Drew said of Bandoo. “And I know tonight he didn’t get going shooting-wise, but hit one big 3 and had eight rebounds and five assists. And that’s important, because you look at the guard spots, and usually one guard’s off. That’s why you have to have a lot of guys to pick you up.

“Three games in six days, some people are going to be a little more fatigued, some people don’t bounce back as quick. I thought Jared was just a step off tonight, and Devonte really did a great job helping him and played some great minutes.”

Another positive was that a season-high crowd of 9,217 showed up at the Ferrell Center, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Drew and his squad.

“The turnout of the students was tremendous,” Drew said. “There’s no team that’s won a Big 12 title that doesn’t have fan support. It’s critical. It’s much needed and appreciated.”

Drew said he will give the Bears two days off before preparations begin for Saturday’s Big 12-SEC Challenge game at Florida. The Gators (12-5) are unranked but have won five of their last six, including Saturday’s blowout win over then No. 4 Auburn.

“It’s a great honor representing the Big 12,” Drew said. “We take that very seriously. Our guys have gotten up for those games. We want to represent the Big 12 and we're going to do all we can to do it the right way.”

Or course, the Bears have done that already.

They are, after all, ranked No. 1.